Overview
The multi-billion dollar Canadian hospitality industry is a complex business where evolving consumer expectations and spending habits, coupled with profitability concerns and a competitive environment, requires the industry to be flexible and adaptable to new challenges. At Miller Thomson, our Hospitality Group consists of experienced and knowledgeable lawyers who are uniquely positioned to deliver legal services to help with all aspects of operating a hospitality business. Whether guidance is required on operational challenges, business structures, litigation matters, labour/employment matters, real estate assets, tax planning, or marketing, advertising and regulatory issues, our lawyers can assist. With local-, national- and internationally-focussed hospitality businesses among our clients, we are able to leverage a wealth of industry expertise to provide sound advice across all areas of the legal spectrum.
Miller Thomson’s hospitality clients cross all sectors and regions in Canada and include, among others:
- hotels, motels, resorts and conference centres
- restaurants and food service companies
- travel agencies and tourism-related businesses
- casinos and gaming businesses
We advise hospitality businesses on a wide range of matters, including:
- Representing operators, managers, investors, lenders and developers to establish and implement the legal structure for hotel, restaurant and other hospitality industry assets
- Structuring transactions to maximize tax efficiencies, such as off balance financing and sales of consumer lease or other debt contract portfolios for tax savings through capital cost allowance deductions
- Assisting with acquisitions and dispositions of assets or shares
- Assisting hotel and restaurant operators with regulatory compliance, for example, to obtain liquor licenses
- Negotiating management, franchise and license agreements
- Registering trade-marks, preparing franchise disclosure documents and advising on franchise matters
- Advising on mergers and acquisitions
- Providing compliance advice for e-commerce and regulated consumer agreements
- Advising on cybersecurity issues
- Advising on federal and provincial privacy legislation and anti-spam compliance in consumer and business communications;
- Consulting on all aspects of day-to-day operations
- Advising on marketing and advertising-related initiatives, including promotional activities (such as contests, social media and viral campaigns) and promotional devices (such as gift cards, coupons, rebates, pricing offers and reward programs)
- Assisting with labour relations, unionization, immigration for employees coming into Canada, workplace health and safety compliance and payroll deductions
- Assisting condominium hotel developers in structuring and financing their projects and ensuring compliance with securities laws in the sale of project units
- Representing receivers and lenders in exercising their rights
