2014 Dallas Hotel Conference Program.pub

 2014 DALLAS HOTEL CONFERENCE
Omni Dallas Hotel, Downtown Dallas
Welcome Remarks and Introduction
Cliff Risman, Partner, Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
3 p.m.
Market Update
Presenter:
Dan Lesser, President and CEO, LW Hospitality Advisors LLC
The Capital Markets: Can Things Go Higher?
Moderator:
Chuck Bedsole, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal Real Estate Advisory Services LLC
Panelists:
Mahmood Khimji, Principal, Highgate Holdings
Brian Kim, Managing Director, Blackstone
Dan Peek, Senior Managing Director, HFF
Michele Wheeler, President and COO, Jackson-Shaw
AH&LA and Legislative Update
Presenter:
Katherine Lugar, President and CEO, American Hotel & Lodging Association
Transaction of the Year Award
Presenter:
Beth Van Duyne, Mayor, City of Irving
Operators and Brands: What is Coming Next?
Moderator:
Cindy Nelson, Partner, Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
Panelists:
Mike Deitemeyer, President, Omni Hotels & Resorts
Dave Johnson, President and CEO, Aimbridge Hospitality L.P.
Leslie Ng, Chief Investment Officer, Interstate Hotels & Resorts
Todd Wynne-Parry, SVP of Development, Commune Hotels & Resorts
Closing Remarks and Thanks
Cindy Nelson, Partner, Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
Cocktails and Network Reception
Adjourn at 7 p.m.
Visit dallashotelconference.com for this handout, final presentations and photos
from the conference as well as previous years programs, presentations and photos.
2014 DALLAS HOTEL CONFERENCE
Panelists and Presenters
Chuck Bedsole
Managing Director
Alvarez & Marsal Real Estate Advisory Services LLC
As founder and global leader of A&M’s Hospitality and Leisure Advisory Services
Group, Chuck Bedsole has more than 32 years of industry experience, including
eight years with Big Four professional service firms and five years of corporate-level
experience with hospitality companies in the areas of acquisitions, development,
finance and marketing. He has substantial domestic and international experience with various hospitality
asset types including hotels, mixed-use resort developments, hotel condominiums, interval ownership,
all-inclusive resorts and marinas. He also has significant experience with residential, commercial and
industrial projects in Latin America.
Mr. Bedsole's advisory experience includes strategic planning, asset management, due diligence, feasibility,
valuation, marketing and financing engagements for multinational companies, capital sources, developers,
financial institutions and governments in major markets in the United States, Caribbean, Europe and Latin
America.
Mike Deitemeyer
President
Omni Hotels & Resorts
Mike Deitemeyer is the president of Omni Hotels & Resorts, which offers luxury
accommodations at 60 hotels and resorts in leading business gateways and leisure
destinations across North America. Since his appointment in 2004, Mr. Deitemeyer
has established the company as a leading luxury hotel brand known for delivering
superior quality, award-winning service and exceptional guest experiences. Under his leadership, the brand
portfolio has expanded to include a growing luxury resort and convention hotel collection, and most recently,
the addition of five iconic luxury resorts including The Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Va., and The
Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, N.C.
Omni Hotels has been ranked “Highest in Guest Satisfaction Among Upper Upscale Hotel Chains” in the J.D.
Power and Associates North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction StudySM five times since 2000. Mr.
Deitemeyer also serves on the board of directors for the Global Hotel Alliance. He earned a degree in
business from Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts.
Dave Johnson
President and CEO
Aimbridge Hospitality L.P.
Dave Johnson oversees the management of Aimbridge’s entire portfolio consisting of
over 200 hotels and approximately 1 billion in annual revenue. Through his
dedication and leadership, Aimbridge is recognized as one of the Premier Hotel
Management companies in the United States. Aimbridge Hospitality’s portfolio
includes assets under ownership and management from Marriott, Hilton, Starwood, Hyatt Hotels, IHG, Choice
and Wyndham. Additionally Aimbridge oversees an impressive resort and luxury division of hotels.
Prior to joining Aimbridge, he spent 17 years at Wyndham International helping them grow from 10 hotels to
over 200 at the time of his departure. While at Wyndham, Johnson served as President of Wyndham Hotels,
overseeing approximately 15,000 employees and responsible for approximately 1.5 billion dollars in annual
revenue. Prior to that he served in various senior level operational, sales and marketing positions.
Mahmood Khimji
Principal
Highgate Holdings
Highgate focuses on investments in the lodging industry and on providing hotel
management services. Highgate is a fully integrated hospitality management
enterprise that is operating over 55 hotels representing over 20,000 hotel rooms.
Over the past 20 years, Highgate, individually and with partners, has purchased real
estate valued at over $11 billion.
