Program Details
2026-10-28 13:00:00
Over 1,000+ webinars
Course Overview
2026-10-28 13:00:00
6.67h CLE Credits
Intermediate
6.67
1:00 pm - 1:40 pm ESTA synopsis of current transaction activity, investor appetite, and the sectors driving hospitality deal flow, including conversions, adaptive reuse, branded residences, distressed opportunities, and emerging investment trends.
Steven ShapiroJerrod AllenDaniel LesserJonathan Falik 1:40 pm - 2:20 pm ESTA practical discussion of hotel acquisitions from LOI through diligence and closing, including negotiation strategy, purchase agreement issues, transaction timelines, risk allocation, and execution challenges.
Steven ShapiroJohn LancasterJennifer NellanyJonathan Falik 2:30 pm - 3:10 pm ESTHow hospitality acquisitions are being financed today, including lender expectations, recapitalizations, preferred equity, mezzanine financing, joint ventures, and creative capital solutions.
Steven ShapiroJonathan Falik 3:10 pm - 3:50 pm ESTThe legal and business issues that most commonly derail hotel transactions, including diligence failures, franchise obligations, management agreements, labor concerns, environmental risks, insurance issues, and regulatory exposure.
Steven ShapiroSamantha AhujaJennifer Nellany 9:45 am - 10:15 am ESTThis presentation delivers a fun, interactive ethics course and best practices to keep your hospitality establishment out of Jeopardy! Modeled after the game show itself, get ready for friendly competition and excellent education and learning opportunities.
Kendall Kelly Hayden 10:15 am - 10:45 am ESTHotels face an evolving landscape of legal claims arising from guest interactions, property operations, and third-party relationships. This session examines recent litigation trends through the lens of three key areas of risk: knowing your guests, knowing your products and property, and knowing your employees and vendors. Through practical case studies and real-world examples, attendees will gain insight into emerging liability issues, recent court decisions, and proactive strategies to reduce legal exposure while strengthening operational practices.
Robert Schnitz 10:55 am - 11:25 am ESTAI tools like Chat GPT help employees submit well drafted and legal sounding harassment complaints, requests for accommodations and raising other employee relations concerns. This is all despite their lack of legal knowledge and without regard to the actual facts of the situation. This session will provide an overview of 2026 employment law challenges and how to handle the ChatGPT “complainer.”
Andria Ryan 11:25 am - 11:55 am ESTHospitality employers are increasingly navigating accommodation requests that extend beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act. This session explores employers’ obligations under Title I of the ADA, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and federal protections for religious accommodations. Through practical examples and recent legal developments, attendees will learn how these laws intersect, how to evaluate accommodation requests, and how to develop consistent, legally compliant practices that reduce risk while supporting employees.
Jordan Schwartz 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm ESTSocial media, influencer partnerships, user-generated content, loyalty programs, and digital promotions have become essential marketing tools for hospitality businesses—but they also create significant regulatory risks. This session explores how federal and state alcohol advertising laws intersect with FTC endorsement rules, platform policies, sweepstakes regulations, and age-gating requirements. Attendees will learn practical strategies for promoting alcoholic beverages while minimizing compliance risks.
Elizabeth DeConti 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm ESTHospitality companies execute hundreds of contracts each year—from vendor agreements and technology contracts to management agreements, licensing arrangements, service contracts, and strategic partnerships. While many receive little attention once signed, these agreements often contain provisions that significantly affect operational flexibility and financial exposure. This session highlights commonly overlooked contractual terms and explains how operators can better identify, negotiate, and manage contractual risk before problems arise.
Colby Birkes 2:10 pm - 2:40 pm ESTModerated by Stephen Barth, this panel brings together experienced hospitality security and risk professionals to share lessons from their work as expert witnesses in premises liability, negligent security, and other hospitality-related cases. The discussion will explore common liability issues, what experts look for when evaluating a property, and practical steps hospitality organizations can take to identify vulnerabilities and better manage risk.
