JMBM · 5 May

PACE financing guidelines are finally available for New York City, and while the program has not officially launched yet, hotel owners and developers in the area should start planning how to use these loans to retrofit their properties. My Partner David Sudeck discusses the program requirements, below.

The Hotel Financial Coach · 3 May

Practice is what we are missing. Practice with the financial piece is somehow a foreign concept. But in the hotel world practice is everywhere, right?

EHL · 3 May

Profit, People, Planet – the triple bottom line 'Holy Grail' that many companies preach – but how many practice it?

CBRE Hotels · 1 May

In 2019, 86% of the hotels that participated in CBRE Hotels Research's annual Trends® in the Hotel Industry survey of property-level operating statements reported the payment of a management fee. On average, these hotels paid management fees equal to 3.6% of total operating revenue. The management fee to revenue ratio was the highest for convention hotels (4.1%) and lowest for resorts and full-service hotels (3.5%). Relative to the bottom line, total management fees averaged 13.9% of profits. For this analysis, profits are defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).

JMBM · 30 Apr

After a year of economic upheaval in the hospitality industry, hotels are making big changes as they look ahead to recovery. Oftentimes these changes involve a complete rebrand, and this leads to questions about what is negotiable in a franchise agreement. In the article below, Bob Braun, senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® and Co-Chair of the Firm's Cybersecurity & Privacy Group, talks about 5 important franchise terms that can usually be negotiated.

JMBM · 30 Apr

As coronavirus cases drop and economic activity starts to return to normal, the hospitality industry will soon be able to begin replacing workers who were laid off due to the pandemic. Some cities in California, and now the entire state, have enacted requirements for how hotels and other businesses can fill open positions; my partner, Travis Gemoets, has summarized the new law below. - Jim Butler

CAL Poly Pomona · 22 Apr

The COVID-19 vaccination rate is climbing steadily in the U.S. At its current rate, three in four people, or 75% of eligible residents, will be vaccinated by June. Businesses are reopening. The U.S. economy is now operating at 88% of its pre-pandemic level, with hope for continuous improvement.

HotStats Limited · 21 Apr

Some changes made to cope with the pandemic likely will be industry norms, while the crisis also spotlighted the need for new practices to be put in place.

JMBM · 20 Apr

The recent ruling in Google v. Oracle has altered the definition of "fair use" when it comes to functional works such as code. While the use of existing creative works must still be transformative in order to avoid violating copyright laws, it will now be much easier to claim fair use when building on existing functional creations. JMBM's Entertainment Litigation Chair Jeff Goldman explains the case below and discusses its potential impact on the hotel industry.

The Hotel Financial Coach · 19 Apr

The hotel business is a retail business and in order to stay on top of your business, you must fully and completely balance your daily revenues and settlements. This means dotting the eyes and crossing the Ts, examine them. Every day we begin anew and every day is a story unto itself when it comes to the revenues and settlements. I may sound like I'm repeating "revenues and settlements," but it cannot be emphasized enough.

Cayuga Hospitality Consultants · 16 Apr

It has been one year since the historical COVID-19 pandemic made its debut, affecting the entire population and economies around the world. It is evident that out of all the industries negatively affected by this economic tsunami, the hospitality industry has been, and will most likely remain, the most impacted and the slowest to recover.

Strategic Solution Partners · 13 Apr

Winter is officially over, and although the capital markets for hotel and resort refinance, acquisition and new-build construction lending have been frozen, they have been stealthily thawing out since the first of the year.

Cayuga Hospitality Consultants · 12 Apr

First and foremost, should you pursue an insurance claim? YES! The first step in this process is filing your initial claim.

JMBM · 9 Apr

The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is currently accepting public comments on a provision in the recently enacted Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) which requires some privately-held business entities to disclose ownership information directly to a law enforcement agency. Interested parties should consider commenting before the May 5th deadline, and companies who may be impacted should take this opportunity to review their anti-money laundering compliance programs. Vince Farhat and Samuel Buchman of JMBM's White Collar Defense and Investigations Group have written an article detailing this legislation below.

IU International University of Applied Sciences · 29 Mar

From single-use plastics to building efficiencies, from extended producer responsibility (EPR) to user-pays principle (UPP), regulations are an intricate component of how society governs environmental impacts. Of course, there seems to always a fine balance between reactive and proactive approaches to regulations, between 'Too late: cleaning up' and 'Too early: stifling innovation'.

JMBM · 26 Mar

California has seen an explosion of ADA cases in the past few years, leading the state to impose strict pleading standards and high filing fees for serial litigants. Litigants have previously found their way around this by filing in federal court, but the courts have made it clear that they will decline supplemental jurisdiction in these instances. Martin Orlick, Chair of JMBM's ADA Compliance & Defense Group, explains below.