The Hospitality Law Conference: Washington DC 2026 (Presented by HospitalityLawyer.com)

Stephen Barth, Founder | HospitalityLawyer.com®

Stephen Barth is the founder of HospitalityLawyer.com®, the annual Hospitality Law Conference series, and the Global Travel Risk Summit Series, and a tenured professor of hospitality law and leadership at the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College. Coauthor of Hospitality Law, he is an attorney and expert witness who has spent decades helping hospitality leaders navigate legal risk, ethical decision-making, and crisis management.

• Education & Credentials

He earned his B.A. in Economics, cum laude, his M.A. in Communication, and his J.D. from Texas Tech University. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and among a select group of instructors worldwide designated by the Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Lodging Association to teach its Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE) program.

• Recognition & Leadership

He was ranked #1 on Global Gurus’ World’s Top 30 Hospitality Professionals and Influencers for 2022 and #3 for 2023 and 2024. His University of Houston honors include the Career Teaching Excellence Award (2018), the University Teaching Excellence Award (1998) – the university’s highest teaching recognition – the Hilton College Outstanding Teacher Award (2007), the “HVS” Research Award (2009), the Distance Education Award (2000), and the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence (1996).

• Professional Involvement

He launched the Electronic Journal of Hospitality Legal, Safety and Security Research and has written extensively on legal and leadership issues for publications including Lodging Hospitality, CHEERS Magazine, and Hotel/Motel Management. He presents to hospitality companies and associations including Four Seasons, Hyatt, Hilton, Choice, Best Western, InterContinental, Wyndham Worldwide, the National Restaurant Association, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Club Managers Association, the National Association for Catering Executives, and the Texas Hotel and Lodging Association, as well as the Methodist Hospital System.

• Experience

In more than 30 years at the Hilton College, he has taught over 15,000 students, published more than 150 articles, and delivered over 500 presentations to business travel, hotel, restaurant, club, and meeting industry audiences. For over 25 years, he has been retained by plaintiff and defense counsel to provide litigation support on the responsible service of alcohol, security, and the standards of care in the food, beverage, and lodging industries, serving as a dram shop, liquor liability, and hotel and restaurant security expert. He is also the author of Intelligent Emotions and coauthor of Restaurant Law Basics, and draws on over 25 years of practical restaurant and club industry experience, including management and ownership positions.

Steven Shapiro, Director, Hospitality and Tourism Law Program | Washington College of Law, American University

Steven Shapiro is an arbitrator focused on international construction and hospitality disputes, and he teaches, writes, and speaks on complex hospitality issues and construction law at American University’s Washington College of Law, blending a career in law firm practice, construction engineering, and academics. He launched the law school’s Hospitality & Tourism Law program — the sole law program of its kind in the U.S. — and, as its chair, directs the studies of U.S. law and business students while teaching courses in Construction Law, Real Estate Development Law, Contract Drafting, and related topics.

• Education & Credentials

He earned a B.S. in business administration from Georgetown University (1984), a J.D. (1987) and an LL.M. (1991) from the Georgetown University Law Center, and a mid-career M.A. in civil engineering from the University of Maryland (2004). He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb).

• Recognition & Leadership

In 2012, the American Institute of Architects named him an Honorary Member — its highest award for distinguished professional contribution by a non-architect and a rare distinction for an attorney — recognizing his body of work in service and contribution to design and construction. He has been an invited speaker on panel presentations at national conventions and has been quoted in the business press.

• Professional Involvement

An arbitrator since 1999, he serves on the National Roster of Arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, and is a member of the International Chamber of Commerce’s U.S. Council for International Business, the London Court of International Arbitration, the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, and arbitration institutions in Dubai and Singapore. With the law faculty of the University of Lausanne, he organized and directed a joint international conference in Switzerland on the impact of Covid-19 on international arbitration and is the named title editor of the book assembling the conference papers and commentary.

• Experience

After practicing as an attorney, he earned his engineering degree mid-career and worked on construction sites, becoming a project manager and project executive with national general contractors. He is the author of Maryland Real Estate Laws Annotated (West), Maryland Business Laws Annotated (West), and Pennsylvania Construction Law (West), and a contributor to Hotel Law Transactions (Routledge), along with articles in scholarly and professional journals. He is a visiting professor at the Sorbonne, Ferrandi (Paris), and EADA (Barcelona), teaches hospitality and tourism law topics in Europe and South America, and has taught in the University of Maryland’s Schools of Architecture and Engineering and at the Johns Hopkins University School of Business.

