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Risky Business: Is the movie a spy thriller
with a shootout that is to be filmed in your
main ballroom or is your hotel cigar bar the
scene of a business meeting? The nature
of the filming makes a difference for your
risk allocation. You will want an appropriate
indemnity from the production company,
evidence that it is appropriately insured
(including you being named as additional
insured on its applicable insurance policies)
and to consider your preference for any
dispute resolution. You will also want to
address how to handle any damage to your
hotel property that may result from the
filming. Additionally, if the production
company asks for a release, it should be
negotiated prior to signing the location
agreement.
Quiet on the Set: It is essential that you
understand and detail in the location
agreement where and when the production
company will be filming. Your hotel is
your business and unless the production
company is renting out your entire hotel,
you will want language in the agreement
regarding the treatment of your guests.
You also need to work with the hotel
management and staff to ensure that your
guests are not materially inconvenienced
by the shoot, and that the hotel is able
to comply with the requirements of the
location agreement.
Peak Behind the Curtain: It is important
to keep in mind there are intellectual
property and licensing considerations
which may need to be addressed depending
on the nature of the filming. Boilerplate
language stating that the hotel grants the
rights to the production company for all
art and objects in and around the property
is often in the location agreement, but is it
accurate? Does your hotel actually own the
licensing rights to the modern art piece that
will be featured in the lobby scene? If not,
that may need to be addressed.
Can You Keep a Secret?: For many
filmings, particularly in the ever-growing
genre of reality television, confidentiality
is paramount to the production companies.
Read these provisions carefully and
think about whether the confidentiality
restrictions the production company
is requesting are something your hotel
management can actually enforce. Once
agreed upon, the hotel owner and/or
manager needs to clearly convey the
message to hotel staff regarding what they
can and cannot do before, during and after
the filming.
• Who is on the List: Under a hotel
management agreement, the appropriate
signatory for a location agreement may be
the hotel owner, the hotel management
company or another construct such
as the management company as agent
for the hotel owner. It is important to
ensure that the agreement is structured
to be entered into by the appropriate
signatory, and that the text of the location
agreement accurately addresses the
references to the signatory. If the scenes
being shot at your hotel include your spa,
boutiques, celebrity-chef restaurant, or
other amenities managed by an operator
other than your hotel operator, separate
agreements may be required for those
spaces as well.
• Have Your Entourage Ready: The typical
location agreement sent by the production
company is a short one-page document,
but they move quickly and, as discussed
above, there are complex legal issues
involved. The production company likely
had its lawyers draft the agreement, so it
is important for a luxury hotel or property
manager to have an equally experienced
lawyer review the proposed agreement and
negotiate it before committing your hotel
to the project.
About the author
Elizabeth Martin Colombo is a Member
of the Hospitality & Gaming Group at the
national law firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin
& Mellott, LLC. Her practice is focused on the
representation of domestic and international
hotel and spa management companies,
owners, developers, and asset managers in
corporate transactional matters. Elizabeth
can be reached at ecolombo@eckertseamans.
com. https://www.eckertseamans.com/our-
people/elizabeth-martincolombo