Hotel business.com recognizes Michael Goldwasser
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UP & COMERS 34 | December 15, 2015 | hotelbusiness.com T he editorial staff of Hotel Business has selected seven rising stars in the hotel industry and interviewed them about their career starts, current responsibilities and plans for the future. From top positions at hotel development and investment firms to a VP of global brands to a general manager, these selected individuals have already made an impact on their respective companies and, we believe, are poised to fulfill leadership positions within the hospitality industry. In fact, who knows what the future brings? Maybe these Up & Comers will one day be on Hotel Business’ annual Ten to Watch list. In the meantime, we’re always interested to know who you think is a professional on the rise. Maybe it’s someone you’ve worked with, or someone who currently works for you. Let us know. Send me a note at [email protected]. —Christina Trauthwein One of the tenets Michael Goldwasser, the 29-year-old general manager at the 132-room Residence Inn Orlando Airport in Florida, manages by comes from a quote from J. Willard Marriott, founder of the parent company of the flag his hotel flies: “If you take care of your associates, they will take care of the customer, and the customer will keep coming back.” That philosophy has worked well for the graduate of University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management, who was in his final year in college when he landed his first job in the industry in 2008: a front desk agent position at the 130-room Springhill Suites Orlando Airport, owned and operated by JHM Hotels, which also does the same for the hotel where Goldwasser is currently employed. He ascended to front officer supervisor at the SpringHill Suites before becoming manager of six food and beverage outlets at Orlando Airport. But, all the while, the lodging industry was calling him to come back. “The catalyst was the ability to work with everything that comprises the lodging industry: from working with people and dealing with accounting, to maintenance and F&B. All of that is ex- citing to me,” said Goldwasser, who re- turned to his former stomping grounds as assistant GM in 2013. It didn’t take long for him to land his first general manager position, as he took on his current role in January of this year. Goldwasser noted that his favorite part of the job is “walking into the hotel knowing that today will not be the same as yesterday. I look forward to new challenges and, being in the hos- pitality industry, different challenges arise every day.” —Adam Perkowsky If not you, who? The motto Elliott S. Estes keeps in his head apparently served him well earlier this year. Estes did what many consider, but often fail to act upon—he left a great job with a great company to follow a dream. In April, that dream—with the confi- dence-building “rock-solid support” of his wife, Maia— became reality when Estes founded Woodmont Lodging, LLC, a hospitality investment firm. Estes made the leap of faith from ho- tel REIT RLJ Lodging Trust, where he had finance, transaction and portfolio- management responsibilities, serving as director of finance and managing the execution of all asset- and corpo- rate-level transactions, with aggregate values in the billions of dollars. With solid experience behind him, Estes in the short- to mid-term is now looking for Bethesda, MD-based Woodmont, which is focused on acqui- sition and asset management of select- service and extended-stay hotels, to own a portfolio of 10 hotels in its first 18 to 24 months. To bolster that effort, Estes in Sep- tember added Michael Blank, another RLJ executive expat, as a partner. Blank had managed RLJ’s business intelligence function, which was re- sponsible for portfolio-data analysis. Long term, Estes said the firm, which has been received “very well,” wants to “provide institutional-quality execution to local owners/operators, and to big institutions that are trim- ming their portfolios or purchasing portfolios but are not interested in the secondary and tertiary markets.” Noted Estes, “We want to grow. We want to be one of the larger players, but we know it’s going to take time to get there.” —Stefani C. O’Connor After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Mississippi State University’s (MSU) undergraduate double-major program in 2008 with an emphasis in real estate and banking & finance, Sunny Desai was unsure about his career path until he came to the aid of his father. Several years ago, Desai’s father, who owned a few motels at the time, was developing the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Winona, MS. Desai helped spearhead and manage the project. “That’s how I fell in love with the whole process,” said Desai, 29, president & CEO, Desai Hotel Group and a mem- ber of the IHG Owners Association’s Emerging Leaders Council. After finishing MSU’s MBA pro- gram in 2010, he founded the hotel development and investment company based in Jackson, MS, at the age of 24. Driven by the continuously changing environment of the hospitality indus- try, Desai Hotel Group specializes in developing and managing high-quality, select-service hotel assets throughout the Southeastern U.S. Desai oversees the overall direction and the day-to-day operations of the company, which currently has seven hotels in the pipeline. He attributes much of the company’s success to his team members. Over the past few years, Desai has learned how best to delegate responsibilities to his staff while helping to empower them to reach their goals. “I don’t try to be everything to everyone,” he said, “and they’ve been able to grow.” He added, “My goal as a company is to become one of the premier hotel companies in the industry. It’s a long process. Hopefully, we’re going in the right direction.” —Matthew Marin Michael Goldwasser GM Residence Inn Orlando Airport Sunny Desai President & CEO Desai Hotel Group Ellio S. Estes Principal Woodmont Lodging, LLC 34_35_HB121515.indd 34 12/2/15 1:56 PM
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Transcript of Hotel business.com recognizes Michael Goldwasser
up & comers
34 | December 15, 2015 | hotelbusiness.com
T he editorial staff of Hotel Business has selected seven rising stars in the hotel
industry and interviewed them about their career starts, current responsibilities and plans for the future. From top positions at hotel development and investment firms to a VP of global brands to a general manager, these selected individuals have already made an impact on their respective companies and, we believe, are poised to fulfill leadership positions within the hospitality industry.
