Our intimate knowledge of the hospitality industry, combined with our deep experience in both transactions and litigation, gives Pryor Cashman clients a clear advantage in a highly competitive and dynamic marketplace.

As a result, owners, operators, managers, brands, developers, and financiers turn to our Hotel + Hospitality attorneys for their wealth of knowledge. From independent boutique hotels to destination resorts, and from ground-up development to branding and promotions – we have you covered.

Pryor Cashman’s Hotel + Hospitality practice provides meticulous, responsive, personal attention with the added strength and support of a full-service firm. With a wealth of industry experience, we are savvy business advisors and dealmakers who help clients define key business goals, develop strategies to optimize value, and assemble a team to get deals done. Representing owners, operators, private equity shops, lenders, and family offices in the U.S. and abroad, our seasoned hospitality attorneys are on the cutting edge of both industry trends and its most hotly contested issues.

What We Do

Our Hotel + Hospitality team advises on all aspects of business operations, including hotel management agreements (HMA), acquisition and development, labor + employment, trademarks, and branding. We help owners, operators, developers, managers, lenders, and investors in the hospitality industry deal with the full range of issues affecting their diverse properties including hotels and resorts; branded residences and timeshares; nightclubs and restaurants; gaming operations and recreational facilities; and golf courses and private clubs. We also represent and help launch public and private companies, joint ventures, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and other entities in this sector.

Many of the hospitality industry’s most respected, influential enterprises are on our client roster, including:

  • sbe Entertainment
  • Highgate Hotels
  • Virgin Hotels
  • Standard Hotels
  • Tishman Hotels
  • Vornado Realty Trust
  • Loews Hotels
  • Dune Real Estate Partners
  • H.I.G. Realty Partners
  • Eden Roc LLLP
  • The Setai Group
  • RFR Hotels
  • The Moinian Group
  • Cerberus Capital Management
  • Corigin Real Estate Partners
  • Sapir Organization
  • Petra Capital Management
  • Key International
  • Deka Immobilien
  • Ashkenazy Acquisition

Our lawyers draft and negotiate all of the cornerstone contracts in the industry including documents relating to:

  • Sales, acquisitions, and leasing
  • Development, construction, and financing
  • Hotel and hospitality management
  • Partnerships and joint ventures
  • Technology-related services
  • Intellectual property rights

We also offer sophisticated, industry-specific counsel regarding:

  • Wage and hour matters
  • Discrimination and harassment policies and disputes
  • Digital marketing and social media compliance
  • Customer data privacy and security
  • Franchise agreements governing operations under a licensed brand
  • Registering and protecting trademarks and copyrights
  • Licensing agreements related to properties and merchandise
  • State, local, and federal taxes, including special taxes on hotel and hospitality services

Litigation: When Things Turn Inhospitable

Our dedicated, award-winning trial attorneys possess a nuanced understanding of the hospitality industry and unusually deep experience in real estate litigation. We are consistently at the forefront of the industry handling high-stakes cases through trials, appeals, arbitrations, and mediations across the U.S. and internationally. Representing both owners and operators, our lawyers have handled:

  • Acquisition and ownership disputes
  • Construction, development, and financing litigation
  • Employment issues
  • Gaming matters
  • Hospitality management and operations disputes (hotel management, owner/operator, etc.)
  • Intellectual property disputes related to trademarks, copyrights, and licensing
  • Workouts, restructuring, foreclosure, and bankruptcy

We are particularly known for game-changing litigation involving the enforcement and termination of hotel management contracts. Our lawyers scored a landmark victory for the owner of Miami’s historic Eden Roc hotel, which allowed it to terminate its contract with Marriott International. In another action against Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, our hospitality litigation team won a $53 million award for damages related to development delays and hotel management performance for our client, the owner of the former St. Regis Hotel in Fort Lauderdale.

We also support clients in intellectual property litigation, shoring up the global trademark ownership rights in both domestic and international litigation, and in contract disputes.