PERSPECTIVE
CROWDED HOUSE
REVISITING HOTEL AREAS OF PROTECTION CLAUSES IN THE AGE OF BRAND PROLIFERATION .
Contributed by LAN ELLIOTT , ACACIA HOSPITALITY & NEVA WAGNER , PERKINS COIE
I
t ’ s getting more congested out there . Brand companies have expanded their offerings in recent years through a variety of mergers and acquisitions and organically . Though brand proliferation has increased the options available to hotel owners and consumers , it , too , has an attendant consequence : multiple brands within a brand company sharing similar room counts , amenities and price points . Subsequently , despite the congruity , different brands within a company might compete with one another without running afoul of the area of protection ( AOP ) provision within franchise or management agreements . This competition not only potentially reduces revenues for existing hotels , but it also calls into question whether today ’ s AOPs are still effective in protecting owners from unfair competition within the same company .
TODAY ’ S AOP AOPs are intended to protect an owner ’ s expectation that the company that owns their
20 hotelsmag . com Mar / Apr 2025