In fact, who knows what the future brings? Maybe these Up & Comers will one day be on Hotel Business’ annual Ten to Watch list.
In the meantime, we’re always interested to know who you think is a professional on the rise. Maybe it’s someone you’ve worked with, or someone who currently works for you. Let us know. Send me a note at [email protected].
—Christina Trauthwein
One of the tenets Michael Goldwasser, the 29-year-old general manager at the 132-room Residence Inn Orlando Airport in Florida, manages by comes from a quote from J. Willard Marriott, founder of the parent company of the flag his hotel flies: “If you take care of your associates, they will take care of the customer, and the customer will keep coming back.”
That philosophy has worked well for the graduate of University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management, who was in his final year in college when he landed his first job in the industry in 2008: a front desk agent position at the 130-room Springhill Suites Orlando Airport, owned and operated by JHM Hotels, which also does the same for the hotel where Goldwasser is currently employed.
He ascended to front officer supervisor at the SpringHill Suites before becoming manager of six food and beverage outlets at Orlando Airport. But, all the while, the lodging industry was calling him to come back.
“The catalyst was the ability to work with everything that comprises the lodging industry: from working with people and dealing with accounting, to maintenance and F&B. All of that is ex-citing to me,” said Goldwasser, who re-turned to his former stomping grounds as assistant GM in 2013.
It didn’t take long for him to land his first general manager position, as he took on his current role in January of this year. Goldwasser noted that his favorite part of the job is “walking into the hotel knowing that today will not be the same as yesterday. I look forward to new challenges and, being in the hos-pitality industry, different challenges arise every day.”
—Adam Perkowsky
If not you, who? The motto Elliott S. Estes keeps in his head apparently served him well earlier this year. Estes did what many consider, but often fail to act upon—he left a great job with a great company to follow a dream.
In April, that dream—with the confi-dence-building “rock-solid support” of his wife, Maia— became reality when Estes founded Woodmont Lodging, LLC, a hospitality investment firm.
Estes made the leap of faith from ho-tel REIT RLJ Lodging Trust, where he had finance, transaction and portfolio-management responsibilities, serving as director of finance and managing the execution of all asset- and corpo-rate-level transactions, with aggregate values in the billions of dollars.
With solid experience behind him, Estes in the short- to mid-term is now looking for Bethesda, MD-based Woodmont, which is focused on acqui-sition and asset management of select-service and extended-stay hotels, to own a portfolio of 10 hotels in its first 18 to 24 months.
To bolster that effort, Estes in Sep-tember added Michael Blank, another RLJ executive expat, as a partner. Blank had managed RLJ’s business intelligence function, which was re-sponsible for portfolio-data analysis.
Long term, Estes said the firm, which has been received “very well,” wants to “provide institutional-quality execution to local owners/operators, and to big institutions that are trim-ming their portfolios or purchasing portfolios but are not interested in the secondary and tertiary markets.” Noted Estes, “We want to grow. We want to be one of the larger players, but we know it’s going to take time to get there.”
—Stefani C. O’Connor
After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Mississippi State University’s (MSU) undergraduate double-major program in 2008 with an emphasis in real estate and banking & finance, Sunny Desai was unsure about his career path until he came to the aid of his father.
Several years ago, Desai’s father, who owned a few motels at the time, was developing the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Winona, MS. Desai helped spearhead and manage the project. “That’s how I fell in love with the whole process,” said Desai, 29, president & CEO, Desai Hotel Group and a mem-ber of the IHG Owners Association’s Emerging Leaders Council.
After finishing MSU’s MBA pro-gram in 2010, he founded the hotel development and investment company based in Jackson, MS, at the age of 24. Driven by the continuously changing environment of the hospitality indus-try, Desai Hotel Group specializes in developing and managing high-quality, select-service hotel assets throughout the Southeastern U.S.
Desai oversees the overall direction and the day-to-day operations of the company, which currently has seven hotels in the pipeline. He attributes much of the company’s success to his team members. Over the past few years, Desai has learned how best to delegate responsibilities to his staff while helping to empower them to reach their goals. “I don’t try to be everything to everyone,” he said, “and they’ve been able to grow.”
He added, “My goal as a company is to become one of the premier hotel companies in the industry. It’s a long process. Hopefully, we’re going in the right direction.”
—Matthew Marin
Michael GoldwasserGMResidence Inn Orlando Airport
Sunny DesaiPresident & CEODesai Hotel Group
Elliott S. Estes PrincipalWoodmont Lodging, LLC
34_35_HB121515.indd 34 12/2/15 1:56 PM
