Just like real estate is no longer simply bricks and mortar, but the beneficiary (or victim?) of "corporatization," the hospitality industry is no longer just hotel rooms and room service, but an evolutionary fusion of the "three Rs" of today's travel and leisure environment: Resorts, Restaurants and Recreation.
Today's consumers demand more flexibility and entertainment value for their dollar. In response, the hotel industry has developed new products by forming operational alliances and using brand associations and incorporating a wide range of amenities into their products. As a result, many hospitality development concepts are experiencing improved product performance and marketability. The rebirth of time-share as a "vacation experience" is one convincing example. In addition, in combination with gaming, entertainment retail, and recreational facilities, independent and integrated "megaprojects" are being developed in both the urban and the suburban. The Times Square/42nd Street project (in Manhattan) is one example of many being developed across the country.
There is no better evidence of the importance of this trend than the investment that public markets and private funds have made in this area over the last few years -- and there is no sign of any letup. In fact, as the operating fundamentals of hotel properties have weakened and competition between hoteliers become increasingly fierce, the real estate industry is learning that real estate is not only a consumer product (e.g., vacation ownership), but add themed dining and interactive entertainment to the mix, with names that the brand conscious baby boomers value as much as Wall Street, and you have high performance projects that are producing the only "R" that really counts: Return on investment.
It is because of these developments in the hospitality industry that our firm has formed the Resort, Restaurant & Recreation Practice Group. Although hotel, resort and time-share matters are our primary focus, we also specialize in the unique legal complexities of the related restaurant and recreational industries, each of which is handled day in, and day out (and, quite often, night in, and night out) by members of the Group. Drawing upon our experience, we intend that this "premier edition," and future issues of our ReportFAX, will provide you and other hospitality executives with substantive and useful information. We appreciate your input and look forward to serving you.