Mergers and acquisitions, disputes over management agreements, and fights for ownership of guest information. These are just some of the issues among today's hospitality industry headlines. As a lawyer often involved in these sorts of matters, we often must work with the news media - and manage the glare that follows high-profile hospitality issues. While many lawyers shy away from public comment on these matters, we believe that it is better to help our clients navigate the waters of public relations. In fact, we consistently recommend that our clients - whether managers, owners, investors or otherwise - work with the news media when involved in high profile hospitality disputes. READ MORE

In the evolving legal landscape between hotel operators and owners, the operator's primary goals remain the same to maximize brand recognition and revenue. These goals, however, are often in conflict with an owner's focus on his hotel's bottom line. As a result, owners should protect themselves from operators that all too frequently seek to compete against the very hotels from which they are reaping significant management fees. One way that owners can do so is by pressing the duty of loyalty that operators owe them as managers of their hotel -a duty which prevents the manager from competing with them. READ MORE

Real-time, seamless, transactional booking is the future of small meetings. Unlike the transient side of hospitality and because of the inherent complexities associated with group business, the meetings industry has struggled to provide buyers and suppliers with frictionless booking capability. Changes are on the horizon, but we still remain in the infancy stage of booking meetings in real-time. READ MORE

Just as hotels operate more smoothly with focused guest communication, a private residence club must also provide consistent, informative communication to its homeowners. Homeowners have a stake in the success of the property from both a resort and a real estate perspective; anticipating and addressing their concerns is crucial to productive hotel-homeowner relationships. The relationship between management and residence owners at fractional private residence clubs is a complex one-it requires special attention to issues that are new to most hoteliers. With this in mind, here are the important things to consider when communicating with residence owners: READ MORE

No matter what your job title, as a hotel executive you are always in the business of hospitality sales and marketing. The core of your success centers on the guest experience. The question is how best to convey the message that you adhere to your vision? How best to let people understand what makes you unique? How best to let people know that you fit their needs? If you say PR, I agree. But exactly what does that mean? READ MORE