Jerrod Allen, Vice President | CBRE Hotels

Jerrod Allen is a Vice President with CBRE Hotels in Dallas and a member of the firm’s Texas Institutional Hotel Sales team, bringing a career that spans hotel investment sales, ownership-side acquisitions, and valuation and advisory work.

• Education & Credentials

He studied Hotel and Restaurant Management with a concentration in Hospitality Finance and Development, alongside a business minor in Finance, at the University of Houston, where he was a member of Hospitality Finance and Technology Professionals. He has held the MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute and a Texas real estate sales agent license.

• Recognition & Leadership

He serves on CBRE’s Texas Institutional Hotel Investment Sales Team, which closed nearly $1 billion in institutional hotel assets sold or under contract with hard deposits in 2025, and is named among the professionals of CBRE Hotels, recognized by MSCI Real Assets as the #1 hotels property sales team in the U.S. with 11.6% market share in 2025.

• Professional Involvement

He has authored hospitality industry publications, including Houston Market Pulse (HVS, 2019) and Equity Yield Rates on the Decline (Hospitality Net, 2018), among ten published works tracking lodging market performance and investment rates of return.

• Experience

Before CBRE Hotels, he was Vice President of Investments at NewcrestImage (2019-2024), where the company’s acquisitions included an 11-hotel, 1,551-room Courtyard and Residence Inn portfolio across seven states, and served as a Director at Ankura (2020-2021). He spent more than eight years with HVS, rising from Associate to Managing Director of the firm’s Houston practice (2011-2019). His team’s recent transactions include the Hampton Inn Vanderbilt and Hampton Inn & Suites Elliston Place portfolio in Nashville, the DoubleTree Galveston Beach, and the Hilton DFW Lakes.

Daniel Lesser, Co-Founder, President & CEO | LW Hospitality Advisors

Daniel H. Lesser co-founded New York City-based LW Hospitality Advisors (LWHA), which he leads as President & CEO, after more than four decades in hospitality valuation, investment counseling, advisory, and transactional work. He serves as a third-party advisor, independent expert witness, neutral arbitrator, asset manager, and property/business receiver, and has been retained by counsel to hotel owners, lenders, investors, and management companies alike.

• Education & Credentials

He earned a B.S. in Hotel Administration from Cornell University and holds the MAI, FRICS, CRE, and CHA professional designations.

• Recognition & Leadership

He is a frequent speaker at lodging and real estate events and has lectured at Cornell University, Columbia University, and New York University. He is also a co-founder and Managing Director of Lodging Analytics Research & Consulting.

• Professional Involvement

He is a member of, and has served on committees for, the Counselors of Real Estate, the Appraisal Institute, and the American Hotel & Motel Association, and has served on the Board of Directors of the Cornell Hotel Society’s New York City Chapter.

• Experience

His work spans appraisals for mortgage, acquisition, and portfolio management, site evaluation and highest-and-best-use analysis, workout strategies, economic impact studies, fairness opinions, deal structuring, and negotiation of management and franchise agreements. Earlier in his career he held positions with CB Richard Ellis Hotels and operational and administrative roles with Hilton Hotels Corporation and Eurotels-Switzerland.

Jonathan Falik, Founder & CEO | JF Capital Advisors

Jonathan Falik is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of JF Capital Advisors, where he leads the firm’s hospitality business across equity and debt placement, asset acquisitions and dispositions, portfolio transactions, joint venture structuring, asset management, management company and brand evaluation, and strategic and capital markets advisory services. He has worked on M&A and financing transactions involving well over 2,000 hotels and over $30 billion of transaction value.

• Education & Credentials

He earned a BA in economics from Rutgers College and an MBA from Columbia Business School, and began his career as a CPA at Price Waterhouse.

• Recognition & Leadership

He is a regular panelist at hospitality investment conferences.

• Professional Involvement

He serves on the Hospitality Real Estate Advisory Board at Florida International University.

• Experience

At JF Capital, founded in 2004, he has led the acquisition or development of 25 hotels with over 5,500 keys at an aggregate cost of approximately $1 billion, and served as CEO of Eagle Hospitality Trust, a 13hotel private REIT. His prior roles include Senior Managing Director and Head of Hospitality Capital Markets at BGC Real Estate Capital Markets, Head of Hotel Investment Sales for Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, Managing Director and Head of the Lodging and Leisure Investment Banking group at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., and investment banker at Bear Stearns in the Gaming, Lodging and Leisure Group.

