Zeidel & Associates Represents Hospitality Client in Luxury Resort Expansion

Situation

Zeidel & Associates represents an innovative and successful hospitality company, with a global portfolio of restaurants, private clubs, and hotels.

At a high-end luxury resort where the client already operated a successful restaurant, the client had the opportunity to expand its presence by introducing a second restaurant concept at a prime location within the resort which had recently become available. The client initially anticipated that the new restaurant arrangement could mirror the existing one and that the governing agreement could be modeled after the current restaurant management agreement.

However, we noted that the business structure for the new restaurant differed significantly. Rather than operating the restaurant itself, the client would license its brand to the resort, which would operate the venue under the client’s guidance. This arrangement required a licensing and consulting agreement, rather than a restaurant management agreement, to reflect the resort’s operational control and the client’s consulting and branding role.

Additionally, the client already operated a restaurant with the branded concept contemplated for this new location at another resort nearby, owned by the same owner as the first resort.   This agreement also served as an important precedent and point of reference, as the client wished to incorporate certain key business terms from this agreement into the new agreement. However, as this agreement was also a management agreement and not a license agreement, those terms needed to be analyzed and adapted appropriately.  

Approach

Using both existing restaurant management agreements, Zeidel & Associates carefully and strategically restructured the new agreement to align with the updated business terms while preserving the protections and commercial expectations familiar to the client.

We conducted a detailed review of both agreements and revised key provisions to shift operational responsibilities from the client to the resort, clearly delineating the client’s role as brand licensor and consultant. Modifications included provisions governing brand standards, oversight and advisory responsibilities, trademark licensing, and consulting fee structures. All changes were designed to preserve the client’s brand integrity and reputation while aligning the legal framework with the resort’s operational role.

Result

The transformed agreement accurately reflected the licensing and consulting relationship envisioned by the parties and was finalized in a timely and efficient manner. The client was highly satisfied with the outcome, which allowed it to expand its brand footprint at the resort without taking on the obligations of day-to-day restaurant operations.

Zeidel & Associates’ ability to adapt complex contractual frameworks to evolving business models enabled the client to seize a strategic growth opportunity while maintaining control over its brand experience and standards.