This document profiles 30 professionals under the age of 30 who are rising stars in the hotel industry. It provides brief summaries of each individual, including their name, position, company and location. It also includes one question posed to each professional and their response. The questions generally relate to challenges facing the industry, advice for hotels, and each individual's career path and goals. The document aims to highlight up-and-coming young talent in the global hotel industry.

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OCTOBER 20, 2014
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2. 6 HMYP Supplement October 20, 2014 HotelManagement.net
COVER STORY
THIRTY UNDER
THE HOTEL INDUSTRY’S
TOP RISING TALENT
THIRTY UNDER
THE HOTEL INDUSTRY’S
0
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THE HOTEL INDUSTRY’S
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THE HOTEL INDUSTRY’S
0003David Arraya
Hotel Manager
EAST
Hong Kong
HM: What is
the biggest
concern or
threat facing
the success
of the global
hotel industry,
and how would you address it?
Arraya: It is crucial for the industry to
realize that the perception of “service” is
changing ... this can only be tackled with
a change in the way service is provided,
focusing on these new consumers ... and
embracing technologies of the future,
while still remembering the human
factor that makes our industry unique.
Lauren
Dawson
eCommerce
Manager
Hospitality
Ventures
Management
Group
Atlanta
HM: What is
the biggest
concern or
threat facing
the success
of the global hotel industry, and how
would you address it?
Dawson: The biggest threat to the hotel
industry is managing digital distribution
disruption. I think each hotel brand
should begin marketing campaigns
promoting their hotel websites as the
place for best available rate.
Arielle
Bossert
Member Care
Lead
Vantage
Hospitality
Group
Coral Springs,
Fla.
HM: Hotel
companies
are focusing on attracting travelers from
your generation. If you could tell them
what you really want in a hotel stay,
what would you say?
Bossert: I want more than a basic hotel
stay; I want a distinct experience. I want
a hotel that provides reliable and user-
friendly technology. I am also looking for
value for the price I pay.
hospit
Desai
hospit
a big p
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at the
I was v
becau
a “sink
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I had t
develo
was h
Kathryn Cain
Assistant
Restaurant
Manager
Bloomington-
Normal
Marriott
Hotel and
Conference
Center
Normal, Ill.
HM: Tell us
about your experience in hospitality
before now, and what made you choose
hospitality as a career?
Cain: I find the joy and surprise a guest
has when receiving unexpectedly good
service truly an unparalleled feeling. I’ve
never wanted a job where every day is
the same and that is definitely a defining
characteristic of a job in this field.
Casey Brazil
Director of Front Office, Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel, Nashville
HM: What is the most pressing challenge you’ve faced on the job in the last year? How did you
resolve it?
Brazil: The most pressing challenge I faced in the last year was learning all of the front-office
operations at my new property in one week. I was hired as the guest experience manager, and six
days after I started the director of front office walked out. I was selected to fill her position over the
other three assistant front-office managers. At first it was overwhelming, but once I was able to focus
and learn the ins and outs of front office and how to make the hotel run smoothly, I began to really
love my job. I still learn and grow every day, but have improved the front desk tenfold.
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3. Sunny Desai
President and
CEO
Desai Hotel
Group
Jackson, Miss.
HM: Tell us
about your
experience
in hospitality
before now,
and what made
you choose
hospitality as a career?
Desai: I grew up in a motel, so the
hospitality industry has always been
a big part of my life. After college I
developed my first hotel for my father
at the age of 23 while finishing my MBA.
I was very lucky for that opportunity
because I was essentially thrown into
a “sink or swim” situation. I made a lot
of mistakes but I learned a great deal
from each and every one of them. Once
I had the knowledge of basic hotel
development and management, I knew I
was hooked.
Patrick Fisher
Rooms
Executive
Washington,
D.C.
HM: What is
the biggest
concern or
threat facing
the success
of the global
hotel industry,
and how would
you address it?
Fisher: I believe the biggest threat,
especially now as we reach a boom
period in other global markets, is the
footprint that we are leaving on our
environment. We have to be conscious
of every decision we make and how we
are affecting future generations to come.
If we focus on becoming healthier and
LEED-certified through initiatives such
as recycling and conserving energy, I
know that we can become global icons
for other businesses to follow and to say,
“why not us too?”
Dharam Goragandhi
Managing Member
My GHM Hotels LLC
Singapore
HM: Tell us about your current position.
