John M. Ratino
Of Counsel
Washington, D.C.
jratino@goulstonstorrs.com+1 202 721 6381John M. Ratino
Of Counsel, Washington, D.C.
jratino@goulstonstorrs.com+1 202 721 6381Related Expertise
Lenders, developers, joint ventures, REITS, and other hotel and commercial property owners turn to John Ratino for trusted real estate and real estate finance advice. Clients particularly value his deep expertise in the hospitality industry.
John counsels clients in connection with financings, restructurings and workouts, real estate capital markets, REITs, joint ventures, development projects, acquisitions and dispositions, in addition to traditional real estate transactions.
Chambers USA recognizes John as "very experienced, business-minded, responsive and resourceful." Chambers adds that "John is always thinking a couple of steps ahead" and has “excellent judgement and handles complicated transactions very smoothly.”
A Leading Voice in Real Estate and Hospitality Law
A respected lawyer in his field, John is Co-Chair of the firm's Hospitality & Recreation Industry Group and is a fellow in the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. He shares his knowledge in many ways, including as adjunct faculty for commercial real estate financing at Georgetown University Law Center and as an instructor in American University's Washington College of Law's Hospitality and Tourism Law Summer Program.
Related Representative Matters
JW Capital Partners, LLC in partnership with Geolo Capital on the acquisition and development of what will be the first hotel in The Yards, Thompson D.C., a 225-room luxury lifestyle boutique hotel in Washington, D.C.
Extensive experience in the hospitality industry, involving hotel acquisitions, dispositions and financings, management and franchise agreements, and public offerings. Advise real estate investment trusts as well as other public and private companies with regard to their acquisitions, dispositions, financings and development projects. Counsel clients across all areas of the commercial real estate industry, including hospitality, resort, multi-family, office, industrial, and specialized use properties.
Publicly traded real estate investment trust in the acquisition of a boutique hotel with an attached, six-story parking garage totaling 282,000 square feet as well as a vacant, urban parcel for $260M. Also worked with a joint venture to file a proposal for the redevelopment of the vacant parcel into a new residential building with ground floor retail. Represented a REIT on the sale of the vacant site to the JV for $6M and various other matters in connection with its ownership of the hotel.
Foreign bank and its affiliates as lenders in connection with the $115M refinancing of the Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C., 265,000-square-foot, 300-room luxury hotel comprising part of a commercial condominium in the West End neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C.
A Qatari investment firm in connection with its $52.4M ($325,465 per key) acquisition of the 161-room, full-service hotel in Washington, D.C.’s Farragut. We also represented the client in connection with a $32.4M purchase money loan from Bank of America.
A lodging real estate investment trust in connection with the physical reconfiguration of hotel properties and the purchase of certain related air rights.
BXP in connection with a joint venture with the Bernstein Companies (the land owner) and the development of the 722,000 rentable square-foot Marriott World Headquarters Office Building and a Marriott Flagship Demonstration Hotel in Bethesda, MD. Also negotiated the joint venture agreement, the land contribution agreement, and the site development agreement, as well as various ancillary documents.
A Washington D.C.-based real estate development company in the negotiation of a joint venture and development agreement for the construction of a mixed-use building in Washington D.C. that will include a luxury boutique hotel and a senior apartment project.
Client in reorganization and recapitalization of $1.2B Class A office property portfolio.
Negotiate joint venture to acquire a billion-dollar hotel property portfolio.
Various clients with regard to tax-deferred real estate transactions, including operating partnership unit transactions and Section 1031 exchanges.
Negotiate joint venture agreements between numerous public and privately held companies. Significant experience with regard to corporate real estate restructurings.
Syndicators, sponsors and investors in low-income housing tax credit and historic rehabilitation tax credit transactions, consisting of both single property investments and multifamily funds.
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Recognition
Chambers USA Guide
June 5, 2025
Accolades
- Chambers USA, Real Estate, District of Columbia, 2018 - 2025
- Best Lawyers in America® "Lawyer of the Year" (2023): Leisure and Hospitality
- Best Lawyers in America® (2015-2026): Leisure and Hospitality, Real Estate
- Super Lawyers, Washington DC, 2013-2017, 2019 - 2020
- Washingtonian's Top Lawyers in Washington, D.C., 2017
- "America's Leading Business Lawyers," Chambers USA 2011-2016
- "Stars of the Bar," Biennial List of Washington's Best Lawyers, The Washingtonian, 2015
- Martindale Hubbell, Peer-Review Rated AV Preeminent®
- Top Rated Lawyer in Banking and Finance Law, 2013
- Best Lawyers in America, 2015-2017
Affiliations
- Fellow, American College of Real Estate Lawyers
- District of Columbia Bar Association
- Maryland Bar Association
Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
Education
Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law ( J.D. , 1984 )
University of Maryland ( B.S. , 1978 )