Brad BonnellSalvatore Caccavale 2:40 pm - 3:10 pm ESTAI is already inside the building. Staff use it for guest messaging, scheduling, and content, mostly without a policy and almost always without legal review. This session gives risk and legal leaders a working framework for governing that use, from data handling to vendor terms to the small daily habits most likely to trigger a claim. Attendees leave with a checklist they can put to work the same week.
Michael GoldrichStephen Barth is the founder of HospitalityLawyer.com®, the annual Hospitality Law Conference series, and the Global Travel Risk Summit Series, and a tenured professor of hospitality law and leadership at the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College. Coauthor of Hospitality Law, he is an attorney and expert witness who has spent decades helping hospitality leaders navigate legal risk, ethical decision-making, and crisis management.
Steven Shapiro is an arbitrator focused on international construction and hospitality disputes, and he teaches, writes, and speaks on complex hospitality issues and construction law at American University’s Washington College of Law, blending a career in law firm practice, construction engineering, and academics. He launched the law school’s Hospitality & Tourism Law program — the sole law program of its kind in the U.S. — and, as its chair, directs the studies of U.S. law and business students while teaching courses in Construction Law, Real Estate Development Law, Contract Drafting, and related topics.
Jerrod Allen is a Vice President with CBRE Hotels in Dallas and a member of the firm’s Texas Institutional Hotel Sales team, bringing a career that spans hotel investment sales, ownership-side acquisitions, and valuation and advisory work.
Daniel H. Lesser co-founded New York City-based LW Hospitality Advisors (LWHA), which he leads as President & CEO, after more than four decades in hospitality valuation, investment counseling, advisory, and transactional work. He serves as a third-party advisor, independent expert witness, neutral arbitrator, asset manager, and property/business receiver, and has been retained by counsel to hotel owners, lenders, investors, and management companies alike.
Jonathan Falik is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of JF Capital Advisors, where he leads the firm’s hospitality business across equity and debt placement, asset acquisitions and dispositions, portfolio transactions, joint venture structuring, asset management, management company and brand evaluation, and strategic and capital markets advisory services. He has worked on M&A and financing transactions involving well over 2,000 hotels and over $30 billion of transaction value.
John Lancaster is Vice President for Emerging Markets, Franchise Development & Owner Relationships at Choice Hotels International, where he leads the company’s effort to extend hotel ownership to underrepresented entrepreneurs through its Emerging Markets Program – an initiative that has supported more than 350 hotel franchise agreements with minority and veteran owners.
Jennifer Nellany is a Member of Cozen O’Connor’s Real Estate Group in New York, representing clients in all aspects of real estate transactions with a focus on hospitality – including hotel acquisitions and dispositions, financing, joint ventures, and complex commercial agreements. With nearly 25 years as a practicing attorney – both as in-house counsel for public and private companies and in private practice at a full-service international law firm – she combines deep experience in real estate matters with practical corporate knowledge, advising on complex commercial agreements, debt and equity structuring, M&A and joint ventures, corporate governance, and domestic and cross-border regulatory issues.
Samantha Ahuja is a Shareholder in Greenberg Traurig’s Washington, D.C. office and Co-Chair of the firm’s Hospitality Practice, focusing on hotel acquisitions, operations, development and finance, hotel management agreements, licensing agreements, and commercial real estate acquisition and sale. She led the Greenberg Traurig team representing Ryman Hospitality Properties in its approximately $1.38 billion acquisition of Grande Lakes Orlando Resort, which closed in September 2026.
Kendall Kelly Hayden is a Member of Cozen O’Connor’s commercial litigation practice in the firm’s Dallas office, concentrating in transportation and hospitality law, retail, employment matters, professional liability defense, product liability defense, and construction defect matters. She serves as relationship partner for clients across a wide range of legal needs and is positioned to connect clients with appropriate counsel across Cozen O’Connor’s many practice areas. Hayden’s hospitality client representations include international golf management companies, hotels and restaurants, boutique bed and breakfasts, party suppliers, spas, marinas, and country clubs.
Robert V. Schnitz is an attorney with Kabat Chapman & Ozmer LLP, practicing in hospitality law, labor relations and employment litigation, complex commercial contracts and transactional support, and internal investigations. Before joining the firm, he spent 22 years at Hyatt Hotels Corporation, including service as Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel overseeing legal support for global operations and providing counsel to the senior leadership team, and he has counseled large and small companies on daily and strategic labor and employee relations matters for over 35 years.