John Lancaster, Vice President, Emerging Markets, Franchise Development & Owner Relationships | Choice Hotels International

John Lancaster is Vice President for Emerging Markets, Franchise Development & Owner Relationships at Choice Hotels International, where he leads the company’s effort to extend hotel ownership to underrepresented entrepreneurs through its Emerging Markets Program – an initiative that has supported more than 350 hotel franchise agreements with minority and veteran owners.

• Education & Credentials

He attended Howard University.

• Recognition & Leadership

He received the Chairman’s Award from the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers (NABHOOD) in June 2023. He was instrumental in creating HERtels by Choice, focused on increasing female hotel ownership, and developed the Choice Hotel Owners African American Alliance.

• Professional Involvement

He serves on the boards of trustees of the AHLA Foundation and the International Franchise Association Foundation, the board of the Boston University School of Hospitality Administration, the Hospitality Board of Morgan State University, and the Board of Directors of Visit Montgomery, and is a member of Choice’s CEO Diversity Advisory Board.

• Experience

He has held various roles at Choice since 2011, including Director of Global Sales Sourcing and Solutions, Director of Emerging Markets, and Regional Vice President of Franchise Development for the Mid-Atlantic, New England, and emerging markets. His property-level career began as a lifeguard and grew into Director of Marketing and General Manager positions in the full-service and extended-stay segments.

Jennifer Nellany, Member | Cozen O’Connor

Jennifer Nellany is a Member of Cozen O’Connor’s Real Estate Group in New York, representing clients in all aspects of real estate transactions with a focus on hospitality – including hotel acquisitions and dispositions, financing, joint ventures, and complex commercial agreements. With nearly 25 years as a practicing attorney – both as in-house counsel for public and private companies and in private practice at a full-service international law firm – she combines deep experience in real estate matters with practical corporate knowledge, advising on complex commercial agreements, debt and equity structuring, M&A and joint ventures, corporate governance, and domestic and cross-border regulatory issues.

• Education & Credentials

She earned her B.S. in Accounting from the University of Delaware (1992), her J.D. with a Tax Honors Certificate from Rutgers University School of Law (1996), and her LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law (2000). She is admitted in New York.

• Recognition & Leadership

She has been quoted by CNBC on real estate investment trends and speaks regularly at the Hospitality Law Conference on hotel deal-making and franchising.

• Professional Involvement

She is a member of the New York Bar Association and sits on the Board of Directors of the Sarcoma Foundation of America. She previously served as president of the board of directors of the Sarcoma Alliance and is passionate about fundraising and advocating for sarcoma research and awareness.

• Experience

Before joining Cozen O’Connor, she served as general counsel for a national diversified real estate owner, developer, and operator, responsible for all legal matters including the company’s litigation portfolio, and earlier as general counsel and chief compliance officer for a privately held real estate and investment company, where she oversaw legal and compliance matters across multiple business lines and launched the company’s first third-party fund; she also provided legal services to the family office function at both organizations. She has additionally served as general counsel for a public hotel company, where she was an integral part of the acquisition and transition of a significant expansion asset, and as global general counsel and secretary for the world’s largest independent provider of directory assistance, managing a patent and trademark portfolio and significant domestic and European patent litigation. She began her career as a financial analyst and senior tax consultant, then spent eight years as an associate with an Am Law 100 firm concentrating on corporate law, including real estate matters.

Samantha Ahuja, Shareholder; Co-Chair, Global Hospitality Practice | Greenberg Traurig

Samantha Ahuja is a Shareholder in Greenberg Traurig’s Washington, D.C. office and Co-Chair of the firm’s Hospitality Practice, focusing on hotel acquisitions, operations, development and finance, hotel management agreements, licensing agreements, and commercial real estate acquisition and sale. She led the Greenberg Traurig team representing Ryman Hospitality Properties in its approximately $1.38 billion acquisition of Grande Lakes Orlando Resort, which closed in September 2026.

• Education & Credentials

She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Valparaiso University School of Law in 2004 and her B.S. from American University in 1997. She is admitted in the District of Columbia and Virginia.

• Recognition & Leadership

She is listed in the Chambers USA Guide (Leisure & Hospitality, 2022-2026) and The Best Lawyers in America (Real Estate Law, 2023-2027), and is a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (2026-present). Earlier recognition includes Law360 “Rising Stars” in Hospitality (2014-2015) and Washington Business Journal’s Greater Washington Legal Champions “Rising Star” (2014), and she has been a team member of practice groups honored as Law360’s “Hospitality Practice Group of the Year (2021) and “Real Estate Practice Group of the Year” (2011-2013, 2015, 2022, and 2023), Chambers & Partners USA’s Real Estate Law Firm of the Year (2010, 2013, 2022), and U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Law Firm of the Year” in Real Estate Law (2015).

