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Prudential, Ostroff had worked for a number of years for Hilton
Hotels as a hotel manager and executive. Ballard was
instrumental in Prudential’s hiring of Ostroff, as Ballard had
concluded that Prudential’s real estate department needed to
employ an individual possessing substantial expertise in hotels
and hotel operations.
Previously, the real estate department staff in Prudential’s
regional offices negotiated hotel management contracts for
Prudential’s hotel properties on an ad hoc basis. By 1979,
Ostroff had devised a model hotel management contract that
Prudential’s real estate department staff could use in
negotiating such management contracts. Ostroff also worked on
various hotel projects for Donald Knab, Ballard, and/or Lisle.
c. Hotel Management Industry Trends
At some point during the 1970s, the hotel management
industry began to offer owners of large hotels relatively short-
term management contracts for hotels, typically for terms ranging
from 5 to 10 years. It was sometimes not desirable for a hotel
owner to enter into a long-term management contract, particularly
if the owner contemplated selling the hotel within the next 5 to
10 years, as an outstanding long-term management contract could
make the hotel more difficult to sell. Rather than entering into
a long-term management contract with a national hotel company,
like Hilton Hotels, Hyatt Corp., or Marriott Hotels, an owner of
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