HARRIS HOSPITALITY LAW
Exclusively Representing Hotel Owners and Operators.
WHO WE ARE
The Firm
Harris Hospitality Law is comprised of two attorneys with over 45 years combined experience in hospitality related transactional work. They are a husband and wife team, both of whom have practiced for years as general counsels for hotel companies before beginning their own firm. They represent clients throughout the United States, and have international experience in Mexico, Canada and the U.K.
Philip S. Harris
For many years, Philip Harris served as outside general counsel for San Francisco based Commune Hotels and Resorts, the boutique hotel management company that recently merged with Denver based Destination Hotels and Resorts to become Two Roads Hospitality until being acquired by Hyatt Corporation in 2018. In that capacity he negotiated and drafted the company’s hotel management, restaurant management, development, construction, revenue management, financing, IT, purchasing, and all operations agreements for individual hotels as well as for corporate multi-hotel master agreements. Philip graduated from Cornell’s Hotel School in 1984, worked in the industry for several years, primarily on the West Coast of the United States, and eventually settled down and attended law school in Portland, Oregon, graduating cum laude from Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College. He worked with a national law firm before going in-house in 2000, first as General Counsel with VIP’s Industries (then owner and manager of the Phoenix Inn brand of hotels throughout the West) and then as CEO and General Counsel for Shilo Management Corporation (owner and manager of the Shilo brand of hotels throughout the Western half of the United States). Philip was responsible for providing legal guidance for all aspects of the hotel operations in those businesses, and oversaw the real-property acquisition, financing, and subsequent construction and opening of a 160 key full-service all-suite hotel in Texas. He left Shilo in 2007 and formed his own firm.
Our Scope of Work
When you walk into a Hotel, behind everything you see, hear, touch, smell, and taste, there is an agreement. That is what we do.
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Negotiate and draft HMAs, TSAs, and PSAs, JV, F&B leasing and consulting agreements, financing agreements, vendor agreements (including marketing, PR, revenue management, group sales, technology, and general operations).
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Advise with respect to owner-operator disputes, guest disputes and employment disputes.
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Advise corporate executives in all departments (Executive, Development, Finance, Revenue, Marketing, Operations, IT, People Services).
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Provide training and education on a variety of legal matters, including contract terms and conditions.
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Advise with respect to risk management issues.
Tamsen L. McCracken
Tamsen McCracken works with Philip as a partner with Harris Hospitality Law. Tamsen has served as “Of Counsel” to a San Francisco firm representing an owner of significant Hawaiian Island holdings where she has represented the owner’s interests in negotiating real estate agreements, restaurant and management agreements for the owner’s 5-star hotels and resolving federal Endangered Species Act claims. Tamsen graduated cum laude from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1985. She worked for two well-known firms in San Francisco as a real estate attorney until 1991 when she went to work in-house as General Counsel for a small real estate developer in Santa Rosa, California. In 1996 she shifted gears and became Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, seeing it more than double in size during her tenure. She left Kimpton in 2005 to become Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Stanford Hotels Corporation, a privately held owner and operator of several franchised hotels throughout the U.S. (and with Hong Kong family also owning and operating hotels throughout China) with other real estate holdings and investments for which Tamsen helped provide legal support. Tamsen handled significant real estate transactions, including acquisitions and sales of multi- million dollar hotel properties, significant leasing work, construction contracts, all operations contracts, and oversaw counsel in areas of trademark, liquor licensing, employment claims, construction mediation and arbitration and other litigation. She left Stanford in 2010 to join Philip in his practice.
CONTACT HARRIS HOSPITALITY LAW
OUR ADDRESS
17 Frances Avenue, Larkspur CA 94939
Email: Philip@HarrisHospitalityLaw.com
Tel:(503) 706-6916
Click Here to Find Us: www.HarrisHospitalityLaw.com
For any general inquiries, please fill in the following contact form:
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