Soloway Discusses the State of Hospitality & Looks Ahead with Law360
Executive Committee Member and Hotel + Hospitality Group chair Todd Soloway discussed the state of the hospitality industry with Law360 in a recent article titled, "Hospitality Trends And Cases To Watch In 2021." The economic impact of COVID-19 continues to send reverberations throughout the hotel and hospitality industry. According to Law360:
Todd E. Soloway, a co-chair of Pryor Cashman LLP's litigation group and head of the hotel and hospitality group, said manager-owner disputes will continue into the new year as parties tussle over working capital, labor issues, and reopening plans.
"When properties reopen, they're going to lose money, and they're going to want to manage that, and the managers will be working with their owners to figure that out," Soloway said. "You may not want to be the first person to reopen, but if you don't reopen at the right time, you could be in a situation where you're behind the curve depending when your business ramps up. It's a balancing act of when to reopen and costs associated with operating during that limbo period."
However, the introduction of the vaccine and continuing industry developments may prove that redemption is on the horizon. According to Law360:
[In] November, Pryor Cashman represented SBE Entertainment Group in AccorHotels' $300 million cash purchase of the hospitality company's remaining 50% interest, completing the Paris-based hotel giant's takeover that began with its 2018 purchase of a 50% stake in SBE's luxury hotel brands.
"During the pandemic, there has always been uncertainty, and there's no doubt there was uncertainty here, but it was just really 'all hands on deck' for everybody involved," Soloway said. "There was a lot to get the deal finished, with all the moving parts of acquiring brands, making real estate deed transfers, and adjusting finance issues. It's a credit to everybody that Accor and SBE were able to get this done."
Soloway added that the Accord deal with SBE shows that people in the hospitality industry are looking ahead, past the pandemic.
"Yes, we're stuck in COVID, but we're going to come back to life at some time in the future, and when we do, people have to be prepared to go forward and do business," Soloway said. "That's what this deal represents. In these trying times, it was really a credit to all the parties that they were able to pull this transaction off."
Access the full article via the link below.