Andria Ryan is a partner in Fisher Phillips’ Atlanta office, where she serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Hospitality Industry Group, and represents hospitality employers in virtually every area of employment and labor law.
Jordan B. Schwartz is a Labor & Employment Partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Conn Maciel Carey LLP, advising employers on a wide range of complex employment-related issues across employer defense litigation, regulatory compliance, and day-to-day employment counseling.
Elizabeth DeConti is a shareholder in GrayRobinson’s Tampa office and one of the original members of the firm’s Alcohol Beverage and Food Team, with more than 20 years of practice focused on the regulation of alcohol beverages and food. She leads the firm’s Regulated Products Section, which includes its nationally ranked Alcohol Law Team.
Colby Birkes is a Managing Associate in Dentons’ Corporate group in Louisville, assisting companies and other business entities from their conception, with particular focus on drafting and reviewing documents, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and mergers and acquisitions. He has significant experience in the franchise context, frequently helping franchisees negotiate franchise agreements, comply with regulatory schemes, and structure project finance.
Brad Bonnell is Principal of Hotel Security Group, LLC, a hotel security and forensic liability consultancy based in Norcross, Georgia, bringing 31 years of experience as an executive-level safety and security director in the hospitality industry and 15 years of law enforcement experience as a criminal investigator at the local, state, and federal levels.
Salvatore Caccavale, CLSD, is Principal of Global Hospitality Security Solutions, LLC, with more than 40 years in hospitality safety and security and an active consulting and expert witness practice on hotel and restaurant security matters.
Michael J. Goldrich is the founder and chief advisor of Vivander Advisors, a consultancy focused on AI literacy, digital visibility, and commercial transformation for hospitality brands. He works with hotel owners, management companies, and technology providers to help commercial teams adapt to AI-driven discovery, distribution, and marketing, with recent emphasis on generative AI, agentic systems, and first-party data strategy.
Stephen Barth is the founder of HospitalityLawyer.com®, the annual Hospitality Law Conference series, and the Global Travel Risk Summit Series, and a tenured professor of hospitality law and leadership at the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College. Coauthor of Hospitality Law, he is an attorney and expert witness who has spent decades helping hospitality leaders navigate legal risk, ethical decision-making, and crisis management.
Steven Shapiro is an arbitrator focused on international construction and hospitality disputes, and he teaches, writes, and speaks on complex hospitality issues and construction law at American University’s Washington College of Law, blending a career in law firm practice, construction engineering, and academics. He launched the law school’s Hospitality & Tourism Law program — the sole law program of its kind in the U.S. — and, as its chair, directs the studies of U.S. law and business students while teaching courses in Construction Law, Real Estate Development Law, Contract Drafting, and related topics.
Jerrod Allen is a Vice President with CBRE Hotels in Dallas and a member of the firm’s Texas Institutional Hotel Sales team, bringing a career that spans hotel investment sales, ownership-side acquisitions, and valuation and advisory work.
Daniel H. Lesser co-founded New York City-based LW Hospitality Advisors (LWHA), which he leads as President & CEO, after more than four decades in hospitality valuation, investment counseling, advisory, and transactional work. He serves as a third-party advisor, independent expert witness, neutral arbitrator, asset manager, and property/business receiver, and has been retained by counsel to hotel owners, lenders, investors, and management companies alike.
Jonathan Falik is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of JF Capital Advisors, where he leads the firm’s hospitality business across equity and debt placement, asset acquisitions and dispositions, portfolio transactions, joint venture structuring, asset management, management company and brand evaluation, and strategic and capital markets advisory services. He has worked on M&A and financing transactions involving well over 2,000 hotels and over $30 billion of transaction value.
John Lancaster is Vice President for Emerging Markets, Franchise Development & Owner Relationships at Choice Hotels International, where he leads the company’s effort to extend hotel ownership to underrepresented entrepreneurs through its Emerging Markets Program – an initiative that has supported more than 350 hotel franchise agreements with minority and veteran owners.