• Professional Involvement

She serves on the Boards of Directors of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (2026present) and the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc. (2023-2027), and is a member of the Virginia Bar Association, where she has served as Vice Chair of its Pro Bono Commission since 2005 and co-chaired its Minority Prelaw Conference Program (2005-2011). She leads the firm’s H.E.R.E. initiative supporting women and diverse hotel owners, served on Law360’s Hospitality Editorial Advisory Board (2022-2023), serves on the Board of Advisers and Committees of The Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association, and acts as pro bono counsel to affordable housing cooperatives and tenant associations in the District of Columbia, working to secure alternative financing, investors, or government grants that maintain longterm housing affordability. She has served as an adjunct professor and Alumni Board member at Valparaiso University School of Law, as a volunteer teacher with Junior Achievement since 2002, and as pro bono legal counsel to the India Development Service.

• Experience

She advises domestic and international clients on the acquisition and disposition of hotels and other commercial property, hotel management and operations, franchising, licensing and branding, restaurant management agreements, lease negotiations, and casino agreements, regularly working on complex transactions that combine hotels, resorts, condominiums, food and beverage facilities, and other sharedaccess amenities, along with traditional and investor financing, joint ventures, and capital and legal structures. She counsels clients on blockchain-related matters, from anti-money laundering and knowyour-customer best practices for cryptocurrency transactions to legal issues associated with novel uses of blockchain within the hospitality industry. Her representative matters include serving as primary legal counsel for the 1415 Girard Street Cooperative, recognized under the Community Impact category of the Washington Business Journal’s Best Real Estate Deals of 2012 and as best small affordable housing project by the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND).

Kendall Kelly Hayden, Member | Cozen O’Connor

Kendall Kelly Hayden is a Member of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department in Dallas, focusing on hospitality and transportation law along with retail, employment matters, professional liability defense, product liability defense, and construction defect matters. Her hospitality representations include international golf management companies, hotels and restaurants, boutique bed and breakfasts, party suppliers, spas, marinas, and country clubs.

• Education & Credentials

She earned her J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in 2003, where she served as editor-in-chief of the SMU Computer Law Review and Technology Journal, and her B.A. in Spanish from Texas A&M University in 1999. She is admitted to practice in Texas and before all four U.S. District Courts in Texas.

• Recognition & Leadership

She received HospitalityLawyer.com’s Anthony G. Marshall Hospitality Law Award in 2026 and has been named its Attorney of the Week three times (2014, 2016, and 2018). She was named a “Rising Star” in Insurance (2008) and in Transportation and Maritime Law (2012-2016), recognized as Dallas Pro Bono Coordinator of the Year (2012), and appointed to the inaugural Dallas Mayor’s Star Council.

• Professional Involvement

She is a member of the National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association, a sustainer of the Junior League of Dallas, and a former director of the Texas Young Lawyers Association board. Within Cozen O’Connor’s Dallas office she has served as vice chair, office managing partner, pro bono coordinator, and Women’s Initiative co-chair.

• Experience

She has served as a guest lecturer on legal issues in the hospitality industry at the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College, speaks regularly at the annual Hospitality Law Conference, and serves as a mentoring attorney for the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program in consumer law.

Robert Schnitz, Senior Vice President & Associate General Counsel | Hyatt Hotels and Resorts

Robert V. Schnitz is an attorney with Kabat Chapman & Ozmer LLP, practicing in hospitality law, labor relations and employment litigation, complex commercial contracts and transactional support, and internal investigations. Before joining the firm, he spent 22 years at Hyatt Hotels Corporation, including service as Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel overseeing legal support for global operations and providing counsel to the senior leadership team, and he has counseled large and small companies on daily and strategic labor and employee relations matters for over 35 years.

• Education & Credentials

He earned his B.A. from Northwestern University (1984), where he served as vice-president of campus student government, and his J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago (1988), where he won first place in the Wagner Labor Law National Moot Court Competition and received the Decalogue Scholarship and the Leadership and Service Award. He is admitted to the State Bars of California and Illinois and holds a mediation skills certification from Northwestern University School of Professional Studies.