Mr. Khimji graduated from the University of Houston, summa cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He
attended Columbia Law School where he earned a Juris Doctor and subsequently practiced at the Manhattan
law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Harrison. Mr. Khimji was formerly a member of the Board of
Directors for Meristar Hospitality Corporation, Interstate Hotels and Morgans Hotel Group, all publicly-held
companies. He currently serves on the Board of Visitors for Columbia Law School. He is also a member of
WPO.
Brian Kim
Managing Director
Blackstone
Brian Kim is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group at Blackstone and is
based in New York. Mr. Kim currently helps oversee Blackstone’s effort to identify
new investment opportunities in North America. Since joining Blackstone in 2008,
Mr. Kim has led the development of Blackstone’s $3.5 billion select service hotel
platform through the acquisition of Apple REIT 6, the Clarion hotel portfolio, the OTO portfolio, the Hersha
portfolio and the takeover of Eagle Hospitality REIT. In addition, Mr. Kim has led investments in all property
types including the acquisition the Four Seasons Las Colinas, Solana Office Campus in Dallas, the
Glenborough office portfolio, the Eurohypo distressed debt portfolio and the development of the Grand
Islander timeshare tower in Waikiki.
Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Kim worked at Apollo Real Estate Advisors, a global opportunistic real estate
firm that oversaw the investment of eleven real estate funds. Prior to that, Mr. Kim worked for Max Capital
Management Corp. and Credit Suisse First Boston. Mr. Kim currently serves as a board member of BRE
Select Hotels Corp. and received a AB in Biology from Harvard College where he graduated with honors.
Dan Lesser
President and CEO
LW Hospitality Advisors LLC
Dan Lesser has more than 30 years of expertise in a wide range of hospitality
operational, investment counseling, valuation, advisory and transactional services.
Prior to founding LW Hospitality Advisors, he created and served as senior managing
director - industry leader of the Hospitality & Gaming Valuation Advisory Services
Group at CB Richard Ellis Hotels. Prior to joining CBRE, Mr. Lesser founded and led the Hospitality & Gaming
Group at Cushman & Wakefield and was a founding member of the team at HVS International. Mr. Lesser has
held operational and administrative positions with Hilton Hotels Corp. and Eurotels-Switzerland. He is a
graduate of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University and also attended the Ecole hôtelière de
Lausanne. Mr. Lesser is widely published and quoted, and highly sought after to speak at lodging and real
estate events as well as lectures at prestigious institutions of higher education.
Katherine Lugar
President and CEO
American Hotel & Lodging Association
Katherine Lugar is President/CEO of AH&LA, the largest trade association
representing the U.S. lodging industry. She implements and directs AH&LA's
services, works directly with the volunteer officers and board of directors in
determining the industry's major strategic initiatives, and oversees the American
Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation (AH&LEF) and the Educational Institute (EI).
Lugar was previously executive vice president, public affairs, with the Retail Industry Leaders Association
(RILA), a tenure marked by a major and successful campaign to regulate debit swipe fees, the creation and
implementation of a dual state-federal campaign leveling the playing field on sales tax collection, and
overseeing successful efforts to block major pro-labor initiatives.
Before joining RILA, she was vice president of federal government relations for Travelers Insurance, and
served as vice president of legislative and political affairs at the National Retail Federation. Lugar’s career in
Washington began on the staff of Indiana Congressman Tim Roemer.
Cindy Nelson
Partner
Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
Cynthia Brotman Nelson practices in the Gardere Real Estate Practice Group and is
on the Hospitality Industry Team. She has vast experience in sophisticated and
complex real estate and finance transactions, including representing owners, REITs,
opportunity funds and developers in acquiring, disposing, leasing, financing and
managing significant and/or high-profile commercial enterprises such as shopping centers, multi- and singlefamily housing developments, hotels and mixed-use developments, office buildings, industrial properties and
unimproved land with a particular emphasis on lodging properties and the hospitality industry.
Ms. Nelson's representation includes senior and mezzanine financing, complex workout and debt restructure,
joint ventures, management agreements, franchise agreements, buying, selling, developing and ground
leasing of all types of real estate products including hotels, mixed-use developments, and fractional and time
share products. She also assists investors with recapitalization of distressed borrowers and purchasers of
troubled assets. Ms. Nelson's practice is both domestic and foreign.
Leslie Ng
Chief Investment Officer
Interstate Hotels & Resorts
Leslie Ng is responsible for Interstate Hotels & Resorts' global investments and new
business development activities. As the global head of development, he is
responsible for driving the company's overall growth through hotel acquisitions,
corporate acquisitions and new management business.
Prior to joining Interstate, Mr. Ng held senior executive positions at Patriot American Hospitality, later
renamed Wyndham International, a major hotel REIT; The Continental Companies, one of the country's
largest hotel owner/operators; and Tobishima Corporation, a multinational real estate investment and
construction company. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ng worked at Deloitte and Touche as a management
consultant, and at Burns and Roe as a civil engineer designing nuclear power plants.