As a hands-on operator, Goragandhi
plays an integral part of all aspects of
hotel management from marketing,
guest services, rooms and yield
management and strategic planning,
according to Vinit Dhruva, president and
CEO of DFW Motel Supply & Textiles-NJ,
who nominated him. Additionally, under
Goragandhi’s leadership, his properties
have flourished.
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4. 8 HMYP Supplement October 20, 2014 HotelManagement.net
Omari Head
Associate
Paramount Lodging Advisors
Chicago
HM: Tell us about any awards, accolades
or positive feedback you have received
in your career thus far.
Head: The greatest accolade was to
be able to serve as the 2014 Under
30 Gateway Chair for AH&LA. I got
involved because I sincerely believe that
millennials are the future of industry.
Christopher Li
Assistant
Operations/
Food and
Beverage
Manager
Fort Rapids In-
door Waterpark
Hotel & Confer-
ence Center
Columbus,
Ohio
HM: Who do
you consider
your professional mentors and why?
Li: Hong Yu Yang, senior VP of
operations, and Paul Liang, president
and CEO, have given me the chance
to learn, experience and thrive. I have
learned more in my time employed by
Fortune Group Hospitality than I have
learned at the University of Michigan.
Brent
Gresham
General
Manager
French
Quarter Inn
and The
Spectator
Charleston,
S.C.
HM: Hotel
companies
are focusing on attracting travelers from
your generation. If you could tell them
what you really want in a hotel stay,
what would you say?
Gresham: First, be authentic. Second,
don’t get caught up in technology and
forget the basics. If you get distracted by
technology and then have poor service
and a [bad] facility, that expensive
technology is a waste of money.
David Israel
Vice President
hotelAVE
New York
HM: A big
issue facing
the hotel
industry today
is attracting
and retaining
good
employees.
Please share
some candid
thoughts on the pros and cons of
working in the hotel industry.
Israel: Overall, the industry is relentless
and thankless. The pay and long hours
also create a difficult work/life balance.
That said, each day brings different
surprises, challenges, encounters and
opportunities to make an impact.
Katelyn Martin
Sales Manager, Lone Star Court, Austin, Texas
HM: What is the most pressing challenge you’ve faced on the job in the last year? How did you resolve it?
Martin feels the most pressing challenge is having a new name in the market, according to Amy
Trench, director of brand marketing at Valencia Group, who nominated Martin. “Although Lone Star
Court is a Valencia Group hotel, it was a new court concept and Katelyn had to really tell the story to
potential customers, travel managers and decision-makers,” Trench said. “It was a project like no other
that Valencia Group developed, so the pure concept of this being our take on the retro look of the
courts of the ’50s and ’60s took a lot of time and effort in sales, marketing and PR.”
Daniel Harrison
Front Office Manager
Hilton New York JFK Airport
New York
HM:Where do you see yourself in 10
years? How are you working today to
develop your career?
Harrison: In 10 years I see myself as a
regional trainer for a top hotel company.
I believe training never ends and you
need to keep team members educated
to ensure success at all levels.
Anthony
Langan
General
Manager
Holiday Inn
Express &
Suites
Schererville,
Ind.
HM:Tell us
about your
experience
in hospitality
before now,
and what made you choose hospitality
as a career?
Langan: Most of my background is
in food and beverage in downtown
Chicago. Before that, I worked in any
position I could to try to gain as much
knowledge as I could. I’ve wanted to be
in the hotel business my entire life.
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5. 14_441_Caroline M
Fred Patet
Manager
Investment
& Asset
Management
Tourism
Solutions
International
Singapore
HM: Hotel
companies
are focusing
on attracting
travelers from your generation. If you
could tell them what you really want in a
hotel stay, what would you say?
Patet: I worked last year on developing
a hotel concept targeting my
generation, which forced me to look
at what our needs are. Our generation
wants smart hotels—hotels that are
efficient in the way they are managed,
in their environmental footprint and for
the traveler. Previous generations may
believe in establishing international
brand standards; my generation forces
them to leave room for flexibility.
Hoyle Picklesimer
Assistant General Manager
Hampton Inn Chattanooga West/
Lookout Mountain
Chattanooga, Tenn.
HM: Tell us about your experience in
hospitality before now, and what made
you choose hospitality as a career?
Picklesimer: Prior to my employment
with Vision Hospitality Group, I
had relatively little exposure to the
hospitality industry. In 2011, when I
was hired as a night auditor, I did not
realize that I was embarking on a career.
Ultimately, I did not choose hospitality
as a career, it somewhat chose me.
Dipesh Patel
Managing
Member
Conor
Acquisitions
Fort Myers,
Fla.
