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Travel, Leisure & Hospitality

Contacts

Josh Romanow
Partner, Washington, DC
T: +1.202.663.9264
Christian A. Salaman
Partner, San Diego
T: +1.858.509.4046
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Regularly recognized for excellence by rating organizations, Pillsbury’s Travel, Leisure and Hospitality lawyers provide strategic business, legal, and regulatory counsel to many industry players.

Pillsbury’s multidisciplinary Travel, Leisure & Hospitality (TLH) team is composed of more than 50 lawyers operating coast to coast across the U.S. and throughout the world. Our lawyers provide comprehensive counsel to a diverse U.S. and international clientele from every sector of the industry including airlines, hotels and resorts, cruise lines, spas, casinos, tour operators, online travel companies and large travel agencies. We offer strategic counsel on everything from property acquisitions and project development through operations, employment and labor concerns, regulatory compliance, commercial dealings, data protection and privacy, litigation and crisis management.

Backed by decades of deep legal, regulatory and industry knowledge and experience, our Travel, Leisure & Hospitality team devises innovative and effective solutions that protect our clients’ interests, help them avoid pitfalls and enhance their market position.

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Our Travel, Leisure & Hospitality industry experience includes:

  • Hotels and Hospitality
    • Pillsbury represents leading owners and operators in connection with the operation of hotels and resorts, including condo-hotel, fractional interest, timeshare and mixed-use hotel/residential projects. We are particularly experienced with respect to the negotiation of management agreements, many involving leading brands known throughout the world to luxury travelers. We also negotiate condominium marketing agreements, pre-opening services agreements and technical services agreements for hotel and resort projects.
  • Cruise Lines and Tour Operators
    • We advise and assist cruise lines, charters and tour operators regarding a wide variety of commercial, corporate and regulatory matters. In particular, we advise clients on operational and government regulatory matters, commercial negotiations and disputes, licensing and finance matters, safety and maintenance issues and service agreements.
  • Restaurant, Food & Beverage
    • Our Restaurant, Food & Beverage lawyers provide comprehensive counsel on day-to-day issues, regulatory challenges and permitting matters to wide range of restaurant and hotel chains, wineries, packaged food companies and individual restaurateurs and franchisees. Our experience also includes everything from alcoholic beverage licensing, especially in the context of restaurant and hotel acquisitions, labeling, brand protection and intellectual property optimization to insurance recovery, taxation, M&As, real estate, land use and litigation. 
  • Intellectual Property
    • Recognized as having one of the most skilled and highly regarded IP practices, Pillsbury provides clients with successful and comprehensive IP strategies to protect, manage and optimize IP assets. We also assert and defend infringement claims and resolve IP-related disputes before regulatory bodies, in courts and through negotiated settlement. Our team includes 100+ IP lawyers, plus technical consultants, patent agents, former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiners, scientists and engineers.
  • Cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy
    • Our cross-disciplinary, multinational Cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy solutions team helps clients evaluate potential risks and then works with them to develop, execute and maintain tailored solutions to mitigate perceived threats and leverage opportunities. We provide guidance on data collection, use, sharing and storage of data about their customers, guests and passengers. Beyond federal laws, more and more states are enacting laws that impact businesses located outside their state. We also assist in compliance with the European Union’s strict data protection laws.
  • Leasing
    • We regularly represent developers, property owners, landlords and tenants in structuring and negotiating development, leasing and disposition agreements for all types of leisure and hospitality projects and properties. Our experience includes condo-hotel, fractional interest, timeshare and mixed-use hotel/residential projects. Beyond representing landlords and tenants in lease negotiations, we also represent hotel operators regarding brand standards and approval rights over third-party leases for spas, restaurants and other facilities.
  • Condo-Hotel and Mixed-Use Structuring
    • Our lawyers assist owners, operators and investors in structuring and handling condo-hotel and mixed-use hotel/residential projects. Our lawyers draft of condominium declarations and restrictive covenants, advise and assist regarding rights, approvals, permitting, financing, design and construction agreements, and resolve disputes.
  • Construction Counseling & Dispute Resolution
    • With superior industry and regulatory knowledge, local market experience, and transactional and litigation skill, Pillsbury’s Construction Counseling & Dispute Resolution practice lawyers assist clients at every stage of construction. We advise on, negotiate, draft and enforce architecture, engineering, procurement, supplier and construction contractor agreements and help our owner, developer, lender and contractor clients manage risk, resolve conflicts and get the job done.
  • Land Use, Zoning & Historic Preservation
    • Pillsbury’s Land Use & Zoning lawyers advise on property use and environmental requirements and restrictions as well as assist with permits, approvals, risk management and dispute resolution. We handle all aspects of land use, zoning and environmental matters arising in U.S. federal, state and local jurisdictions and have deep knowledge of specialized laws affecting historic preservation approvals, transferable development rights, coastal zones, wetlands, timber lands and endangered species.
  • Purchase and Sale/M&A
    • We handle the acquisition and disposition of individual properties and multi-property portfolios, especially for hotels and resorts. We also advise on and negotiate entire company M&A transactions, such as acquisitions of online travel companies and hotel franchises. Our integrated deal teams include members with industry experience across legal disciplines, ensuring big picture perspective and greater insights into diligence and risk-allocation negotiations.
  • Financing
    • Combining in-depth industry and regulatory knowledge with finance skills, Pillsbury lawyers structure, negotiate and document complex financings, refinancings and debt restructuring. We represent lenders and borrowers on secured and unsecured loans, including acquisition, construction, syndicated and securitized loans, from initial issuance through repayment. We also represent companies and underwriters in private and public securities offerings and joint venture transactions. Our firm routinely ranks among the leading REIT law firms nationally.
  • Global Sourcing & Technology Transactions
    • Recognized as among the “World’s Best Outsourcing Advisors” by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP), Pillsbury employs legal experience, deep industry knowledge and business perspective to help clients structure, negotiate and implement sourcing solutions with world-leading service providers. Our integrated team of outsourcing lawyers and expert industry consultants and technical advisers advises on the full range of sourcing arrangements and has helped clients re-engineer global operations, driving down costs, and optimizing operating and service delivery models.
  • Gaming, Gambling and Technology
    • Our lawyers advise on all types of gaming, gambling and casino-related issues, including Native American gaming operations and joint ventures. Ours is the first major law firm to form a multidisciplinary Internet & Interactive Entertainment practice. Composed of 30 lawyers, the team advises TLH clients on virtual world opportunities, the use of these technologies for marketing, training, brand-enhancement and client service purposes, and the associated legal issues and risks.

Our Travel, Leisure & Hospitality practice is an active participant in a wider Real Estate and Construction Industry Team—a comprehensive cross-disciplinary team with broad and in-depth experience in a broad array of industry sectors.

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