• Recognition & Leadership

He received the Anthony G. Marshall Hospitality Lawyer Award in 2019 and has taught a “Hospitality Law and Business Ethics” course at DePaul University since 2011. His speaking engagements include “Crisis Management” at the Hospitality Law Conference in Houston, “Trends in Litigation Management” at the Counsel to Counsel Super Forum in Chicago, and “Compliance & Ethics Essentials” for the Practicing Law Institute.

• Professional Involvement

He serves as General Counsel to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (2022-present) after eight years as a board member (2014-2022), served as chairperson of the General Counsel Committee of the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), serves as Secretary and Board Member of Temple Sholom of Chicago (2022-present), and has served on the advisory board of the Cornell Center for Innovative Hospitality Labor and Employment Relations.

• Experience

At Hyatt, he also served as Chief Privacy Officer, overseeing legal support for privacy, cybersecurity, and code-of-conduct compliance; led global and chain-wide vendor contract negotiations with major suppliers, credit card companies, and online distribution providers; oversaw global trademark strategy; directed the litigation function with first-chair trial experience, including class actions; conducted hundreds of internal investigations involving allegations such as harassment, discrimination, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, bribery, OFAC/SDN issues, and theft of intellectual property; and led a multi-year, cross-functional national strategy responding to a hotel labor union corporate campaign. His hospitality work has included developing operator guidance and training on employee relations, guest check-in, trespass, guest disputes, government inquiries, ADA accessibility, safety, crisis communications, security, and workplace violence, and defending deceptive trade practice allegations related to resort fees, service charges, and gratuities. Before Hyatt, he spent approximately 13 years at a national labor and employment boutique, working primarily from its Southern California offices on employment litigation, including wrongful discharge and wage and hour class actions, internal investigations, and traditional labor disputes.

Andria Ryan, Partner; Co-Chair, Hospitality Industry Group | Fisher Phillips

Andria Ryan is a partner in Fisher Phillips’ Atlanta office, where she serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Hospitality Industry Group, and represents hospitality employers in virtually every area of employment and labor law.

• Education & Credentials

She earned her J.D. from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in 1988 and her B.A. from American University in 1985. She is admitted in Georgia.

• Recognition & Leadership

She received the Anthony G. Marshall Hospitality Law Award (2023) for her contributions to the field of hospitality law, the Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association’s Chairman’s Award (2007) for developing the Employment Compliance Guide for Colorado Hospitality Employers, and recognition as a Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta Volunteer of the Year (2022). She is a frequent speaker to industry groups and human resources professionals on topics including avoiding harassment in the workplace, maintaining a union-free workplace, avoiding discrimination claims, proper interviewing, and effective discipline and discharge techniques.

• Professional Involvement

She has served as Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia, as a guest lecturer at the Georgia State University and Johnson & Wales hospitality schools, and as an editorial advisor to Hospitality Law. She is a member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Human Resources Committee, the Resort Employee Relations Group, and the International Society of Hotel Association Executives.

• Experience

She joined Fisher Phillips in 1988 and defends employers throughout the United States in employment discrimination and harassment cases as well as traditional labor matters such as unfair labor practices and union campaigns. She spends much of her practice counseling employers on day-to-day employment and labor decisions and educating employers about prevention and practical solutions to workplace problems.

Jordan Schwartz, Partner | Conn Maciel Carey

Jordan B. Schwartz is a Labor & Employment Partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Conn Maciel Carey LLP, advising employers on a wide range of complex employment-related issues across employer defense litigation, regulatory compliance, and day-to-day employment counseling.

• Education & Credentials

He earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2002 and his A.B. in Public Policy from Duke University.

• Professional Involvement

He is a regular author on Conn Maciel Carey’s Employer Defense Report blog.

• Experience

He defends companies against claims of discrimination and harassment, misappropriation of trade secrets, and wage and hour violations, and represents property owners and managers in lawsuits alleging lack of accessibility under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, routinely conducting on-site inspections of properties and modifying policies and practices to ensure ADA compliance. He has extensive expertise in the hospitality, club, and retail industries, counseling on website accessibility, noncompete and trade secret disputes, FMLA and leave compliance, reductions in force, and workplace drugtesting policies. His prior firms include Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. and Kaye Scholer LLP.

Elizabeth DeConti, Shareholder; Chair, Regulated Products Section | GrayRobinson

Elizabeth DeConti is a shareholder in GrayRobinson’s Tampa office and one of the original members of the firm’s Alcohol Beverage and Food Team, with more than 20 years of practice focused on the regulation of alcohol beverages and food. She leads the firm’s Regulated Products Section, which includes its nationally ranked Alcohol Law Team.

