A hotel lawyer plays a central role in structuring, negotiating, and protecting the contractual framework that underpins a hotel asset. Hotel management agreements, franchise agreements, branded residential structures, and related development contracts are not simply legal documents; they define how value is created, how risk is allocated, and how control is exercised over the life of the asset. For owners and developers, selecting the right hotel lawyer is therefore a strategic decision with long-term financial implications.
While many law firms offer real estate or corporate legal services, far fewer operate as true hotel lawyers with deep experience in hotel-specific agreements. Hotel contracts differ materially from conventional real estate documentation, particularly in areas such as operator control, fee structures, performance tests, termination rights, and brand protections. As a result, working with a specialist hotel lawyer or a firm with a dedicated hospitality practice is critical to achieving a balanced and commercially effective outcome.
Why a Specialist Hotel Lawyer Matters
A specialist hotel lawyer brings not only legal drafting capability but also a detailed understanding of operator positions, market norms, and negotiation dynamics. This includes familiarity with how different brands approach management agreements, how performance tests are structured and resisted, and how commercial trade-offs are typically resolved in practice.
For hotel owners and developers, this expertise translates directly into value. A well-negotiated agreement can enhance asset flexibility, protect downside risk, and preserve long-term optionality, while a poorly negotiated contract can embed constraints that are difficult or costly to unwind. The role of the hotel lawyer is therefore not limited to documentation, but extends to shaping the commercial framework of the investment itself.
The Hotel Law Landscape: Specialist vs Full-Service Platforms
The hotel legal market is broadly divided between firms with dedicated hospitality practices and those that approach hotels through wider real estate, finance, or transactional platforms. Firms with established hospitality practices typically demonstrate:
- Repeated involvement in hotel management and franchise agreements
- Familiarity with major operator positions and negotiation norms
- Experience in branded residences and mixed-use hotel developments
By contrast, broader firms often bring:
- Strong capabilities in financing, tax, disputes, and structuring
- Deep resources for large-scale or cross-border developments
- Institutional strength in complex transaction execution
In practice, most hotel projects require both. The main distinction is whether hospitality expertise is core to the firm’s practice or incidental to broader real estate work.
Leading Law Firms for Hotel Contracts (Europe & Middle East)
The firms listed below represent a selection of well-recognised hotel lawyers and hospitality-focused law firms active across Europe and the Middle East. They are presented in alphabetical order and reflect a mix of dedicated hospitality specialists and broader full-service firms with meaningful experience in hotel management agreements, franchise contracts, and development-related documentation.
This is not an exhaustive list, and the suitability of any hotel lawyer will ultimately depend on the specific project, jurisdiction, and commercial context.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP)
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner website
BCLP is a recognised player in the hotel and hospitality sector, with a practice that covers management agreements, franchise structures, and hotel financing alongside broader real estate and development work. The firm has approximately 1,200 lawyers across 30+ offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and a global real estate team of around 700 lawyers. This scale provides a strong foundation for handling hotel projects integrated into broader development or investment structures.
The firm’s hospitality capability is supported by its broader real estate strength, making it particularly effective in development-led hotel projects and cross-border transactions. It is also notable for its historical association with leading hospitality lawyers, reinforcing its relevance in hotel contract negotiation. For owners and developers, BCLP represents a solid choice where hotel agreements form part of a larger real estate or mixed-use development framework.
CMS
CMS is widely regarded as one of the leading hotel law platforms in Europe, with a long-established hospitality, travel and leisure practice that is often positioned at the forefront of the sector. The firm has publicly stated that it has acted on more hotel and leisure deals than any other law firm in Europe, and its hospitality group includes approximately 90 partners and over 300 lawyers globally focused on the sector. This level of scale within a single practice area is unusual and reflects sustained, dedicated investment in hospitality law rather than opportunistic involvement.
The firm operates across more than 40 countries, with a particularly strong footprint in continental Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, and selected Middle Eastern markets. While CMS is a full-service organisation covering corporate, finance, disputes, tax and construction, its hospitality capability stands out as a genuine specialism within that platform. For hotel owners and developers, CMS is often considered a benchmark choice for hotel management agreements, franchise negotiations, and operator-related documentation, particularly where a project spans multiple European jurisdictions or requires consistent advice across markets.
Dentons
Dentons has one of the most extensive global hospitality and leisure practices, supported by a network that spans more than 80 countries and over 160 locations. The firm has approximately 5,900 lawyers and professionals globally, and its hospitality team is supported by over 175 partners and lawyers who regularly work on hotel and leisure matters. It is consistently ranked among the leading firms in hotels and leisure, with recognised strength in hotel management agreements, franchise structures, and operational advisory.
A defining feature of Dentons is its geographic reach, particularly in Europe, Türkiye, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. This makes it particularly well-suited to projects that require coordination across multiple jurisdictions or involve emerging markets where local legal frameworks can significantly affect hotel contracts. For developers and investors operating in these regions, Dentons offers a combination of hospitality-specific expertise and strong local execution capability, supported by a large institutional platform.
DLA Piper
DLA Piper has developed a well-established hospitality and leisure practice with a clear focus on hotel management agreements and operator-related documentation. The firm has invested in building internal knowledge and comparative tools around HMAs, reflecting a deliberate strategy to position itself as a leader in this area. Its experience spans owners, developers, operators, and lenders, and includes both individual-asset transactions and large-portfolio deals.
