Desai & Diwanji provides its clients all-round advice in the fast-growing hospitality sector to not only help them consider opportunities at the initial stage but also deal with any challenges that may come their way during the operational stage. Our team of lawyers bring to bear their diverse and multi-faceted experience to advise hotel brands, developers, financiers, investors as well as service providers on a wide range of commercial, regulatory, licensing, litigation, employment, environmental and real estate issues specific to the hospitality industry.
The team also advises clients on the sale and purchase of hotel properties, acquisition and divestment of ownership, contractual arrangements, franchising agreements, management agreements, joint ventures, investments and fund raising, management contracts as well as service contracts. More specifically, in the hospitality sector, we offer the following services to our clients:
- drafting, negotiation and execution of hotel management agreements, technical services agreements, franchise agreements, marketing and publicity agreements for the provision of services by brand-owners for development of brands
- drafting, negotiation and execution of documentation such as joint venture agreements, investment agreements, shareholders’ agreements, agreements with suppliers and service provides such as equipment supply, private equity documentation and other equity and/or quasi-equity funding documentation
- verification of title to immoveable properties, drafting and negotiation of sale deeds, lease deeds or development rights agreements or other conveyance deeds
- drafting, negotiation and execution of documentation such as construction contracts, architect’s contracts, interior design consultancy contracts and other contracts for the appointment of experts for the development phase
- due diligence reviews, covering transactional, financial, environmental, tax and compliance related issues
- drafting negotiation and execution of agreements for protection of intellectual properties
- drafting negotiation and execution of facility agreements, mortgage / loan documents, guarantees
- drafting of resolution plans and assistance in the insolvency process
- handling litigation pertaining to contractual disputes with vendors and suppliers, employment and labour disputes, construction litigation, protection of intellectual property across various courts / tribunals including arbitration proceedings
Because of our team’s collective industry-specific experience in the hotel industry and related hospitality sector, and by remaining updated on the various statutes, rules and regulations applicable thereto, our lawyers have developed a sharp sense for the norms and practices of the industry and the various legal issues involved in this industry as well as the possible solutions to deal with the issues.