Jennifer Nellany is a Member of Cozen O’Connor’s Real Estate Group in New York, representing clients in all aspects of real estate transactions with a focus on hospitality – including hotel acquisitions and dispositions, financing, joint ventures, and complex commercial agreements. With nearly 25 years as a practicing attorney – both as in-house counsel for public and private companies and in private practice at a full-service international law firm – she combines deep experience in real estate matters with practical corporate knowledge, advising on complex commercial agreements, debt and equity structuring, M&A and joint ventures, corporate governance, and domestic and cross-border regulatory issues.
Samantha Ahuja is a Shareholder in Greenberg Traurig’s Washington, D.C. office and Co-Chair of the firm’s Hospitality Practice, focusing on hotel acquisitions, operations, development and finance, hotel management agreements, licensing agreements, and commercial real estate acquisition and sale. She led the Greenberg Traurig team representing Ryman Hospitality Properties in its approximately $1.38 billion acquisition of Grande Lakes Orlando Resort, which closed in September 2026.
Kendall Kelly Hayden is a Member of Cozen O’Connor’s commercial litigation practice in the firm’s Dallas office, concentrating in transportation and hospitality law, retail, employment matters, professional liability defense, product liability defense, and construction defect matters. She serves as relationship partner for clients across a wide range of legal needs and is positioned to connect clients with appropriate counsel across Cozen O’Connor’s many practice areas. Hayden’s hospitality client representations include international golf management companies, hotels and restaurants, boutique bed and breakfasts, party suppliers, spas, marinas, and country clubs.
Robert V. Schnitz is an attorney with Kabat Chapman & Ozmer LLP, practicing in hospitality law, labor relations and employment litigation, complex commercial contracts and transactional support, and internal investigations. Before joining the firm, he spent 22 years at Hyatt Hotels Corporation, including service as Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel overseeing legal support for global operations and providing counsel to the senior leadership team, and he has counseled large and small companies on daily and strategic labor and employee relations matters for over 35 years.
Andria Ryan is a partner in Fisher Phillips’ Atlanta office, where she serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Hospitality Industry Group, and represents hospitality employers in virtually every area of employment and labor law.
Jordan B. Schwartz is a Labor & Employment Partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Conn Maciel Carey LLP, advising employers on a wide range of complex employment-related issues across employer defense litigation, regulatory compliance, and day-to-day employment counseling.
Elizabeth DeConti is a shareholder in GrayRobinson’s Tampa office and one of the original members of the firm’s Alcohol Beverage and Food Team, with more than 20 years of practice focused on the regulation of alcohol beverages and food. She leads the firm’s Regulated Products Section, which includes its nationally ranked Alcohol Law Team.
Colby Birkes is a Managing Associate in Dentons’ Corporate group in Louisville, assisting companies and other business entities from their conception, with particular focus on drafting and reviewing documents, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and mergers and acquisitions. He has significant experience in the franchise context, frequently helping franchisees negotiate franchise agreements, comply with regulatory schemes, and structure project finance.
Brad Bonnell is Principal of Hotel Security Group, LLC, a hotel security and forensic liability consultancy based in Norcross, Georgia, bringing 31 years of experience as an executive-level safety and security director in the hospitality industry and 15 years of law enforcement experience as a criminal investigator at the local, state, and federal levels.
Salvatore Caccavale, CLSD, is Principal of Global Hospitality Security Solutions, LLC, with more than 40 years in hospitality safety and security and an active consulting and expert witness practice on hotel and restaurant security matters.
Michael J. Goldrich is the founder and chief advisor of Vivander Advisors, a consultancy focused on AI literacy, digital visibility, and commercial transformation for hospitality brands. He works with hotel owners, management companies, and technology providers to help commercial teams adapt to AI-driven discovery, distribution, and marketing, with recent emphasis on generative AI, agentic systems, and first-party data strategy.
Requirements
The Alabama State Bar MCLE Commission requires attorneys to complete 12 credits, including 1 ethics, by December 31 of each year. All credits must be reported by February 15 of the following year. A maximum of 12 credits, including 1 ethics credit, may be carried over for 1 year only.
Formats
