Art is nationally known for his extensive experience in handling complex real estate transactions for sophisticated hospitality developers and owners of hotels and destination resorts located in North and Central America and the Pacific Rim. With the goal of achieving maximum value for the clients, Art regularly assists clients in connection with the purchase, development financing, and sale of their projects. In the complicated world of shared-ownership hospitality projects, Art has structured some of the most creative shared-ownership platforms in use today.
Hotel Transactions
Art routinely assists hotel owners and operators with structuring, negotiating, documenting, and closing the purchase and sale of hotel properties, whether stand-alone hotels or destination resorts, whether shovel-ready as entitled development projects or raw land. He conducts due diligence investigations of properties to be acquired by his clients and is familiar with the ancillary business components of golf, tennis, and food and beverage, including liquor licensure within California. Art is also involved in the negotiation and documentation of hotel operating agreements, pre-development advisory agreements and franchise and licensing agreements on behalf of developer/owners and hotel operating companies.
Hotel Structures
In connection with the development aspects of hotels, Art works within the varied legal structures related to the ownership and future sale of hospitality assets, including the creation and structuring of condominium hotels, both for investment and for sale purposes. Such legal structuring activities include the utilization of "cloud" condominiums, leasehold condominiums, commercial condominiums for mixed-use hotel, retail, and residential projects, and other special forms of development needed in situations where local land use restrictions make the development of traditionally structured forms of hospitality projects difficult, impractical or even impossible.
Shared Ownership Industry Advocate
Art is widely known as one of the leading attorneys for the timeshare and vacation ownership industry. Having worked in this segment of the industry since 1980, he has worked with nearly every major timeshare company, including Disney, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Wyndham, as well as both of the largest exchange companies, Resort Condominiums International and Interval Leisure Group. In this area, Art has been responsible for the purchase and financing of properties of all types and descriptions and their conversion to all types of vacation ownership uses. These include single site developments of a timeshare, fractional ownership, or residence club nature, as well as multiple site products designed for inclusion in a multi-site vacation or residence club. He was the primary legal architect in the creation of the Carefree Vacation Club, the Conrad Vacation Club, the Fiesta Americana Vacation Club, the Fleetwood Vacation Club, and partnered with other counsel in the creation of the the Disney Vacation Club, the Shell Vacations Club and the World-Wide Vacations Club. Products range from deeded interest single site programs to points-based clubs, and include real estate related products, yachts and motor coaches.
Art has also worked with developer clients in connection with their entitlements and dealings with government at all levels. He has assisted in the drafting of complex and comprehensive timeshare legislation, including amendments to the California Business and Professions Code provisions governing the structuring and sale of timeshare products within the State of California, and he has written, negotiated changes to and participated in the enactment of timeshare ordinances designed to regulate timesharing at the local level.
Art considers himself an advocate of the industry, having served two separate terms as a member of the Board of Director of the American Resort Development Association.