HM: What is
the biggest
concern or
threat facing
the success
of the global
hotel industry, and how would you
address it?
Patel: The growth of our industry has
helped us come so far but could be
the hindrance in the future. So many
hotel franchises and owners enjoyed
success that they keep wanting to grow
and build, while franchises continue
to push their brands and products for
development. I think there needs to be
more sensible development as opposed
to overdevelopment, and less focus on
franchised hotels for the industry to
continue to operate successfully.
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6. Caroline
Michaud
Director
of Public
Relations
Preferred
Hotel Group
Chicago
HM: What
is the most
pressing
challenge
you’ve faced
on the job in the last year? How did you
resolve it?
As a family-owned and smaller business,
the company struggles to have its
voice heard in the industry, according
to Michaud’s nominator, Jonathan
Newbury, VP of strategic development
for Preferred. He said Michaud recently
made great strides by securing an
interview with The New York Times for
Preferred’s president and CEO Lindsey
Ueberroth, who was profiled in The New
York Times Sunday Business section’s
weekly “Corner Office” column.
Christen
Osborne
Global Brand
Manager
IHG Rewards
Club
InterConti-
nental Hotels
Group
Atlanta
HM: What
is the most
pressing
challenge you’ve faced on the job in the
last year? How did you resolve it?
In 2013, IHG rebranded its loyalty
program with a new look and new name
to better align with the IHG brand.
According to Osborne’s nominator,
Scott Fillian, manager of loyalty
programs for IHG, the IHG Rewards Club
project had many people working on all
aspects of the brand. “Christen was by
far the most junior of the team, but she
was also the hardest worker,” he said.
“Christen was the person who took the
team’s view and made it reality.”
Binita Patel
Vice President
HMB
Management
Allentown, Pa.
HM: Where
do you see
yourself in
10 years?
How are you
working today
to develop
your career?
Patel: Over the next 10 years I see myself
starting and operating an investment
platform that focuses on shorter-term,
value-add hotel investments throughout
the Eastern U.S. Over the next 20 years,
I see this platform spinning off into
its own company and pursuing other
ventures in the industry. In order to see
this vision come to fruition, I attend as
many industry events as I can to network
and learn about new opportunities.
Networking is the key to developing a
successful career in hospitality because
it’s such a small industry.
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7. Congratulations Caroline Michaud for being chosen as one of Hotel
Management’s “Thirty Under 30” professionals in the Hospitality Industry.
Caroline leads by example with innovative media relations programs
personalized for our distinctive collection of member hotels and resorts.
•
Thank you for traveling the extra mile for Preferred Hotel Group and our
member hotels with your continual dedication and advocacy.
P R E F E R R E D H O T E L G R O U P C O N G R A T U L A T E S
Caroline Michaud
ONE OF “THIRTY UNDER 30”
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Victor Ravago
General Manager
Hampton Inn San Diego-Sea World/
Airport Area
San Diego
HM:Tell us about any awards, accolades
or positive feedback you have received
in your career thus far.
Ravago: During the past three years as
GM, I have led the team through three
years of double-digit growth. I also
elevated the hotel’s customer-service
reputation by earning the “Movers &
Shakers Award” for satisfaction and
loyalty tracking performance from Hilton
Worldwide in 2013.
Christopher Rorrer
General Manager
Fairfield Inn & Suites
Moscow, Idaho
HM: What is the most pressing challenge
you’ve faced on the job in the last year?
How did you resolve it?
Rorrer: My most pressing challenge is
honestly getting people to look beyond
my age. Though I have had many years
in the industry, people still see me as
a younger person. The best way I have
found to deal with this is to simply do
what anyone has to do to earn respect
in their position: Do the hard work that it
took to get to the position you’re in.
Pedro Serrano
Assistant Housekeeping Manager
Hilton Phoenix/Mesa
Mesa, Ariz.
HM: Hotel companies are focusing
on attracting travelers from your
generation. If you could tell them what
you really want in a hotel stay, what
would you say?
Serrano: We are switching to a new era,
to a new market. Our generation has
seen technology grow with us. We are
looking for a sophisticated hotel, where
the combination between technology
and service is met and where the hotel
focuses on the environment.
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8. R
Valencia
Kately
at L
Hotel M
A U S T I N
HOTEL VAL
Val_HfPgH_HotelM
DEVELOPMENT, CONSTRUCTION AND HOTEL MANAGEMENT / PRE-OPENING SERVICES / OWNER, PARTNER AND INVESTOR RELATIONS
www.truenorthhotels.com
P: 913-345-6400
Congratulations, Chris!
