Hotels On The Rebound: Bisnow Lodging Investment Summit (BLIS) And Afternoon Cocktail

Marc Magazine’s hotel experience began when his family owned the renowned Hay Adams Hotel in Washington, DC. As General Manager Marc had the hotel accepted into The Leading Hotels of the World. His hospitality experience includes economic and market-based consulting, financing, investment analysis, venture structuring, management selection, contract negotiation and strategic planning. Before joining Savills to lead its hospitality practice in the US, Marc was a Principal of Humboldt Hospitality Advisors, LLC, a full service hospitality company he co-founded with Tom Baker and Justin Magazine. Before Humboldt, Marc was Senior Vice President with CBRE and led its Hotel Practice in the Mid- Atlantic region. Marc has had a lead role in over $4.5 billion in hotel transactions involving properties throughout the US, Canada and the Caribbean. Marc is known for his creativity and ability of structuring highly complicated transactions. Marc and his team recently sold a three property portfolio in Washington DC to three separate buyers. He is Past President of Big Brothers of the National Capital Area and is currently on the Board of Trustees for The National Jewish Hospital in Denver, CO. He is also on the advisory board for the University Of Denver’s Hotel School. Marc was previously a Faculty member of Georgetown University for their Master of Professional Studies in Real Estate where he taught Hotel Valuation.

Brian Friedman is the CEO of BOA Acquisition Corp, a newly organized blank check company whose purpose is to pursue acquisition opportunities in PropTech and to find technological solutions to unlock real estate opportunities. Brian is also a partner at his namesake firm, Friedman Capital and the co-founder and managing partner of Foxhall Partners. In these roles Brian oversees the real estate investing practice and leads his firms in opportunistic, value- added, core-plus equity. The firms actively participate in debt investments in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, with a primary focus on urban and infill neighborhoods. Currently Brian owns commercial, residential, retail, and/or hospitality properties in Charleston, South Florida, California, Washington D.C. and New Mexico. In addition, he develops lifestyle properties in senior housing and student housing sectors. Brian’s portfolio includes historic, iconic properties such as the Watergate offices and Line hotel in D.C., the Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe, and Liberty Station in San Diego. Brian acts as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s Master of Professional Studies program, where he teaches a course on development and construction project management. He is a member of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). He is a founding board member of the Adams Morgan Youth Leadership Academy and serves on the Mind Matters committee at Washington Hebrew. Friedman also spends time volunteering at Iona Senior Services of Washington D.C. and is a non-practicing Certified Public Accountant. Brian Friedman received his B.S., M.A., and M.B.A. from the Kogod School at The American University.

Mr. Bhoopathy is a managing principal and head of capital markets responsible for debt relationships, asset dispositions, and transaction management. In addition, he leads contract documentation and closings related to new acquisitions, development, and financing for all investments. Mr. Bhoopathy has more than 23 years of hospitality industry experience and has participated in more than $4.5 billion worth of real estate transactions for the Noble organization since joining the firm in 1999. He became a partner in 2006 and is a regular panelist at lodging, investment, and financing conferences. Mr. Bhoopathy earned a BS from the Cornell University School of Hospitality and is a past-president of the Cornell Georgia Chapter and the Atlanta Hospitality Alliance. He is also a member of the Atlanta Capital Markets Council for the Urban Land Institute.

Thomas Penny is President of Donohoe Hospitality Services LLC (DHS). As the senior leader of Donohoe Hospitality, Thomas guides the operation of a portfolio of 11 business class hotels, which are affiliated with the Marriott, Hilton, and InterContinental Hotels Group. Thomas’ leadership responsibilities for DHS include strategic planning, overall operational direction, development and acquisition of properties, and long-term financial and capital planning. Thomas is a career hospitality professional with multi-brand hotel experience and a history of achieving above-average results in the areas of employee satisfaction, guest satisfaction, market share and profitability. Thomas joined The Donohoe Companies in 1996 and he has shared a successful 21+ year career with the company in both a developmental and hands-on operational capacity. In his most recent role with Donohoe Hospitality, Thomas served as General Manager at DHS’ Courtyard by Marriott Convention Center (CMCC) where he was responsible for oversight of the hotel’s day-to-day operations, guest service training, and strategic management of financial performance. During his nine year tenure as General Manager, the property achieved the 2nd highest RevPAR of any Marriott brand in the city for four consecutive years (Ritz Carlton excluded). Additionally, the hotel maintained the highest guest satisfaction score of any Courtyard in the city two of the last three years. Prior to his role as CMCC General Manager, Thomas served as Assistant General Manager at DHS’ Holiday Inn Capitol where he shared responsibility for 250 employees and $40 million in annual operating revenues. In this position, Thomas served as the hotel’s guest service culture leader, while also mentoring the growth and development of his staff.

