Hospitality + Leisure

The world’s leading hospitality and leisure companies face an evolving market and increased competition which demand exceptional guidance and legal counsel. Goodwin is dedicated to providing best-in-class service to the hospitality and leisure industry, advising both hotel operators, including a number of the major luxury brands and hotel owners and investors on a wide range of matters. We have worked with many of the hospitality industry’s marquee names on some of the largest and most complex deals over the past decade. Our lawyers across the globe have handled hospitality transactions and related legal issues in more than 50 countries, including asset and portfolio acquisitions and dispositions, hospitality company corporate IPOs and M&A transactions, complex structuring relating to REITs and investments by tax-exempt entities, formation of investment funds targeting hotels, financings of all types, development and operational joint ventures project development, including acquisitions, joint ventures, financings, design and construction, hotel management and franchise agreements, retail leasing, food and beverage operations agreements and employment, including union matters. We understand how to navigate cross-border and multi-jurisdictional transactions and how to overcome the challenges presented by diverse legal systems, cultures, conventions, and languages.

We have deep expertise in a wide range of hospitality and leisure assets, including:

High-rise urban hotels
Convention and conference centers
Luxury destination resorts
Golf courses and tennis clubs
Marinas
Condominium hotels
Branded and serviced and mixed-use residential developments

The operating business of hotels present an array of issues that implicate a variety of legal disciplines, including labor and employment, data privacy, intellectual property, tax, and litigation and dispute resolution. We draw on our collective expertise and resources to help clients navigate these challenges.

The Legal 500 UK

Recognized in Hotels & Leisure.

Chambers USA

Ranked leading firm by Chambers USA

Publications

Hospitality + Leisure Trend Watch

An Unwelcome Guest in the Real Estate and Hospitality Industry: CFIUS, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States

Subscribe to Goodwin Updates:

Blog

in Goodwin Gaming

Parting with PASPA: U.S. Supreme Court Paves the Way for Regulated Sports Gambling

Blog

in Goodwin Gaming

Parting with PASPA: U.S. Supreme Court Paves the Way for Regulated Sports Gambling

Hospitality + Leisure Trend Watch

Competition Rules of the Road for Hospitality Companies

Hospitality + Leisure Trend Watch

How to Effectively Negotiate a Hotel Franchise License Agreement

All Publications

News

04 May

BYLINE: Three Questions to Ask When Shopping for Insurance (Lodging Magazine)

03 May

Chambers USA 2018 Recognizes 108 Goodwin Lawyers

13 Nov

BYLINE: Mergers and Acquisitions in Hospitality Expected to Accelerate (Hotel Management)

14 Sep

BYLINE: Data Protection, Privacy and the Hospitality and Leisure Industry: Preparing for the EU GDPR (Privacy and Cybersecurity Law Report)

All News

Contacts

Christopher B. Barker

Partner

Email +1 617 570 1462 Boston

Teresa K. Goebel

Partner

Email +1 415 733 6052 San Francisco

Matthew Pohlman

Partner

Email +44 (0)20 7447 4866 London

Gretchen Scott

Partner

Email +44 (0)20 7447 4292 London

Benjamin C. Tschann

Partner

Email +1 415 733 6051 San Francisco

Meet the Team

Few firms offer the breadth of practice that we bring to private fund managers and investors. We understand the issues specific to different types of funds and offer advice that comes from a wealth of experience across industries and global markets. Our lawyers work in all the key industries, including, real estate, venture capital, private equity, infrastructure, natural resources and hedge funds, raising funds worldwide that range from less than $50 million to over $12 billion. The depth and breadth of our experience allows us to provide our clients with the most current market terms for their industry as well as access to cutting-edge developments across industries.

We handle every stage in the life cycle, and we provide fund managers with the sophisticated level of counsel required for forming, advising and operating private investment funds. Within fund formation, we take a creative approach, starting with not only the specific objectives of a particular fund but also an assessment of how the fund fits within the client’s broader business goals. We then help fund managers determine the best structure and terms to achieve those goals.

Real estate investment managers, ranging from first time fund sponsors to established industry leaders, as well as public REITs, insurance companies and investment banks, depend on Goodwin for the best structure and terms when raising and deploying capital. Our international Real Estate Investment Funds Practice has a reputation as a market leader in advising funds and their sponsors and managers in fund structuring and formation in all key real estate industry verticals. Our work involves U.S., European, Canadian, Latin American and global funds ranging in size from less than $25 million to more than $4 billion. Our lawyers also work with financial institutions, private equity and hedge fund managers expanding their investment funds to include real estate as an investment focus.

When businesses need counsel at the intersection of real estate and the public markets, they turn to Goodwin, a proven leader and innovator. From the dawn of the REIT market in the 1960s through the modern REIT era that began in the early 1990s, our lawyers are the industry vanguard – helping to draft the Real Estate Investment Trust Act of 1960, pioneering the creation of the first public UPREIT structure, and successfully representing issuers in the largest and most complex REIT IPOs to date. Goodwin has been consistently recognized as a leader serving the public REIT market, including in connection with alternative uses of the REIT vehicle, REIT conversions and innovative compensation structures like the modern LTIP partnership unit. As REITs have matured into a mainstream investment with expanded reach around the globe, the industry’s top players continue to rely on our expertise and dedication. And as REITs seek to take advantage of regulatory reforms that broaden their access to capital, such as new exemptions from registration or innovative equity securities, our lawyers are always first on the scene.