True North Hotel Group proudly salutes General
Manager Chris Rorrer on being welcomed into
Hotel Management’s
“Thirty Under 30”Class of 2014.
Chris embodies the best of what the hospitality
industry and True North Hotel Group are all about:
staying focused on what matters, and in ways
that create positively outstanding experiences for
guests, hotel teams and owners.
With leaders like Chris, we know our industry’s
future is in good hands.
Mollie Toole
Director of Sales and Marketing
Toole Lodging Group
Lenox, Mass.
HM:Where do you see yourself in 10
years? How are you working today to
develop your career?
Toole: I see myself still working with my
family but at a larger scale. We currently
own and operate the Berkshire Hampton
Inn & Suites, Yankee Inn and Yankee
Suites. I see us taking a step out of day-
to-day operations and into larger-scale
management while acquiring a much
larger portfolio of hotels. We have two
hotel projects in the pipeline now.
Josh Turner
General
Manager
Wingate by
Wyndham
Longview,
Texas
HM: Hotel
companies
are focusing
on attracting
travelers
from your
generation. If you could tell them what
you really want in a hotel stay, what
would you say?
Turner: I would say value primarily, but
also simplicity. I feel like most people
my age are more easily satisfied than
we get credit for. We want to feel at
home, with a nice, comfortable bed.
A complimentary breakfast is great
because most of us are on a budget.
Technology is a huge bonus for us. And
please make sure there is Wi-Fi! Finally, I
would say, be nice to us.
Jennifer
Taylor
General
Manager
Remington
Suite Hotel
and Spa
Shreveport,
La.
HM:What is
the biggest
concern or
threat facing
the success of the global hotel industry,
and how would you address it?
Taylor: The biggest concern or threat
to me is complacency with building
relationships. We must always continue
reworking and initiating new and
cutting-edge ways to enhance each
guest’s experience, because that’s truly
why we are all here. Our guest could
easily stay with a close relative or friend
instead while traveling. Find your niche.
Find what makes your property exclusive
and offer a unique, customizable
experience each time.
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9. 8 6 6 . 8 4 2 . 0 1 0 0
W W W . V A L E N C I A G R O U P. C O M
Rising Star.
Valencia Group proudly congratulates
Katelyn Martin, our sales manager
at Lone Star Court, as one of
Hotel Management’s Thirty Under 30.
©2014HotelValenciaCorporation.Valencia®isaregisteredtrademark.
A U S T I N | H O U S T O N | K A N S A S C I T Y | S A N A N T O N I O | S A N J O S E
HOTEL VALENCIA RIVERWALK | HOTEL VALENCIA SANTANA ROW | HOTEL SORELLA CITYCENTRE
HOTEL SORELL A COUNTRY CLUB PL AZA | LONE STAR COURT
Katelyn Martin
Val_HfPgH_HotelMgt_Katelyn01.indd 1 9/26/14 1:32 PM
Giovanni
Valentini
Hotel Manager
Staybridge
Suites
London-
Vauxhall
London
HM: Where
do you see
yourself in 10
years? In 20
years? How
are you working today to develop your
career for your next positions?
Valentini: I wish to become a director of
hotel openings for a well-known brand
within 10 years. Since my passion and
motivation belongs to guest satisfaction,
I want to establish a new hotel opening
process to ensure customer service and
employee engagement are embedded
from the beginning. My dream in 20
years will be to own my own business. I
wish to establish a hotel with a concept
focused on personalized service and
home-like atmosphere.
Jenny
Wieland
Front Office
Manager
Holiday Inn
London-
Stratford City
London
HM: What is
the biggest
concern or
threat facing
the success
of the global hotel industry, and how
would you address it?
Wieland: Social media can be the
deciding measure of the success of any
customer-service-oriented industry.
While most travelers nowadays use
social media such as TripAdvisor for
their travel planning and base their
decisions on where to stay and eat and
go to spend money, hotels fight for their
reputation on these websites. Only with
the right management and attitude
toward customer care they are able to
work on their reputation.
Emily Wilson
Associate
Capital Hotel
Management
Boston
HM: Who
do you
consider your
professional
mentors and
why?
Wilson: My
father was an
engineer and he taught me three things
that I carry with me throughout my
career. First, measure twice, but cut once
[always have a plan]. Second, arrive to
work early and leave late [a good work
ethic is important] and finally, there
will always be generational gaps in the
workplace, so [be open to the different
perspectives].
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