Top 25 Hotel Lawyer Postings on Jim Butler's www.HotelLawBlog.com | By Jim Butler

I was able to select 25 such stories from every topic area categorized on the Blog. While it was a struggle to decide where the cutoff was for each topic, anyone who wants more on a particular subject can go to www.HotelLawBlog.com and search for all articles on the topic. To do that, just scroll down the right hand side and below the (free) subscription and RSS Feed buttons, is the Browser that enables you to sort by topic, date, key words, and so on.

GREEN HOTEL DEVELOPMENT
1. Developing GREEN hotels. Don't wait for the GREEN. It is here.
2. So you're thinking about building a green hotel? Can you afford not to do that today?
3. Green hotel development is profitable now! Inspirations from the pioneers make it dangerous NOT to be "green."


THE ENTIRE HOTEL INDUSTRY IS ON THE AUCTION BLOCK

4. Paris Hilton gets out of jail and Blackstone buys Hilton for $26 billion. Everyone else is on the auction block.
5. Hotel Financing -- The $100 billion deal.
6. Size no longer matters . . . at least in the hotel industry.
7. Two deals that may change the lodging world forever.


HOTEL VALUES AND CAP RATES
8. Where are we in the hotel cycle?
9. What's happening to hotel cap rates and values? What are the largest hotel sales? Who are the biggest hotel buyers?


HOTEL FINANCING
10. Magic carpet for Hotel Financing to buy hotels, develop hotels and reposition hotels.
11. Eco-friendly lifestyle hotel mixed use project closes financing


OUTLOOK AND TRENDS
12. "Sunny skies" for the hotel industry.
13. Latest U.S. Hospitality Trends
14. Top 10 Investment Trends and Challenges.


AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)
15. How hotel swimming pools may spawn ADA lawsuits and what to do about it.


HOTEL DEVELOPMENT
16. A billion here, a billion there. Isn't it time we developed some hotels again?
17. "Hotel Mixed-Use" . . . pass key to unlocking new development and bigger profits?
18. The Hotel Developers Conference™.


HOTEL MIXED-USE & LIFESTYLE
19. "LIFESTYLE" hotels: Are Valencia and Miraval the new paradigms for "lifestyle" hotel mixed-use?
20. Get on your feet! Lifestyle and mixed-use resorts getting a boost from Latin pop stars Gloria and Emilio Estefan with a new development in Vero Beach, Florida.
21. The Ian Schrager and Bill Marriott "marriage" -- Will it lead to eternal bliss or end in divorce?
22. "LIFESTYLE" hotel brands are changing the hotel industry and hotel mixed-use.


MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS
23. Helping Owners Strike a Fair Deal: 5 Milestones Marking The Road To Success For Hotel Management Agreements.


INTERNATIONAL HOTEL INVESTMENT
24. The plays to make successful international hotel investments.


LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
25. California Supreme Court makes it a dark day for employers. Murphy v. Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. (decided April 16, 2007).

Most of the Top 25 Picks are stories I enjoyed writing as well, or stories that I thought had importance to the industry. I have written articles and columns for industry publications for many, many years, and I can say that one of the pleasures of publishing a blog is having total editorial control. But still, I do like to hear from you. If there is a hot story or intriguing trend you'd like me to comment on, please send me a message. It would a pleasure to mix it up!

This is Jim Butler, author of www.HotelLawBlog.com and hotel lawyer, signing off. We've done more than $40 billion of hotel transactions and more than 100 hotel mixed-used deals in the last 5 years alone. Who's your hotel lawyer? Jim

Our Perspective. We represent developers, owners and lenders. We have helped our clients as business and legal advisors on more than $40 billion of hotel transactions, involving more than 1,000 properties all over the world. For more information, please contact Jim Butler at jbutler@jmbm.com or 310.201.3526.

Jim Butler is one of the top hotel lawyers in the world. GOOGLE "hotel lawyer" or "hotel mixed-use" or "condo hotel lawyer" and you will see why.

Jim devotes 100% of his practice to hospitality, representing hotel owners, developers and lenders. Jim leads JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of 50 seasoned professionals with more than $40 billion of hotel transactional experience, involving more than 1,000 properties located around the globe. In the last 5 years alone, Jim and his team have assisted clients with more than 100 hotel mixed-use projects, all of which have involved at least some residential, and many have also involved significant spa, restaurant, retail, office, sports, and entertainment components -- frequently integrated with energizing lifestyle elements.

Jim and his team are more than "just" great hotel lawyers. They are also hospitality consultants and business advisors. They are deal makers. They can help find the right operator or capital provider. They know who to call and how to reach them. They are a major gateway of hotel finance, facilitating the flow of capital with their legal skill, hospitality industry knowledge and ability to find the right "fit" for all parts of the capital stack. Because they are part of the very fabric of the hotel industry, they are able to help clients identify key business goals, assemble the right team, strategize the approach to optimize value and then get the deal done.

Jim is frequently quoted as an expert on hotel issues by national and industry publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, BusinessWeek, and Hotel Business. A frequent author and speaker, Jim's books, articles and many expert panel presentations cover topics reflecting his practice, including hotel and hotel-mixed-use investment and development, negotiating, re-negotiating or terminating hotel management agreements, acquisition and sale of hospitality properties, hotel finance, complex joint venture and entity structure matters, workouts, as well as many operating and strategic issues.

Jim Butler is a Founding Partner of Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro LLP and he is Chairman of the firm's Global Hospitality Group®. If you would like to discuss any hospitality or condo hotel matters, Jim would like to hear from you. Contact him at jbutler@jmbm.com or 310.201.3526. For his views on current industry issues, visit www.HotelLawBlog.com.