Institutional investors, owners and developers in joint venture transactions face a raft of complex issues and market challenges as they invest in real estate across the United States and Europe. Clients count on Goodwin’s comprehensive understanding of the unique relationships and matters that arise during the life cycle of joint ventures, from formation concerns to exit rights. From single-asset developments to stabilized portfolios, clients leverage our multidisciplinary approach to joint venture transactions, integrating expertise from our tax, ERISA, corporate, securities, regulatory, construction and litigation teams. We regularly advise clients on joint ventures that are REIT compliant and/or UBTI sensitive (including “fractions rule”) compliance, as well as a variety of governance and economic structures, including complex promote waterfalls, clawbacks and multi-tiered transactions. Additionally, our European team is experienced in navigating the AIFMD and merger control considerations that can impact EU joint ventures.

Whether the strategy is to cut losses and move on, work through, step back or place bets on the future, Goodwin's real estate finance lawyers are active market participants, creatively guiding clients through the challenges of the various credit markets. We understand the complexities involved in both existing and proposed capital structures and the varying motivations of stakeholders. Our broad and deep experience allows us to counsel clients effectively as they address a variety of financing needs and opportunities in an ever-evolving, and sometimes volatile, market.

Tax issues often arise when structuring real estate funds, joint ventures, REITs and transactions, particularly when doing so across borders. Our real estate clients turn to Goodwin’s tax experts to help them overcome the hurdles that these issues present. Our tax expertise is at the core of the firm’s real estate transactional practices with dedicated real estate tax experts who are recognized and differentiated by their global industry knowledge, creativity, clarity, and integration with client planning. Working seamlessly with other members of our transaction teams and knowing and understanding a client’s business, allows them to appropriately balance tax considerations and business objectives to achieve the best possible results.

Rising interest rates? Falling tenant demand? “High-yield” or “value-added”? Across the global real estate capital markets, how you position yourself with respect to risk and return is critical for maximizing your investments. Whether assessing demographic trends and capital flows or anticipating geographic shifts, Goodwin’s Real Estate Industry Group offers deep market insight and a practical approach to help you make the most of every investment decision – from private fund formation and all types of real estate transactions to REIT and real estate M&A, we excel at what we do.

Many of the world’s leading investors turn to Goodwin’s global team of lawyers to serve as transactional counsel on all aspects of U.S. and European commercial real estate investment. Our real estate lawyers structure complex direct and indirect purchases and sales of interests in real estate. On these transactions, Goodwin’s team works alongside investment managers and advisors, fund sponsors and real estate operating companies, as well as a wide range of cross-border investors, including open-ended funds, sovereign wealth funds, national pension funds, banks and ultra-high net worth managers on investment and development opportunities around the world, who are looking to acquire or sell assets or interests in real estate. Our experience encompasses transactions involving a diverse range of property types, including retail properties, offices, medical office and hospital facilities, hotel and leisure properties, industrial properties, and mixed-use assets.

Real estate development requires technical expertise and dedication. Building a successful project starts with good working partnerships and Goodwin is committed to guiding our clients from concept to completion of every project. We counsel developers, investors, corporate owners and managers, nonprofit institutions and investors in large-scale projects of all kinds.

Complex issues exist in every design and construction project, and development project participants rely on Goodwin’s Design +Construction lawyers to help mitigate risk and ensure successful project execution. Experienced, practical advice and representation is provided to owners, developers, investors, lenders and contractors in connection with the design and construction of real estate projects. Our interdisciplinary practice involves lawyers with real estate and litigation expertise who concentrate in this specialized area, along with development, tax, private equity and finance lawyers whose expertise is valuable on complex development projects. The deep and broad experience of our Design & Construction lawyers allow them to efficiently identify issues of concern, provide pragmatic and informed advice, better communicate with development project participants of all types, and effectively represent clients in all aspects of this complex area with a primary focus on advancing the clients’ interests.

Landlords and tenants engage Goodwin’s Leasing practice for comprehensive legal counsel in office, industrial, retail and mixed-use leasing matters. Clients can face a full range of issues in lease transactions, including tax, ADA and environmental issues, as well as the negotiation of architect and construction contracts and subcontracts. Goodwin’s Leasing practice is broad-based in scope, with specialists who have devoted their careers to representing clients in leasing and related transactions efficiently and cost-effectively. Clients count on Goodwin’s insight into how leasing transactions fit in the broader context of real estate investment and corporate operations.

Real estate disputes cause considerable disruption and distraction. Our lawyers work hard to help you avoid them altogether. Goodwin’s team has unparalleled expertise in both keeping clients out of disputes and resolving disputes involving real property interests. Our litigators work closely with members of our core real estate transaction teams spanning numerous industries, including hospitality and leisure, development and permitting, environmental, design and construction, leasing, and REITs to serve our clients’ needs in a seamless manner.

Private Investment Funds

Investment Funds

REITs and Real Estate M+A

Joint Ventures

Finance + Restructurings

Real Estate Tax

Real Estate Industry

Acquisitions + Dispositions

Development + Permitting

Design + Construction

Leasing

Dispute Resolution