In less than 2 months, on March 15, 2012, new ADA Standards become mandatory. If you can't answer "YES" to each of the following three questions, you may be in trouble.
Hotel lawyers will tell you that there are always disputes going on between hotel owners and operators, and that most of them are resolved at the bargaining table without any legal action.
Is your pool, spa and fitness facility compliant with the ADA 2010 Regulations? If you think your property is grandfathered, then you are wrong! There is no grandfathering.
On Friday, October 21, 2011 I did a Q&A interview with the National Real Estate Bisnow about Chinese investment in U.S. hotels. Here is the full Question & Answer exchange, a portion of which appeared in the Biznow article.
On Friday, October 14, 2011, a Miami Federal District Court denied Fairmont Hotel's request for a preliminary injunction to be reinstated as the operator of the hotel.
One of the bright spots at Steve Van's Fishing for Solutions lender conference was the keynote address given by FelCor Lodging Trust Chairman, Thomas J. Corcoran. Known for his blunt and sometimes salty candor, Tom sounded a call for a reality check for doomsayers, likes where we are now in the hotel industry and expects things to get better.
My partner, labor and employment lawyer Scott Brink, has informed us that the California Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument in a high-profile labor law case, Brinker Restaurant v. Superior Court, on November 8, 2011. He believes it is likely we will see a decision within the following 90 days.
Our hotel lawyers were at The Lodging Conference in Phoenix last week, taking the measure of the hotel industry. It was pretty interesting. Some said August was a 'turning point' and they were not referring to a good thing.