Lannan Legal PLLC

02/11/2026

https://lannanlegal.com/ai-as-a-key-player-in-business-decisions-use-with-caution/

Last week, I posted some reflections on the use of artificial intelligence in everyday life and in the practice of law. Today, I read this article in Hotel Business, in which Alice Sherman opens with a statement that artificial intelligence has become “an actual key player in business decisions”...

02/04/2026

https://lannanlegal.com/automated-services-in-transportation-and-law/

Last week I spent some time in Los Angeles, which shares a state with Silicon Valley, arguably the technology capital of the world. Within 24 hours after I arrived I saw all three of the above images, which one does not see in most cities in the United States but undoubtedly will soon. One ofContinu...

01/27/2026

The 12th Annual ALIS Law conference wrapped up in Los Angeles yesterday. The producer of this conference has an “off-the-record” policy, so I will not report on anything anyone said. However, I don’t think it will breach that policy to share that the topic that seemed to surface the most was Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in my hometown of Minneapolis. How should a hotel operator respond if an ICE agent presents an administrative (as opposed to a judicial) warrant demanding access to a guestroom? And what if the agent wants access to back-of-the-house areas of the hotel to interrogate (and potentially arrest) employees? How can or should a franchisor respond if a franchisee announces a policy of not accommodating ICE agents, as Minnesota-based franchisees of two major hospitality brands did this month? Without mentioning how anyone responded to these questions, I will share that they were discussed during both sessions and coffee breaks between sessions.

--Bob Lannan

01/21/2026

Coming soon to Orlando: the W Hotel Orlando, adjacent to the Universal Epic Universe park. Lannan Legal PLLC is grateful for the opportunity work with the Buccini/Pollin Group on this development.

https://lnkd.in/e5TQRW5C

01/20/2026

https://lannanlegal.com/congratulations-to-canaan-wellness-center-llc/

Congratulations to Canaan Wellness Center LLC on the development and opening of the Canaan Valley Spa & Wellness Center in Davis, West Virginia. Lannan Legal PLLC was privileged to provide legal support for the development of this “Sanctuary of Serenity” in West Virginia’s scenic Canaan Valley...

01/16/2026

https://lannanlegal.com/quality-oil-company-llc-taps-concord-hospitality-to-run-fb-operations-at-new-oberlin-hotel-in-raleigh/

Congratulations to Quality Oil Company, LLC on reaching a deal with Concord Hospitality to manage food and beverage operations at the Oberlin Hotel in Raleigh, North Carlina. The hotel will open within Hilton’s Curio Collection later this summer, offering upscale accommodations and rooftop dining ...

01/15/2026

Today’s Washington Post features an article on “25 ways travel has changed this century.” (Can you believe we’re a quarter through “this century”?) Number 17 will resonate with people who work in the hotel industry: “Hotel Brands multiply like rabbits.”

The article continues, “We knew what we were getting into with a Courtyard by Marriott, a Hilton Garden Inn, or a Motel 6. But then came the hotel brand explosion: Your destination might offer an Aloft, a Spark, a Motto, or a Moxy.

“You might wonder, aren’t those just nouns? No, they’re part of hotel companies’ ever-growing ambition to get more heads into their beds.”

Our staff discusses the biggest moments and advancements that took place between 2000 and 2025. Then we asked travel industry stalwarts for theirs.

01/13/2026

https://lannanlegal.com/congratulations-to-chef-ian-kittichai-and-cuisine-concept-co-ltd/

Congratulations to Chef Ian Kittichai and Cuisine Concept Co., Ltd. on the renewal of the Ko Sa-Wan restaurant for another season at Atlantis Paradise Island in The Bahamas. Lannan Legal PLLC was privileged to work with Chef Kittichai and his company to effectuate this renewal. Please stop by if you...

01/09/2026

https://lannanlegal.com/wise-legal-advice-from-the-boss/

From time to time, I advise a small business owner who is being pressured by someone to make an important agreement without a written instrument. The person applying the pressure will say something like, “In this town, we do business with a handshake.” The implication is that insisting on a writ...

12/15/2025

12/02/2025

This is a great article about Chris Nassetta’s 18-year tenure as CEO of Hilton, during which he oversaw what this article describes as “the most profitable private equity investment in history.” I was privileged to work at Hilton during the move of its headquarters from Beverly Hills, CA to McLean, VA. In this article, Nassetta speaks to the “redirect[ion] and rebuild[ing] of [Hilton’s] culture” that was accommodated by that move. I witnessed some of that first-hand. The Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area has become the unofficial headquarters of the hotel industry in the United States, and Hilton’s settlement and growth here has played a large part in making it that.

Real estate investor turned brand leader oversaw most profitable private equity deal in history