Meet the Money® is one of the best places in the country for meeting the Who's Who of the hotel world, getting financing and transactions done and catching up on the latest strategies and approaches. This year's conference was held at the Sheraton LAX, May 6-8, 2013 and was attended by approximately 350 hotel industry leaders. Here's a quick take on the mood of the conference and some information about

Mood of the hotel industry: optimism and sustainability of recovery

JMBM wrapped up its 23rd annual hotel conference this week amidst the strongest optimism for the hotel industry that hotel experts have seen for six years. The consensus was there is a lot of blue sky ahead. Some think the good times will only last for a couple of years, but many see a good run for at least 5 years!

Everyone at Meet the Money® seemed to be fairly comfortable that the recovery has significant sustainability, because the debt and equity markets have not gotten too frothy, and new supply has been very restrained.

Mark Woodworth of PKF summarized it well after presenting industry fundamentals by saying: "It is a great time to be in the hotel business!"

And Vail Brown gave the STR forecast that the outlook of continuing improvements is "Steady as she goes."

Greg Hartmann of JLL sounded a slightly more cautious note. He agrees that everything looks pretty good for the next couple of years, but questions how long it can last, and suggests that investors might consider selling in the next year and a half to two years.

What inning are we in? Almost every panel gave its views, with the biggest consensus being that we are in the 4th or 5th inning -- still early in the ballgame. John Alderson of Westfield thinks that the shopping center owners now getting active in adding hotels to their malls are way behind the rest of the industry (2nd inning?) and are likely to have their games continue as they implement strategic plans.

Hotel Industry Presentations from Meet the Money® 2013

Meet the Money® 2013 was buzzing with action and great information. We have decided to release some of the presentations for free download. Select presentations from Meet the Money® 2013 (described below) and are now available at www.HotelLawyer.com. Click on "RESOURCE CENTER" and then "Hotel Industry Presentations."

Meet the Money® 2013
Select Presentations

(available at www.HotelLawyer.com)

To view all presentations, go to www.HotelLawyer.com/RESOURCE CENTER/Hotel Industry Presentations. To view individual presentations, mouse over the title of the presentation below and click.

Why the ADA matters to you. Comply now or pay later. More than 16,000 ADA lawsuits have been filed in the US, and pace is increasing. ADA compliance is the law, and it's good business. Here are the combined presentations from a panel of experts: Martin H. Orlick, Partner and Chair of JMBM's ADA Compliance & Defense group; Mark Burden, CEO, Rim Hospitality, M. Bradley Gaskins, Principal, The McIntosh Group; and Bonnie Lewkowicz, Access Northern California. The Panel was moderated by David Sudeck, a senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group®.

Is the Recovery in US Housing Sustainable? A leading economist's views on the US economy's prospects, with emphasis on the critical role of new housing construction on the sustainability of the recovery. What are the factors driving construction and where do they point? Richard K. Green, Lusk Chair & Professor, University of Southern California, Lusk Center for Real Estate. May 2013.

Why does it seem like everyone is adding a hotel to their shopping center? JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® is predicting that a major trend for the next few years will be "hotel-retail mixed-use" -- adding a hotel to retail shopping malls. This presentation from JMBM's 2007 Hotel Developers Conference is the only quantitative study we have seen on how hotel-retail synergies can increase RevPAR 20-40% over competitive sets. The information is from GGP's analysis of more than 200 shopping malls and retail mixed-use projects, many of which had significant hotel components. Jim Butler, Partner and Chairman, JMBM's Global Hospitality Group®. May 2013.

Hotel-Retail Mixed-Use -- What Woodbine Development is doing with hotel-retail today. Dupree Scovell, Managing Director, Woodbine Development Corporation. May 2013.

California Hotel Transaction and Market Overview. In this presentation, Alan Reay of Atlas Hospitality provides a comprehensive overview of California hotel transactions: sales volume in dollars and transactions, hotel performance in select markets, historic price per room,
forecasts. . . and much more. Alan X. Reay, President, Atlas Hospitality Group. May 2013.

Hotel Values & CAP Rates. Suzanne Mellen of HVS gives one of the most anticipated and popular presentations in the industry on hotel values and cap rates. Included: major hotel sales transactions from many perspectives (year, dollar value, price per room, etc.) and a great series on cap and discount rates. Suzanne Mellen, MAI, CRE, FRICS, ISHC, Senior Managing Director Hotel and Casino Consulting and Valuation, HVS. May 2013.

The LIIC Top Ten. The 2013 LIIC Survey was compiled by Mike Cahill, a co-chairman of LIIC. What do LIIC members think about hotel property values, transaction volume, access to capital, and hotel development? This presentation is LIIC's annual survey of lodging investment trends and challenges. Michael Cahill, CEO & Founder, Hospitality Real Estate Counselors (HREC). May 2013.

Hotel InduSTRy Overview, What Lies Ahead... The latest state of the industry from Vail Brown of STR. Vail R. Brown, Vice President, Global Business Development & Marketing, STR. May 2013.

Capital Markets Update: Transactions, Financing and Market Value. This presentation by Greg Hartmann of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels includes: hotel transaction volume, major single-asset deals YTD 2013, where is the capital coming from, hotel ownership, investment yields, new supply, and a closer look at who's buying over the next 5 years. Greg Hartmann, MAI, MRICS, CHA, Executive Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. May 2013.

Fundamental Certainty... ....or No? Using its proprietary Hotel Horizons® forecasting model, along with data from STR and economic forecasts from Moody's Analytics, this presentation provides a lot of "Happy Thoughts" for the hotel industry. See why Mark Woodworth of PKF concludes "It is a great time to be in the hotel business!" And look at why they think we may not peak until 2017 . . . R. Mark Woodworth, President, PKF Hospitality Research, LLC. May 2013.

Meet the Money® 2014

Meet the Money® 2014 will be held May 5-7, 2014 at the Sheraton Gateway LAX!

Mark your calendars now, and let us know early if you want to speak or sponsor.

Watch www.MeetTheMoney.com for information.

This is Jim Butler, author of www.HotelLawBlog.com and hotel lawyer, signing off. We've done more than $60 billion of hotel transactions and have developed innovative solutions to help investors be successful in bidding for hotel acquisitions, and helping investors and lenders to unlock value from troubled hotel transactions. Who's your hotel lawyer?

Our Perspective. We represent hotel lenders, owners and investors. We have helped our clients find business and legal solutions for more than $60 billion of hotel transactions, involving more than 1,300 properties all over the world. For more information, please contact Jim Butler at [email protected] or +1 (310) 201-3526.
 
Jim Butler is a founding partner of JMBM, and Chairman of its Global Hospitality Group® and Chinese Investment Group™. Jim is one of the top hospitality attorneys in the world. GOOGLE "hotel lawyer" and you will see why.

Jim and his team are more than "just" great hotel lawyers. They are also hospitality consultants and business advisors. They are deal makers. They can help find the right operator or capital provider.