Davis Wright Tremaine has a vibrant hospitality practice across the Pacific Rim. We serve hotel and resort clients out of offices in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Shanghai. We are a leading firm in the hospitality sector by virtue of our service, knowledge, innovation, relationships and price.
To us, hotels and resorts are much more than a real estate asset class. They are complicated round-the-clock businesses where service is key. As our clients strive to satisfy and exceed every guest demand, our lawyers strive to satisfy and exceed every client demand, with client success as our aim. Our industry knowledge helps us keep clients apprised of key and emerging business and legal issues so they can better assess and manage risk, make timely strategic decisions, and succeed where others have failed. Through our extensive industry contacts, we have introduced our clients to some of their most profitable transactions.
We represent a wide range of clients. We help owners and developers with acquisition, ground leasing, entitlements and environmental review. We aid in construction, labor, license and management agreements. We work with global brands and owners to protect their intellectual property, expand their reach, manage their workforce and address daily operational issues. We also assist large corporate clients with portfolio acquisitions and timely divestitures.
We have represented hotel clients in billions of dollars of real estate transactions, financed by groups such as Goldman Sachs, Chase Manhattan, Morgan Stanley, GMAC, GECC, AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, EuroHypo and many others. We have created joint ventures that combine developer expertise with investors in search of high returns. We are leaders in the representation of cross-border investments, and are experienced in tax treaties and the corporate structures that best service the international investor.
Today, we are leveraging our contacts in the owner, developer, investor, lender, and brokerage and valuation sectors to introduce and assist clients in acquiring new assets at distressed prices worldwide. We are also working to restructure debt with portfolio and secured lenders, and to place new debt and equity for troubled and performing assets, as well as helping operators and franchisors expand their reach and improve performance.
Selected Experience
APIC Hotel
Represent APIC in the acquisition of 5 boutique hotels in San Francisco, including some 'off market'. APIC is considering several new major purchases. (Ongoing)
Millennium Hotels
Representing Millennium Hotels & Resorts in the development of a 263-room hotel and 244-residential unit project with structured parking in Sunnyvale, Calif., including assistance with zoning and building permit matters and negotiating general contractor and architect agreements. (Ongoing)
Multiple hotels
Negotiation of franchise agreement with flags. Hotels have included Clarion Bedford San Francisco; Sheraton Tacoma; Tuscan Best Western San Francisco; Marriott Courtyard Stockton; Marriott Residence Stockton; and Westin Palo Alto. (Ongoing)
Pacific Hotel Management
Pacific Hotel Management is subdividing land to ground lease to Wells Fargo Bank for a new branch. (Ongoing)
Pacific Hotel Management
Represented Pacific in four refinancings/loan modifications secured by its hotel properties. (Ongoing)
Red Lion Hotels Corp.
Represented client in its $71 million disposition of Seattle Fifth Avenue Hotel. (2011)
Hotel developer
Represented developer of the Inn at the 5th, a 68-room boutique hotel in Eugene, Ore., in the structure and returns of equity investors, private placement memorandum, long-term ground lease, hotel management contract, and review of all financing documents, including obtaining a critical subordination agreement from the existing lender on the fee land. Read more about the deal. (2010)
Haiyi Hotels
Representation of international investor in the "off-market" acquisition of three San Francisco hotels from foreclosing lender. Negotiated term sheet and purchase and sale agreement which allowed client to avoid market bidding process and achieve favorable pricing. Read more about the deal. (2010)
Pacific Hotel Management
Assisted client in structuring and closing the sale of the Laguna Hills Holiday Inn, one of the few hotel sales in 2009, through use of creative seller financing. Read more about the deal. (2009)
Intercontinental The Clement Hotel Monterey
Developed and implemented the legal strategy resulting in the new Intercontinental The Clement Hotel Monterey after 25 years of inactivity, including obtaining all environmental approvals and entitlements from the California Coastal Commission, Army Corps of Engineers, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, City of Monterey and others. Hotel was named best hospitality project in McGraw-Hill Construction's California Construction "08 best of awards" recognizing construction and design excellence. Read more about the deal. (2008)
Cavallo Point
Assisted developer Tom Sargent in structuring and closing his initial investor round and negotiating a hotel operating agreement with Passport Resorts LLC for Cavallo Point, which opened in June 2008. Read more about the deal. (2008)
Cook Inlet Region
Represented an Alaska Native corporation in the formation of a joint venture to construct the Hyatt Place Sonterra hotel in San Antonio and in the negotiation of hotel management agreement with regional operator. Read more about the deal. (2008)
Sheraton Palo Alto
Negotiated long-term ground lease with Stanford Land Management for a 346-room hotel. (2008)
Seibu Alaska, Inc.
Represented Seibu Alaska, Inc., in sale of Alyeska Ski Resort, including ski operations, hotel and golf course. Read more about the deal. (2006)
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
Represented owner/operator in refinancings of the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona (2006), The Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle (2004), and The Fairmont Kea Lani Maui (2003).
West Coast Hotels Inc.
Represented West Coast Hotels Inc. in its sale to Cavanaugh's, and in the subsequent acquisition of Red Lion Hotels from Hilton. Read more about the deal. (2000) |