Zeidel & Associates is deeply rooted in the hospitality industry. Our firm’s founder, Robin Zeidel, is a former Assistant General Counsel of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. — a role that required her to participate in hotel development, asset management, and operations. As such, our team has an acute understanding of the uniquely complex nature of these properties. Backed by decades of experience, our attorneys understand the differing roles and relationships between the parties – owners and developers, brands and managers, franchisees and franchisors, service providers and guests – which allows us to help our clients make sound business decisions.

At Zeidel & Associates, our services encompass every stage in the lifecycle of a hotel asset, which is how we earned a reputation as a leading hospitality law firm in New York and throughout the country. Our years of experience handling sophisticated real estate and commercial legal work informs how we handle the multi-layered, interdependent transactions associated with hospitality assets, as operating businesses located within real estate.

We represent stakeholders involved with projects of all sizes, from individual, family-owned properties in local markets to multinational brands. We are also the hospitality law firm of choice for companies with new, emerging concepts that require the benefit of our vast experience in this sector, such as short-term stay operators with apartment-style units located within larger multifamily buildings. Our experience with transactional work related to hospitality, real estate, and commercial businesses of all kinds provides both burgeoning brands and operators, along with traditional industry players, with the comfort of experienced oversight.

Our Services

Our attorneys handle a wide range of transactional matters for the hospitality sector. Unlike other law firms that handle select parts of an asset’s lifecycle, Zeidel & Associates has deep experience with all of these:

• Acquisition and Disposition of Hotel Assets
• Hotel Management, Branding, and Franchise Agreements
• Food and Beverage, Retail, and Hotel Amenities
• Design and Construction
• Vendor Contracts

Acquisition and Disposition of Hotel Assets

We are especially skilled at managing the myriad of moving pieces associated with buying and selling hotels. We represent clients throughout the entire purchase and/or sales process, from the broker agreement and bidding phases to the letter of intent, purchase and sale agreement, and ultimately to closing.

Hotel Management, Branding, and Franchise Agreements

Whether a hotel is being developed from the ground up or rebranded, the optimal brand and operating structure are key to its success. Zeidel & Associates attorneys are known for their skill at handling management and franchise agreement negotiations on all sides, on behalf of owners, managers, and brands. Our 360-degree perspective uniquely positions us to provide clients with invaluable insight into the state of play within the industry and on major legal and business issues.

Food and Beverage, Retail, and Hotel Amenities

Our experience also extends to working with owners, managers, brands, and vendors – both sides of the transaction – with respect to food and beverage services and other hotel amenities. We assist hotels and service providers with contracts for on-site restaurants, banquet and catering services, rooftop bars, in-room dining, pool and beach services, spas, fitness centers, retailers, and other third-party-operated amenities. We have long-standing experience in food and beverage contracts of all kinds, whether structured as leases, management agreements, license agreements, or otherwise. For our hotel management and brand clients, we address guest satisfaction, brand-related quality matters, and overall coordination issues in these agreements. Some of the many ways we add value to our hotel clients are by anticipating the needs and concerns of each party to these transactions, including third parties with consent rights over these agreements, and by coordinating with liquor and labor counsel as necessary, so that we may quickly overcome obstacles and swiftly close deals.

Design and Construction

We represent hotel clients in their construction projects by drafting and negotiating design, development, and construction contracts of all kinds. Our team understands the complexities of these projects and the necessary language to include in the agreements to protect the many hotel stakeholders. We are adept at dealing with new hotel construction, property renovations, property improvement plans (PIPs), and new branding initiatives, as well as day-to-day asset management concerns such as engineering upgrades, emergency services, and preventive maintenance. Our goal is to ensure that an owner’s contractual rights mitigate potential risks, liabilities, delays, and costs.

Vendor Contracts

Hotels are enormously complex businesses to operate. The attorneys at Zeidel & Associates have successfully supported these projects for decades, overseeing the contracting of key services like room service, housekeeping, concierge services, valet, restaurants, laundry, information technology, and others.  While some of these contracts may appear simple and not merit legal review, they should not be overlooked, as there are often problematic issues contained in these contracts that hotel operations or pre-opening personnel may not be trained to identify. Working with our clients in the early stages of purchasing, developing, or re-developing their properties enables us to integrate these ancillary pieces of the operation on the front end, avoiding unwanted complications later on, and when that is not an option, stepping in at any stage enables us to mitigate future challenges and ensure that contract language includes protections for hotel owners and operators.