On the one hand, the hotel and restaurant business (HoReCa sector) is an attractive investment environment with significant prospects for development. However, on the other hand, it is a sphere that reacts very sensitively to any social or economic troubles in the state, as well as to interaction with state regulators and control bodies. When starting such a business, you should immediately take care of a reliable legal foundation, and in the future, keep in touch with lawyers who specialize in this field.
Specialists of the “Lotysh and Partners” law office are ready to receive tasks of various levels of complexity from clients. For us, legal support of the hospitality industry is a well-known field of activity. We successfully perform both individual and complex tasks, starting from consulting on business plans and franchising and ending with support for the opening of a hotel and entertainment complex with a gambling establishment on the territory. The quality of our services is guaranteed by more than 20 years of experience in legal practice, as well as membership in specialized professional organizations, including the Kyiv Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
What do we offer?
Consultations on opening a hotel or restaurant, specifics of legislative regulation of hotel and restaurant complexes.
Consultations during the preparation of the hotel for certification – regarding the compliance of the material and technical base, the list and quality of services, and the qualifications of the staff.
Legal support of development projects in the HoReCa sector: acquisition of land, obtaining permits for the construction and commissioning of relevant facilities, preparation of contracts with contractors.
Solving issues related to investment and purchase and sale of objects in the hotel and restaurant industry: due diligence of the seller or buyer, as well as agreements, tax planning, development of schemes for corporate participation in business, including for foreign investors.
Legal support for the opening of hotels, registration of enterprises of hotel complexes, restaurants, cafes, and other “turnkey” catering establishments.
Support for hotel certification at the State Tourism Development Agency (DART).
Collection of permit documentation for opening a restaurant or hotel: in particular, issuing declarations of compliance of the material and technical base with the requirements of labor protection, fire safety, and sanitary standards.
Obtaining licenses for the retail trade of alcohol and tobacco, conducting gambling activities.
Arrangement of documents for real estate objects where hotel and restaurant services are provided.
Preparation of documents for land plots on which hotels, restaurants, and entertainment complexes are located.
Regulation of personnel issues: assistance in matters of staff optimization, provision of necessary documents in the field of labor relations, establishment of the labor protection system.
Subscription legal service of hotel and restaurant complexes.
Representation of interests in disputes, including in court proceedings.
Support for hotel certification in DART
Since 2021, the State Agency for Tourism Development (DART) has resumed the procedure for categorizing hotels, i.e. assigning stars to accommodation facilities. The Committee on Categorization within the DART structure deals directly with this issue. In order to obtain the desired category, one must go through a difficult path related to compliance with requirements regarding the territory, premises, material and technical base, level of service quality, personnel qualifications, etc. However, a successful outcome provides a significant competitive advantage in the market, so it is worth the effort.
Hotel certification in DART includes:
preliminary consultations on meeting the requirements established for the hotel category from one to five stars;
preparation of documents, submission of application to DART;
consideration of documents by the commission for categorization of accommodation facilities within 14 days;
issuing a decision by the commission on issuing a Certificate for the right to carry out hotel activities and assigning a category (in certain cases, the applicant’s documents may be sent for revision or he may be denied the assignment of a star).
Legal consultations on the creation and operation of HoReCa companies are provided by appointment online or in the office of our Law Office.