The firm operates in more than 40 countries and offers a full-service platform that includes real estate, finance, franchising, and disputes and regulatory advisory services. Its hospitality capability is therefore integrated into a broader transactional and advisory framework, making it particularly effective for complex or large-scale developments. For hotel owners, DLA Piper is often a strong choice when negotiating management agreements, as these negotiations must align with broader commercial, financial and structural considerations.
Greenberg Traurig
Greenberg Traurig has built a recognised hospitality practice advising developers, owners, operators, governments and financial institutions on a wide range of hotel-related matters. The firm has more than 3,100 attorneys across over 50 offices globally and has expanded its presence in Europe and the Middle East, including key markets such as Dubai and Riyadh. Its hospitality work includes hotel management agreements, franchise structures, operator selection, leasing arrangements, and the legal structuring of branded residential and mixed-use developments.
The firm’s strength lies in its ability to integrate hospitality advice with broader development and investment frameworks. It is particularly active in projects where hotels form part of larger mixed-use schemes or resort developments, including branded residences and integrated destinations. For developers and investors, Greenberg Traurig is often relevant when the project’s legal structure extends beyond a standalone hotel and requires coordination across multiple asset classes and jurisdictions.
Mayer Brown
Mayer Brown is one of the more directly relevant firms for hotel management agreements, with explicit experience in negotiating HMAs across a wide range of international hotel brands. The firm has advised on projects involving approximately 50 different brands, reflecting a breadth of exposure that is particularly valuable in understanding operator positions and market norms. This level of direct engagement with hotel operating agreements distinguishes it from firms whose hospitality experience is more transactionally focused.
The firm has more than 1,700 lawyers globally and operates across key markets in Europe and the Middle East, including London and Dubai. While it is a full-service international law firm, its hospitality capability is well integrated with high-end transactional work, including complex developments, mixed-use projects, and branded residential structures. For hotel owners, Mayer Brown offers a combination of specialist contract knowledge and broader commercial capabilities, making it particularly well-suited to large or complex developments.
Norton Rose Fulbright
Norton Rose Fulbright combines a global legal platform with a structured hospitality and leisure practice that operates across Europe, the Middle East, and other key international markets. The firm has more than 3,000 lawyers across over 50 cities worldwide and advises on a broad range of hotel-related matters, including development, acquisitions, joint ventures, financing, and operational agreements such as management and franchise contracts.
The firm’s positioning is not limited to hotel contracts; rather, it integrates hospitality work into a broader offering that includes banking and finance, energy, infrastructure, and regulatory advisory services. This makes it particularly relevant for capital-intensive hotel projects or those embedded in larger mixed-use or investment structures. For owners and developers, Norton Rose Fulbright is often selected when hotel agreements must align with financing arrangements, joint venture structures, or institutional investment requirements, rather than be negotiated in isolation.
Reed Smith
Reed Smith’s hospitality capability is closely aligned with its strengths in real estate, private equity, and capital markets. The firm has more than 1,500 lawyers across more than 30 offices worldwide and advises a client base that includes institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, private equity sponsors, and hotel companies. Its hospitality work covers acquisitions, financing, and operational structures, including management and franchise agreements.
The firm is not positioned as a pure hotel-law specialist but rather as a transactional platform in which hospitality sits within a broader investment context. This makes it particularly relevant for portfolio transactions, asset repositioning strategies, and capital-driven hotel projects. For owners and developers, Reed Smith is often most effective where hotel contracts must be integrated with investment structures, financing arrangements, and broader portfolio considerations.
Why the Individual Lawyer Matters
Hotel legal work is highly partner-driven. While firm reputation and platform provide important context, the quality of the outcome is often determined by the specific individuals leading the negotiation. Experience in hotel management agreements, familiarity with operator strategies, and an understanding of market norms are not evenly distributed across all lawyers within a firm.
For this reason, the selection process should extend beyond the firm itself to include a detailed assessment of the individuals who will be assigned to the matter. This includes reviewing their experience in negotiating with major operators, their exposure to relevant geographies, and their involvement in similar projects. In practice, the difference between a strong and a weak outcome often lies at the individual level rather than the institutional level.
Highlight: Scott Antel
Scott Antel’s Latest Hotel Law & Opinion Articles on CoStar
Scott Antel is an internationally recognised hospitality lawyer specialising in hotel management agreements, branded residential structures, and mixed-use developments. With more than 25 years of experience across Europe, the Middle East, and emerging markets, he has advised owners, developers and operators on a wide range of hotel projects. His career includes senior roles at major international law firms before establishing an independent practice focused on high-level advisory and contract negotiation.
His profile illustrates a broader principle relevant to hotel law: expertise is often concentrated at the individual level. Lawyers with deep sector experience bring not only technical capability but also commercial judgment and an understanding of how operators approach negotiations in practice. For owners and developers, identifying the right individual can be as important as selecting the right firm, particularly in complex or high-value projects.
Selecting the Right Legal Advisor
From an ownership perspective, selecting legal advisors should involve both institutional and individual considerations. The firm must have the geographic coverage, resources and supporting capabilities required for the project, while the individuals leading the work must have genuine experience in hotel contract negotiation.
The most effective outcomes typically arise where these two elements align. A strong institutional platform provides execution capability and support, while experienced individuals bring the sector-specific insight required to navigate negotiations and protect owner interests. In a sector where contractual structures directly influence long-term asset value, this combination is critical.
Further resources:
See HDG – Hotel Management Agreement: Structure, Key Clauses and Commercial Framework
See HDG – Hotel Franchise Agreement (HFA) / Hotel License Agreement (HLA / ILA)