Real Estate Forum - January 2013

Hotel Industry TOP ICONS

journeys to the executive suite.

One thing is for sure: all are titans of the hotel sector and their decisions have created jobs and wealth here in the United States and in major markets worldwide.

The following are Real Estate Forum’s Top Icons in the hotel sector.

By John Jordan

ARCHIE BENNETT JR.

This hotel industry veteran that began his career with the development and management of the Holiday Inn in Galveston, TX, was appointed chairman emeritus of Dallas-based Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. on Jan. 19, 2013. The previous day, Bennett resigned as chairman of the hotel REIT, as per company guidelines, on his 75th birthday. Bennett now also serves as an advisor to Ashford Hospitality and continues to serve as chairman of Dallas-based Remington Hotels, a hotel management company that operates 70 hotels in 23 states. In his storied career, Bennett has been involved in the development and management of hundreds of hotel properties valued at more than $1 billion. He was a founding member of Industry Real Estate Finance Advisory Council of the American Hotel & Motel Association and served as its chairman on two separate occasions.

JON BORTZ

This veteran hotel investor currently serves as chairman, president and CEO of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, a Bethesda, MD-based luxury hotel REIT. Pebblebrook, which was orga-

nized in December 2009, own 25 hotels in 16 markets, comprised of 19 wholly-owned properties and a 49% joint venture interest in six others. Previously, Bortz served as president and chief executive officer of LaSalle Hotel Properties from its formation in April 1998 until his retirement more than 11 years later. Under his leadership, LaSalle Hotels grew to 31 upscale and luxury full-service hotels and resorts, with more than 8,400 guest rooms in 14 markets in 11 states and the District of Columbia.

SAM CHANG

The founder and chairman of Great Neck, NY-based McSam Hotel Group LLC is a native of Taiwan who dropped out of high school to help his parents manage a family-run motel in Los Angeles. Chang, who in 2008 earned the Hotel Enterprise Leader award from the International Leadership Foundation, initially operated hotels and restaurants in the suburbs of Baltimore. However, his dream of developing and owning lodging properties in New York City began in 1997 when he purchased and built a Comfort Inn there. Since then, he has completed more than 25 hotels in the Big Apple and, in a 2009 story in the New York Times, was dubbed “the hotel king of New York.”