• Education & Credentials

She earned her B.A., cum laude and With Distinction in Renaissance Studies, from Yale University in 1993 and her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law in 1996, where she was a Harvey T. Reid Scholar. She is a member of The Florida Bar and the Connecticut Bar, and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida.

• Recognition & Leadership

She is ranked by Chambers USA for Food and Beverages: Alcohol (2011-2017, 2021-2025), received the Anthony G. Marshall Hospitality Law Award (2022), and was named to Florida Trend’s Legal Elite Notable Women Leaders in Law (2024). She currently serves as President of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Florida Section Foundation.

• Professional Involvement

She is a member of the American Bar Association and serves on the Executive Steering Committee of the ABA’s Committee on Alcohol Beverage Practice. She previously served as President of the Yale Club of Tampa Bay (2017-2019) and as Co-President of the Yale Class of 1993 (2018-2023).

• Experience

Her litigation work for alcohol and food industry members includes complex commercial disputes, franchise, administrative law, and intellectual property matters. Her international experience includes the negotiation, sale, and purchase of Italian wineries, work with Italian law firms on litigation pending in Italy and the United States, representation of several German breweries, and advising foreign entities exporting products from Western Europe into the U.S. Before joining GrayRobinson, she was a partner in the Tampa office of Holland & Knight and a judicial clerk for the Honorable Antoinette L. Dupont, chief judge of the Connecticut Appellate Court.

Colby Birkes, Managing Associate | Dentons

Colby Birkes is a Managing Associate in Dentons’ Corporate group in Louisville, assisting companies and other business entities from their conception, with particular focus on drafting and reviewing documents, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and mergers and acquisitions. He has significant experience in the franchise context, frequently helping franchisees negotiate franchise agreements, comply with regulatory schemes, and structure project finance.

• Education & Credentials

He earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law in 2023, where he was a Brandeis Scholar and Dean’s List honoree, served as Vice President of Communication of the Student Bar Association and Senior Symposium Editor of the Louisville Law Review, competed on the National Moot Court and Wagner Labor and Employment Law Moot Court teams, served as a research assistant on a legal education reform project, and received CALI Excellence for the Future Awards in Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Products Liability, and Criminal Procedure: Judicial Process. He earned his B.A. in Political Science, summa cum laude, from Morehead State University in 2020, and he is admitted in Kentucky.

• Recognition & Leadership

He was selected to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the field of Corporate Law (2027) and named the 2025 recipient of Morehead State University’s Rising Eagle Award.

• Professional Involvement

His recent presentations include “Key Negotiable Provisions in Hospitality-Related Purchase Agreements” at the 27th Annual Hospitality Law Conference (Houston, May 2026), a MyLawCLE program on hospitality management agreements (April 2026), and Corporate Transparency Act programs for the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and the Hospitality Law Conference: Washington, DC (2024). He has held leadership roles in the Kentucky Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division and is involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana.

• Experience

His transactional work spans hospitality, real estate, manufacturing, distilling, and technology, including the acquisition of a Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Kentucky involving franchise matters, liquor license transfers, private capital raises, and lender negotiations, and a $177 million carve-out sale transaction involving a global reorganization of 21 entities across 12 countries. Before joining the firm as an associate, he was a summer associate at Dentons Bingham Greenebaum and worked in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District.

Brad Bonnell, Principal | Hotel Security Group

Brad Bonnell is Principal of Hotel Security Group, LLC, a hotel security and forensic liability consultancy based in Norcross, Georgia, bringing 31 years of experience as an executive-level safety and security director in the hospitality industry and 15 years of law enforcement experience as a criminal investigator at the local, state, and federal levels.

• Education & Credentials

He earned a Bachelor of Science from Florida State University.

• Recognition & Leadership

He received the Tom G. Davis Loss Prevention Lifetime Achievement Award presented by HospitalityLawyer.com. On behalf of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), he testified before a Congressional Subcommittee of the Department of Homeland Security concerning hotel security capability in the U.S. following the terrorist attacks against hotels in Mumbai. Former Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan has credited his investigative work with the successful prosecution of major organized crime figures, dangerous criminals, narcotics dealers, and corrupt political officials.

• Professional Involvement

He is a regular contributor to HospitalityLawyer.com educational programming on hotel safety and security, including recorded programs on fentanyl in hotels, guest key security and control, and safety and security best practices for housekeepers.

