Negotiating Control of Operating Accounts and Working Capital in Hotel Management Agreements by Bob Lannan A frequent point of contention between owners of real estate assets and management companies that operate them is control over operating accounts and working capital.  These disputes arise in negotiation of contracts for management of hospitality assets (e.g. hotels, spas
Continue Reading

“What do we say to the God of the Hotel Business Cycle?” If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, you’re familiar with the question, “What do we say to the God of Death?”  For the uninitiated, the response is, “Not today.”  I am confident that an estate planning attorney would have a more thorough response.
Continue Reading

I and my fellow Advisory Board members are excited about this year’s Hotel & Lodging Legal Summit, which will be held on the campus of Georgetown University Law Center this October 23-25.  This year’s conference will feature a few sessions on legal issues extending from technologies used in the hotel and lodging industry.  We will
Continue Reading

I am privileged to co-chair the annual Hotel & Lodging Legal Summit at Georgetown University Law Center.  For this year’s conference, our seventh, we are trying something new.  A common theme that will run through most of this year’s sessions is risk allocation.  Primarily, we will discuss allocation of risk among the three principal communities
Continue Reading

Congratulations to my student Kelleye Eller, M.P.S. on completion of her Master of Professional Studies degree in Global Hospitality Leadership at Georgetown University. Ms. Eller titled her graduate thesis Securing U.S. Hotels in the Age of Terrorism: The Hoteliers’ Perspective. In her capstone paper and executive summary and presentation, she thoroughly examines the challenges that domestic
Continue Reading

State of Washington v. Motel 6 Operating L.P.: The Latest Episode in Law Enforcement Agencies’ Demands for Access to Guest Records             Last Wednesday January 3, Washington State Attorney General Robert Ferguson filed a lawsuit against a subsidiary of Motel 6, alleging that the company violated state law by regularly providing hotel guests’ personally identifiable
Continue Reading