Our Practice
Hospitality, Travel & TourismCairncross & Hempelmann's Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Practice brings together the variety of services necessary for the successful planning, organization, financing and day-to-day operation of Northwest, national and international hotels, motels and resorts; tour operators; travel agencies; golf courses; restaurants; clubs; industry trade groups and associations; and other enterprises of the hospitality, travel and tourism industries. Our clients vary in size and in the scope of their legal needs. From the sole proprietor of a four-room bed and breakfast to a publicly-held international owner/operator of hundreds of full-service hotels and resorts, from an Alaskan tour operator to the largest family-owned chain of restaurants in Washington -- all are valued clients of C&H's Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Practice.
Our Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Team
We have assembled a hospitality, travel and tourism team designed specifically to address the unique needs of owners and operators in the hospitality, travel and tourism industries. The C&H team is comprised of key attorneys from each of our core practice areas, including land use, real estate, corporate and business, labor and employment and litigation. More importantly, beyond the legal skills that each team member offers, each brings significant hands-on industry experience. Whether as a former in-house counsel with one of the largest hotel and resort owner/operators in the world or as lead development counsel for the largest mixed-use resort development in Washington state history, each team member's industry experience allows him or her to leverage the skills and experience of all of C&H's lawyers to collectively provide our clients with the best possible legal service.
Areas of Emphasis
Our C&H hospitality, travel and tourism team provides legal counsel and advice in the following areas:
- Project Planning and Development
- Sales and Acquisitions
- Financing
- Commercial Leasing
- Management and Operational Agreements
- IP/Technology
- Labor and Employment
- Sales and Marketing
- Regulatory and Licensing
- Litigation
- Risk Management and Loss Control
In addition to diligently monitoring changes in the law and current business trends, our C&H hospitality, travel and tourism team members play active roles in the hospitality community. Team members advise and serve on travel and tourism boards and committees, frequently speak and write on hospitality, travel and tourism issues and trends, and are well-versed and experienced in nearly all areas of our clients' enterprises. These industry activities, combined with our team's transactional experience, allow us to provide C&H's hospitality, travel and tourism clients with the most effective and efficient legal advice for their hospitality enterprise.
For more information: Contact Greg Duff directly at (206) 254-4403 or gduff@cairncross.com.
Highlighted Clients and Transactions
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. We handle a broad range of management, operations and services-related contracts for Starwood in its role as owner, developer, operator and franchisor of its St. Regis, Luxury Collection, Westin, Sheraton and W branded hotel and resort properties across the country. Examples include review and revision of hotel management agreements, negotiation and preparation of national supplier and services contracts, and preparation of property-level form services contracts, work orders and contracting guidelines.
Marriott International, Inc. We serve as Northwest defense counsel for Marriott owned and operated hotel and leisure properties.
Trendwest Resorts, Inc. Cairncross & Hempelmann served as lead land use and development counsel for Trendwest's development of a major, four season, mixed-use (residential, timeshare, hotel/resort and golf) destination resort on 6,200 acres in central Washington. As lead development counsel, we assisted in preparation of the initial land development application and the development of permitting strategies, obtained necessary land use approvals and entitlements, including negotiation of a thirty-year development agreement for the resort, consulted on the development of, and successfully defended, the environmental impact statement for the resort, and successfully defended the land use approvals and entitlements in appeals filed by resort opponents.
