Top Ten Hotel Investment Challenges Over Next Two Years  
 

LIIC is actively monitoring this situation for the lodging industry to be considered at the next LIIC think tank roundtable to be held in conjunction with the NYU Hotel Investment Conference in June 2002.

Mike Cahill, President of Hospitality Real Estate Counselors, Inc. (HREC), and Co-Chairman of LIIC commented, "Because LIIC is a nationally recognized industry think tank comprised of over 70 leaders within the lodging industry investment community, it was well suited to conduct such a survey.  In response to the current volatile and uncertain hotel investment climate, we felt compelled to relay the  consciousness of the industry as a whole."

Sean Hennessey, Practice Leader and Director at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and Co-Chairman of LIIC, added, "The ensuing 'Top Ten' list provides valuable insights and addresses timely issues.  For instance, we learned that the industry's equity players are anxiously awaiting the debt market to loosen the reins on mortgage capital at terms conducive to completing transactions and that a significant amount of equity capital may be available to complete deals, but it remains to be seen whether the available yields will be sufficient for this opportunistic capital."

Butler noted, "It is not surprising that financing and liquidity are dominant issues today. The LIIC survey is very timely and reinforces the importance of JMBM's Meet the MoneyTM conference-which annually presents the largest hotel finance panel in the U.S. The conference, being held in Los Angeles on May 9, will feature the traditional panels of debt and equity financing sources, as well as panels which will address issues of major concern to LIIC members and the industry as a whole.  New panels this year include a special CMBS panel and the new JMBM Lender Survey of more than 300 lenders.  Financing is definitely the foremost concern in the industry right now." 

JMBM is a full-service business law firm with more than 150 attorneys working from offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. JMBM's Global Hospitality Group is internationally recognized as "the premier hospitality practice in a full-service law firm." The Group has handled hundreds of transactions around the globe, representing more than $20 billion in sales, financings, developments and acquisitions for high-profile hotel, restaurant, resort, cruise ship, senior living, and sports facility projects.  Through its annual Meet the MoneyTM conference and other industry activities, JMBM provides a gateway of finance for the hotel industry.