• Experience

He has a proven record developing, implementing, and directing threat-based, intelligence-led safety and security programs for InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Extended Stay America Hotels, and played a key role in establishing the IHG Group Global Security Team, delivering security capability to all levels of the business across 4,700 business units in over 100 countries. His law enforcement career included service as a Special Agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and as an Internal Affairs Investigator for the Georgia State Patrol. His expertise spans complex fraud investigations, security threat analysis and management, risk assessments, crisis management, security training, and executive protection, and he played a key role in developing corporate anti-fraud, counter-terrorism, travel risk, and kidnap-for-ransom policies and plans. Through Hotel Security Group, he serves as an expert witness in premises security liability litigation and partners with hotels on security training and preparation, crisis management and communication planning, and property site assessments built on the firm’s threat and vulnerability assessment process.

Salvatore Caccavale, Principal | Global Hospitality Security Solutions

Salvatore Caccavale, CLSD, is Principal of Global Hospitality Security Solutions, LLC, with more than 40 years in hospitality safety and security and an active consulting and expert witness practice on hotel and restaurant security matters.

• Education & Credentials

He holds the CLSD designation.

• Recognition & Leadership

He has received the Thomas G. Davis Loss Prevention Lifetime Award and Hilton Hotels’ 2001 Global Spirit of Pride Award and has been recognized and honored by many levels of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies over the years for his assistance in executing their duties.

• Professional Involvement

He is the past chair and past co-chair of the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Safety and Security Council, a member of the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) Hospitality, Entertainment, and Tourism Steering Committee, and a Board Member of the International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC). He is also a frequent presenter at the Hospitality Law Conference and a contributor to hospitality industry publications on safety, security, and crisis response.

• Experience

He began his career at Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1983 and spent 35 years with the company, serving as Director of Security at properties including the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago and The Waldorf=Astoria in New York City, and later as Hilton’s Corporate Director of Safety and Security for the Americas, where he was recognized for his leadership and for developing new methodologies within Hilton’s Corporate Security Department. In his consulting and expert witness practice, his services include case review, expert testimony, and consultation on reasonable and acceptable physical security standards and best practices, and he has been deposed or has testified more than 20 times in the past four years.

Michael Goldrich, Founder & Chief Advisor | Vivander Advisors

Michael J. Goldrich is the founder and chief advisor of Vivander Advisors, a consultancy focused on AI literacy, digital visibility, and commercial transformation for hospitality brands. He works with hotel owners, management companies, and technology providers to help commercial teams adapt to AI-driven discovery, distribution, and marketing, with recent emphasis on generative AI, agentic systems, and first-party data strategy.

• Education & Credentials

He holds a B.A. in Literature from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in Business Communication from Northwestern University, along with the CHDM and CRME designations.

• Recognition & Leadership

He is the author of Too Many Hats, Too Little Time and multiple works on AI literacy and the future of hotel visibility and created the AI Literacy Mindset program designed to help associates reclaim at least one hour per day through more effective use of technology. In 2020, HSMAI named him one of its Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Optimization.

• Professional Involvement

He serves as President of the HSMAI New York City Chapter, co-directs the global AI practice at Growth Advisors International Network (GAIN), is a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants, and is a regular feature writer for Hospitality Upgrade. He also serves on the HSMAI Foundation’s 2026 Board of Directors.

• Experience

He spent more than 25 years in digital marketing and strategy roles across the hospitality and travel ecosystem, working with global hotel brands, independent hotels, and technology platforms, including Accenture, Starwood, Wyndham, and Denihan Hospitality.

SESSION 1 – Where the Deals Are Happening | 1:00pm – 1:40pm

A synopsis of current transaction activity, investor appetite, and the sectors driving hospitality deal flow, including conversions, adaptive reuse, branded residences, distressed opportunities, and emerging investment trends.

Speakers: Steven Shapiro, Jerrod Allen, Daniel Lesser, Jonathan Falik

SESSION 2 – Structuring the Hospitality Acquisition | 1:40pm – 2:20pm

A practical discussion of hotel acquisitions from LOI through diligence and closing, including negotiation strategy, purchase agreement issues, transaction timelines, risk allocation, and execution challenges. Speakers: Steven Shapiro, John Lancaster, Jennifer Nellany, Jonathan Falik

BREAK | 2:20pm – 2:30pm

SESSION 3 – Capital Stacks, Lending & Creative Financing | 2:30pm – 3:10pm

How hospitality acquisitions are being financed today, including lender expectations, recapitalizations, preferred equity, mezzanine financing, joint ventures, and creative capital solutions.

