Goldberg Kohn's attorneys have a wide range of experience in the hospitality industry, representing a variety of participants, including: lenders providing financing to hotel owners and hotel investment groups, owners and investors in hotels and restaurants, and vendors servicing the industry. Our litigation and transactional attorneys form a cohesive team of business advisers who adeptly handle the legal and business needs of our hospitality clients. Because of the variety and depth of our experience, we have developed a keen sense for the customs and practices of the industry, for the legal issues that are involved with it, and for the range of solutions that are available to address those issues.
For example, our Real Estate attorneys have an extensive hotel lending practice representing companies that provide financing, particularly to borrowers operating licensed hotel brands. Our Labor & Employment attorneys often collaborate with our Real Estate attorneys to anticipate and address issues that might prevent a transaction from closing. For example, our Labor & Employment attorneys have advised hotel lenders regarding the financial implications of unionization, and have been able to offer advice on how to structure transactions to account for such a contingency. As a result, we have been able to save clients' transactions from falling apart due to a union entering the picture at the eleventh hour.
Moreover, our Real Estate attorneys have the background and experience to respond to the political, natural resource, financial and legal issues surrounding climate change. We have been following private and public sector responses to the concerns regarding climate change, and are knowledgeable about the ecological and resource issues that are paramount when considering responses to climate change. As these issues start having a greater impact on the hospitality industry and the evolution of the "green" hotel, our firm is well-positioned to address our clients' needs.
The portfolio of hotel projects on which we have worked is broad, covering all sectors of the hotel industry and numerous geographical areas in the United States. A partial list includes:
- Hilton Hotel, Hartford, Connecticut
- Marriott Downtown, Hartford, Connecticut
- Embassy Suites, Flagstaff, Arizona
- Chicago Marriott Downtown at Medical District/UIC, Chicago, Ilinois
- Doubletree Guest Suites, Dayton, Ohio
- The Omni Hotel, Evanston, Illinois
- Doubletree Guest Suites, Columbus, Ohio
- Embassy Suites (LAX), Los Angeles, California
- Country Inn & Suites, Tinley Park, Illinois
- Marriott Residence Inn, Washington, D.C.
- Doubletree Club Hotel, Palatine, Illinois
- Radisson Hotel, Covington, Kentucky
- Hilton Gardens, Boca Raton, Florida
- Embassy Suites (DIA), Denver, Colorado
- Comfort Inn, Sharonville, Ohio
- Holiday Inn, Dundee, Michigan
- Candlewood Suites, Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Holiday Inn Select, Appleton, Wisconsin
Our Labor & Employment attorneys also enjoy a nationwide practice focused on employment litigation, representing employers who face "traditional" labor law issues, and counseling companies regarding best practices for creating sensible, enforceable employment policies that can be implemented by line managers and understood by employees. In the hospitality industry, our Labor & Employment attorneys have represented clients in: the creation of a variety of employment policies; counseling involving the investigation of sexual harassment complaints, the WARN Act, lender liability, union organizing, union-peace agreements embedded in tax increment financing (TIF) ordinances, the defense of employment discrimination and sexual harassment litigation; the defense of administrative investigations involving wage and hour and tip disputes; and, the resolution of disputes involving sales commissions arising out of the sale of condominiums.
Our Labor & Employment attorneys have written a number of articles on relevant employment topics, including recent articles published in AHLA's Lodging Law and in The Rooms Chronicle. Moreover, due to our industry knowledge, we were the exclusive law firm asked to participate in The Hotel of Tomorrow (H.O.T.) Project, a think-tank initiative created by Gettys (an award-winning interior design, design architecture and fulfillment firm) and Hospitality Design magazine that seeks to conceptualize the future of the hospitality industry.
Our Corporate attorneys add another layer of expertise to our practice. We are often called upon to offer advice on the proper structuring of a restaurant venture or to handle a variety of general contract needs faced by participants in the hospitality industry. We have represented owners in acquisitions of other restaurants and have also handled debt and equity financing for different ventures in the hospitality sector. Our experience in this area is very broad, so we can swiftly address any of our clients' needs.
If you have further questions about Goldberg Kohn's Hospitality Industry Group, please contact Jim Rosenbloom at james.rosenbloom@goldbergkohn.com or at 312.201.3925.