Mr. Ng holds a B.E. in Civil Engineering from The Cooper Union and an M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton
School, University of Pennsylvania.
Dan Peek
Senior Managing Director
HFF
Dan Peek is a Senior Managing Director and leader of the firm’s hospitality practice
group. He and his team are primarily responsible for institutional-grade hotel and
resort property transactions throughout North America, Latin America and the
Caribbean. During the course of his career, Mr. Peek has completed nearly $11
billion in investment sale, debt and equity placement transactions.
Mr. Peek joined the firm in October 2007. Prior to HFF, he was a co-founder and Managing Director of
Regent Street, an affiliate of The Plasencia Group, Inc. (TPG), a boutique firm specializing in sale, financing
and advisory services for distinctive hotels and resorts throughout the Americas. He also served as Senior
Vice President at TPG, handling hotel and resort property transactions in the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic and
Southeastern regions. Before TPG, Mr. Peek worked in hotel operations and consulting, including a variety of
management positions with Marriott International and Wiengardner & Hammons, and later as a consultant
with HVS International in New York.
Mr. Peek is a full member of the Urban Land Institute, a member of the Hotel Development Council, a
member of the University of Florida’s real estate advisory board and a member of the Cornell Hotel Society.
Cliff Risman
Partner
Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
Cliff Risman chairs Gardere’s Hospitality Industry Team and has a comprehensive
business and real estate practice with particular emphasis on the global hospitality
industry. He advises clients in the development, acquisition, financing and operation
of hotel, resort and mixed-use properties throughout the United States and
internationally; the structuring of domestic and foreign equity investments and formation of equity investment
entities; the negotiation of management, franchise, development and design agreements; the structuring,
development and marketing of whole and fractional residential ownership products and related rental program
arrangements; and the structuring of management, license, use and access agreements for golf, spa and
residential projects. Mr. Risman regularly publishes and speaks on hospitality, real estate and finance topics,
is a member of the prestigious by invitation only International Society of Hospitality Consultants and is ranked
by Chambers and Partners for Leisure & Hospitality [Nationwide].
Beth Van Duyne
Mayor
City of Irving
A 25-year Irving resident, Beth Van Duyne was elected Mayor of the City of Irving in
2011, having served as a city council representative from 2004-2010. Beth is a
dedicated volunteer, experienced professional and involved homeowner.
She has had the opportunity to work with small startup companies, mid-size private companies and Fortune
500 corporations. Beth also founded and ran her own consulting business, working with executives to develop
strategic business plans, negotiation strategies, grassroots coalition building and federal and state legislative
policy strategies.
Beth has advocated at the local, state and federal levels for energy, economic development, transportation
and water resources, and funding. She has extensive experience and strong relationships in the
transportation, healthcare, energy and telecommunications industries. Mayor Van Duyne is active with the
US Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities, Texas Municipal League and North Central Texas
Council of Governments.
Beth is a magna cum laude graduate of Cornell University. She has two children, Katie and Pearce, who
attend school in Irving.
Michele Wheeler
President and COO
Jackson-Shaw
Michele Wheeler serves as President and Chief Operating Officer for Jackson-Shaw.
Joining the company in January 2005, Ms. Wheeler is responsible for the oversight
of development, acquisition and financing activities for Jackson-Shaw as well as the
corporate operations of JSC including the regional offices. Ms. Wheeler has been
involved in commercial real estate for over 26 years, beginning her career in 1987 with Rosewood Property
Company.
Prior to joining Jackson-Shaw, Michele was a partner at Champion Partners, a real estate development firm
specializing in office and industrial developments. Previously, she was a Senior Vice President at Intershop
Real Estate Services and a senior associate at Fults Management.
Michele served as the past chairman of the board of The Real Estate Council and currently serves on the
Advisory Board. She is also on the board of National Association of Industrial and Office Professionals, Boys
and Girls Club of Greater Dallas and Circle of Support and is council member of Urban Land Institute.
Todd Wynne-Parry
SVP of Development
Commune Hotels & Resorts
Todd Wynne-Parry is Senior Vice President of Development for Commune Hotels &
Resorts. He is responsible for expanding the development team globally and
securing management contracts and investment opportunities.
During his 25 years in the hotel industry, Todd has held senior development positions with Trump Hotel
Collection, InterContinental Hotel Group, Starwood, and the Pan Pacific Hotels Group. He has worked and
lived in the USA, Great Britain, Asia and Australia, and while in Australia he served for ten years on the
Tourism Committee of the Property Council of Australia.
He holds an MBA from the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management, and a BA from Alma
College. In addition he studied at the University of Aberdeen 1985-86.
Visit dallashotelconference.com for this handout, final presentations and photos
from the conference as well as previous years programs, presentations and photos.