Hospitality Engagements

• We represented Auberge Resorts in connection with preparation and negotiation of management agreements, technical assistance agreements, and club management agreements for management of the two newest Auberge resorts: the Calistoga Ranch, an upscale resort and fractional ownership project in the heart of the Napa Valley, whose primary owner is Olympus Real Estate Partners; and the Inn at Palmetto Bluff, a luxury resort and spa with an associated Jack Nicklaus golf course, located in the South Carolina low country and owned by Crescent Resources, the development arm of Duke Energy.  We also negotiated Auberge’s participation in the ownership entity for Calistoga Ranch.

• We represented the owner of the Chaya Brasserie restaurant in San Francisco in a dispute with its architect over construction costs and fees, ultimately achieving a successful result for our client through mediation.

• We represent restaurants, hotels, and nightclubs in obtaining licenses to serve alcoholic beverages and operating compliant businesses. We provide strategic planning with respect to tied house issues and interface with the Department of Alcoholic Beverages and Liquor Control Commissions throughout the United States.

• We have represented FelCor, a Texas REIT and operator of Holiday Inns' hotels in San Francisco, in an appeal in front of the San Francisco Handicap Access Board of Appeals, resulting in the exemption of a Hotel's parking facility from compliance with certain access requirements. We also have represented FelCor in disputes relating to its centralized operation of and advertisement for several Holiday Inn hotels, and the allocation of and accounting relating to associated costs and fees.  Through a mediation process involving accountants and industry experts, we were able to structure a resolution between the owners and operators relating to both past and future practices.

• We have represented the Inter-Continental Hotel Group (formerly Six Continents and Holiday Inns) in actions brought by both individuals and government entities relating to handicap accessibility and claims of discrimination brought in both state and federal courts. 

• We represented Inter-Continental Hotels in connection with a variety of federal and state lawsuits arising out of the termination of Inter-Continental’s management of the Inter-Continental Hotel Los Angeles.  We subsequently assisted Inter-Continental Hotels in transitioning management of the hotel to Omni Hotels.

• We have assisted the Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group in raising money over the years for various individual hotel projects, including a hotel investment opportunity fund that raised over $125 million.  Our Hospitality Group assisted in all facets of creating this fund, negotiating with investors and drafting all of the fund documents.  To date, this fund has acquired 10 hotel properties, all of which are managed by Kimpton.

• We represented the Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group in the disposition of the Vintage Court Hotel (including Masa’s restaurant), which was the first disposition in the company’s history.  Our representation involved documentation and extensive negotiation of the purchase and sale agreement and closing the transaction.

• We have represented the owners of Oliveto Restaurant, one of the top restaurants in the Bay Area, since its inception, including formation of the partnership that developed the restaurant, advising on the syndication of the equity capital, assisting in negotiation of its lease, and negotiating the admission of current chef, Paul Bertolli, into the ownership entity.

• We successfully represented Park Plaza Hotel Corp., an international hotel management company, in prosecuting and settling a multimillion dollar claim for breach and wrongful termination of the management and franchise agreements entered into in connection with a four-star property in Hawaii.

• We represented our long time client, Rafael Hotels, in the sale of its international hotel property portfolio to Mandarin Oriental Hotels for $142.5 million.  The transaction involved hotels located in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Bermuda, Canada and England.  We were able to assist Rafael Hotels in closing the sale despite the difficulties presented by the disparate geographic locations of the hotels and the fact that both the buying and selling ownership groups consisted of non-U.S. investors that were each subject to their own differing sets of corporate and tax laws.

• The firm represented Regent International Hotels for 20 years and, in the course of doing so, prepared and negotiated all of Regent’s management and joint venture transactions in the United States and abroad, including resort projects where golf and tennis club memberships were involved, notably the Kapalua Bay Hotel in Maui, the Dorado Beach and Cerromar Beach Hotels in Puerto Rico and Regent Dallas.

• We assisted the owner of four Ritz-Carlton hotels in the United States in evaluating certain claims against Ritz-Carlton arising out of its management of the hotels.

• We have represented Round Table Franchise Corporation for over fifteen years on a wide variety of litigation matters, including franchisee disputes (contract issues, termination issues, and trademark claims),   lease disputes, employment claims, contract disputes and ADA compliance claims.

• The San Ysidro Ranch is an exclusive hotel property in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains in Montecito, California.  We represented Auberge Resorts in connection with the sale of the Ranch to Ty Properties, Inc.  In connection with the sale, we negotiated a hotel management agreement, under which Auberge continues to manage the property.

• We  represented Bass PLC (now Six Continents PLC) in litigation arising out of its $2.3 billion acquisition of Holiday Inns.  Working with a variety of hospitality industry consultants, we successfully prosecuted and ultimately settled Bass’ claim that Holiday Inns misrepresented the condition of its hotels throughout the Untied States.

• The firm represents Swig Investment Company, the founder of Fairmont Hotels. We represented the company in the sale of the operating company and in the sale of the Chicago Fairmont Hotel in a Section 1031 transaction.

• We represented the ownership group in connection with the development of Tamarack Resort in Idaho, a ski and golf resort covering more than 3,000 acres, which includes the development of a new town, extensive ski, golf and other recreational facilities and a variety of residential products.  Our work has involved ownership structuring, capital raising efforts, negotiation of a ground lease with the State of Idaho, entitlements, executive compensation, negotiation and structuring of strategic joint ventures, financing and numerous other development efforts.

• In the mid-1990s, we successfully thwarted an attempt by the owner of the Sliverado Resort in Napa to terminate Amfac Resorts’ (now Xanterra Resorts) long-term management agreement.  Since that time, we have consulted with Amfac on an ongoing basis regarding its operation of the resort and have represented Amfac in connection with a number of other disputes.