Hospitality

GrayRobinson’s hospitality lawyers are recognized internationally for advising developers, owners and operators of hotel, resort and club properties, as well as governments and financial institutions on their involvement within the hospitality industry. The firm's hospitality lawyers have a long-standing history of providing legal services to its hospitality industry clients on cutting-edge legal, development, finance, permitting, management and operational issues. The foregoing requires a broad array of experience from a number of legal disciplines such as residential, resort and club, corporate, real estate, zoning and land use, construction, environmental, banking and finance, alcohol beverage, restaurant, labor and employment, and government relations and lobbying to name a few. In this context, the firm’s attorneys work together as a multidisciplinary team to anticipate legal issues and provide strategic advice in advance of and during development structuring, agreement drafting, negotiation and implementation. 

Our hospitality lawyers' experience is varied and vast as we provide experienced counsel on a wide range of projects, across the United States and overseas, including:

  • Hotels and resorts
  • Convention center hotels
  • Condominium hotels
  • Planned community developments
  • Timeshare and fractional projects
  • Vacation clubs and points systems
  • Mixed-use projects

In connection with these projects, our hospitality industry clients have looked to the firm to provide a wide range of legal services, including project development from initial land acquisition, land use permitting, financing and construction, management and licensing, as well as operations representation. Our hospitality lawyers' experience also includes structuring acquisitions and dispositions of both single asset and portfolio transactions; developing financing mechanisms, negotiating new and restructuring old management and operational agreements for international hotel and boutique brands; and engaging in venture, fund, and REIT formation for lodging assets. The firm continues to provide innovative solutions to the challenges faced in an ever changing and growing global industry and we use our experience representing both developers and operators to understand the dynamics of complex hospitality matters.

Our residential, resort and club practice group provides additional focused experience for clients within this industry.

  • Representative Experience
    • Representing international hotel brand in hotel management agreements in complex mixed-use hotel, condominium and residential project (Miami, Florida)
    • Representing top tier international hotel brand in hotel and residential project, including all licensing, development and management agreements, rental program and customer agreements (The Maldives)
    • Representing international luxury hotel brand in restructuring residential project to mixed-use, office, retail and residential project, including all licensing, development, association documents and customer agreements (Malaysia)
    • Representing developer of condo hotel, including land acquisition, permitting, condo documents, financing, construction, unit closings and association matters (South Florida)
    • Representing owner of historical boutique hotel on South Beach, including acquisition and integration with the neighboring hotel (South Florida)
    • Representing one of the most historically and architecturally significant hotels on Miami Beach on permitting and operational matters (South Florida)
    • Representing an international hotel owner, a subsidiary of a London-based multi-national conglomerate, in a $125M refinancing of beachfront luxury hotel on Miami Beach (South Florida)
    • Representing an international hotel owner, a subsidiary of a London-based multi-national conglomerate, in the development of a 341-room beachfront hotel property in Surfside (South Florida)
    • Representing international luxury hotel brands in structuring and documenting branded residential component of mixed-use resort projects, including licensing and management agreements, consumer agreements, association governance documents and rental program documents (Bali, Indonesia, Bangkok, Thailand and multiple other locations throughout the region)
    • Representing international luxury hotel brand in structuring and documenting hotel and branded residential components of mixed-use project, including licensing, marketing and management agreements, rental program and consumer agreements and association documents (Miami, Florida)
    • Representing resort owner in restructuring and documenting mixed-use resort, including golf and yacht clubs, cost sharing and reciprocal easement agreements (The Bahamas)
    • Representing top tier luxury hotel brand in structuring and documenting branded residential component, including utilities infrastructure documentation, licensing, marketing and management agreements and rental program agreements (Puerto Rico)
    • Representing hotel brand in connection with new hotel and condominium hotel project, including land use issues, licensing, marketing and management agreements (Pinellas County, Florida)
    • Representing hotel owner of iconic property in connection with amenities, membership and loyalties programming (South Florida)
    • Representing timeshare resort owner in termination of timeshare plan and repositioning of resort to whole unit condominiums (South Florida)
    • Representing trade association in the private club industry on document production and membership issues (Nationwide)
    • Representing high-end private equity club in negotiated buy-out of developer’s interest to allow members to control and operate club (Treasure Coast, Florida)
    • Representing private yacht and country club in amending and restating all membership governance documentation to meet current market conditions (South Florida)
    • Representing an NBA team in the development of 6,000 square feet for an exclusive luxury nightclub/lounge venue within a world-class arena (South Florida)
    • Representing resort owner in restructuring and re-documenting master planned resort community with branded residential, unbranded residential, branded hotel, condo hotel, golf club and yacht club components, including all master governing documents, all club documents, reciprocal easement and cost sharing arrangements as well as related acquisition, management and consulting arrangements (The Bahamas)
    • Representing resort owner in structuring and documenting condo hotel project, including all governing documents and cost sharing arrangements as well as all related rental program agreements and operating arrangements (The Bahamas)
    • Representing developer of large mixed-use project in connection with membership program and community governance documents (Dominican Republic)
    • Representing hotel operator in structuring and documenting exclusive branded luxury villa residential community involving the creation of governance structure, community association documentation, all customer contracts and rental program as well as community licensing and management agreements
    • Representing hotel operator in structuring and documenting large scale mixed-use project involving the creation of multi-layered, long-term leasehold structure for branded "condominium" units, association documentation, all customer agreements as well as community licensing and management agreements
    • Representing hotel brand licensor in structuring and documents branded residential involving creative solutions to local law management, branding and customer contract limitations to enable client to utilize preferred business model to brand and operate the project, and production of association documentation, customer agreements and licensing and management agreements
    • Representing one of America's premier real estate development and property management companies on various hotel financing matters
    • Representing an international real estate investment and development company on acquisitions
    • Representing various lenders on loans to hotels owners
    • Representing multiple global boutique hotel brands in drafting and negotiating Hotel Management Agreements on behalf of the hotel owners