Speakers: Steven Shapiro, Jonathan Falik

SESSION 4 – Legal Landmines in Hospitality Transactions | 3:10pm – 3:50pm

The legal and business issues that most commonly derail hotel transactions, including diligence failures, franchise obligations, management agreements, labor concerns, environmental risks, insurance issues, and regulatory exposure.

Speakers: Steven Shapiro, Samantha Ahuja, Jennifer Nellany

DAY 2, Thursday, October 29, 2026

SESSION 1 – Keep Your Hospitality Establishment Out of Ethical Jeopardy! | 9:45am – 10:15am

This presentation delivers a fun, interactive ethics course and best practices to keep your hospitality establishment out of Jeopardy! Modeled after the game show itself, get ready for friendly competition and excellent education and learning opportunities.

Speakers: Kendall Kelly Hayden

SESSION 2 – Recent Trends In Hotel Claims and Litigation | 10:15am – 10:45am

Hotels face an evolving landscape of legal claims arising from guest interactions, property operations, and third-party relationships. This session examines recent litigation trends through the lens of three key areas of risk: knowing your guests, knowing your products and property, and knowing your employees and vendors. Through practical case studies and real-world examples, attendees will gain insight into emerging liability issues, recent court decisions, and proactive strategies to reduce legal exposure while strengthening operational practices.

Speakers: Robert Schnitz

BREAK | 10:45am – 10:55am

SESSION 3 – ChatGPT Meets Human Resources | 10:55am – 11:25am

AI tools like Chat GPT help employees submit well drafted and legal sounding harassment complaints, requests for accommodations and raising other employee relations concerns. This is all despite their lack of legal knowledge and without regard to the actual facts of the situation. This session will provide an overview of 2026 employment law challenges and how to handle the ChatGPT “complainer.”

Speakers: Andria Ryan

SESSION 4 – Beyond the ADA: Navigating Religious, Pregnancy, and Disability Accommodations in the Hospitality Workplace | 11:25am – 11:55am

Hospitality employers are increasingly navigating accommodation requests that extend beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act. This session explores employers’ obligations under Title I of the ADA, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and federal protections for religious accommodations. Through practical examples and recent legal developments, attendees will learn how these laws intersect, how to evaluate accommodation requests, and how to develop consistent, legally compliant practices that reduce risk while supporting employees. Speakers: Jordan Schwartz

LUNCH | 11:55am – 1:00pm

SESSION 5 – Cocktails, Content & Compliance: Navigating Alcohol Marketing in the Digital Age | 1:00pm – 1:30pm

Social media, influencer partnerships, user-generated content, loyalty programs, and digital promotions have become essential marketing tools for hospitality businesses—but they also create significant regulatory risks. This session explores how federal and state alcohol advertising laws intersect with FTC endorsement rules, platform policies, sweepstakes regulations, and age-gating requirements. Attendees will learn practical strategies for promoting alcoholic beverages while minimizing compliance risks.

Speakers: Elizabeth DeConti

SESSION 6 – The Hidden Legal Risks in Hospitality Contracts: What Every Executive Should Know| 1:30pm – 2:00pm

Hospitality companies execute hundreds of contracts each year—from vendor agreements and technology contracts to management agreements, licensing arrangements, service contracts, and strategic partnerships. While many receive little attention once signed, these agreements often contain provisions that significantly affect operational flexibility and financial exposure. This session highlights commonly overlooked contractual terms and explains how operators can better identify, negotiate, and manage contractual risk before problems arise.

Speakers: Colby Birkes

BREAK | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

SESSION 7 – Lessons Learned about Liability from Serving as an Expert Witness | 2:10pm – 2:40pm

Moderated by Stephen Barth, this panel brings together experienced hospitality security and risk professionals to share lessons from their work as expert witnesses in premises liability, negligent security, and other hospitality-related cases. The discussion will explore common liability issues, what experts look for when evaluating a property, and practical steps hospitality organizations can take to identify vulnerabilities and better manage risk.

Speakers: Brad Bonnell, Salvatore Caccavale

SESSION 8 – AI Governance: A Field Guide for Counsel | 2:40pm – 3:10pm

AI is already inside the building. Staff use it for guest messaging, scheduling, and content, mostly without a policy and almost always without legal review. This session gives risk and legal leaders a working framework for governing that use, from data handling to vendor terms to the small daily habits most likely to trigger a claim. Attendees leave with a checklist they can put to work the same week.

Speakers: Michael Goldrich