Michael L. Blank is a Principal at Woodmont Lodging. Mr. Blank has over 20 years of lodging industry experience including real estate investments, capital markets, hospitality and tourism consulting and hotel operations. Prior to co-founding Woodmont Lodging in 2015, Mr. Blank was an executive at RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE: RLJ) where he had portfolio analysis, transaction, and corporate finance responsibilities. Most recently, Mr. Blank managed the company's Business Intelligence function, which was responsible for portfolio data analysis. During his tenure at RLJ, Mr. Blank formalized and expanded RLJ’s business analytic function, enhancing the data collection and reporting processes of over 125 hotels and 16 different management companies. Mr. Blank also held positions in Asset Management with oversight of a portfolio of focused-service Marriott and Hilton branded hotels and in Investment and Portfolio Analysis underwriting over $2.4 billion in potential lodging transactions. Additionally, he managed the successful closing of multiple acquisitions and dispositions. Prior to joining RLJ in 2010, Mr. Blank worked in acquisitions and dispositions at Host Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: HST) and in equity research at FBR Capital Markets covering publicly-traded lodging REITs. Mr. Blank also had roles at PKF Consulting and at the Willard Inter-Continental Hotel. Mr. Blank earned his undergraduate degree from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University and earned his MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Mr. Blank has served as a guest lecturer at both Georgetown University and American University.

Sarah Gulla is the Senior Vice President of Asset Management at Pebblebrook Hotel Trust with responsibility over a portfolio of both branded and independent hotels across the U.S. In addition, she oversees the entire Pebblebrook retail real estate portfolio. Ms. Gulla was previously in Asset Management at LaSalle Hotel Properties with a portfolio of hotels representing over $2 billion in asset value. She has expertise in the Atlanta, San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle, Miami, and Chicago markets. Ms. Gulla began her lodging real estate career at Thayer Lodging Group where she held the roles of Vice President of Asset Management as well Vice President of Acquisitions and Development. She started her career in hotel operations and sales with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and the Walt Disney World Resort. Ms. Gulla holds an M.B.A. from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and is a graduate of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell. Ms. Gulla is a Certified Hotel Asset Manager and the current Vice President of the Hotel Asset Managers Association (HAMA). She continues her involvement in the industry through service on the American Hotel and Lodging Association Food & Beverage Committee, Marriott’s Autograph Brand Advisory Board, speaking at industry events, and having served as a guest lecturer at Georgetown University. Ms. Gulla currently resides in the metro D.C. area with her family.

Edward Hoganson is Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Investment Officer of Crestline Hotels & Resorts, a leading hotel management company. Crestline manages 130 upscale hotels across the country, including over two dozen properties in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Ed rejoined Crestline in 2019, from Hospitality Investors Trust, Inc. (HIT), a public hospitality REIT, where he served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, assembling a $2B plus portfolio of over 140 hotels. Ed’s career with Crestline and its affiliated companies spans more than 15 years. During this time, he helped create three public hospitality companies, acquire multiple management companies and source toilet paper during the beginning of the pandemic. Ed began his career with Deloitte and then joined Marriott International where he held various finance positions during the six years before beginning with what was then Crestline Capital. Ed holds a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University, a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters of Business from The Wharton School. When he’s not talking to hotel investors, he can be found at George Mason University, where he is serving as an affiliate faculty member, lecturing on hospitality accounting and finance.

John Fetty, associate principal, brings more than 35 years of experience in the architectural and design field specializing in multifamily, mixed use, and hospitality. As a highly respected design and development professional, he excels at integrating spaces and technical systems into one dynamic design solution that simplifies construction and maximizes operating efficiency. Prior to joining Lessard Design, John was a Principal at Fillat + Architecture and has presented at numerous conferences and expositions including the CFRST owner’s conference, and the Hospitality Construction Expo- “Effective Prototype Development.”

Amy began her role with HR Construction Group in August 2020 as their new National Director of Business Development, bringing 25+ years of business development experience to the team. Amy is responsible for driving her company’s go-to-market strategy in the hospitality, restaurant, multi-family, and retail markets by strengthening relationships with key clients while also earning new clients through networking and client-focused events. Her role involves creating and updating sales processes and reporting. She works closely with both Estimating and Project Management teams to develop long-term strategies that will increase company revenues through existing and new opportunities. Amy builds plans and programs to drive business into new markets by supporting strategic partnerships with third-party project management groups and owner`s representatives. Outside of work, Amy can be found running and training for local and regional races, giving away tons of vegetables from her home garden, making a mess while abstract painting, cooking creatively, listening (and dancing) to music, golfing, playing Catan, and spending quality time with her husband, daughter, close friends, and their furry pets.

Matt Frankiewicz joined IHG in May 2017 as Vice President, Transactions and Asset Management. Since July 2022, Matt has served as Senior Vice President Development, overseeing the Luxury, Lifestyle and Premium brand development team for North America. Prior to joining IHG, Matt spent nearly 15 years with White Lodging serving as Senior Director, Development and Asset Management. During his tenure, White Lodging developed and opened more than 70 hotels. His 28-year career in hospitality began with Hyatt Hotels. Matt is a graduate of Indiana University, Bloomington.

John Gerondelis, a Principal of SMALLWOOD, has over 35 years of professional experience in the planning, design and project management of large, mixed-use hospitality, residential and commercial projects. He is well respected in the hotel development community for his ability to create properties that meet time and cost goals, work effectively for the operator, and provide award winning guest experiences. He has over 26 years of experience in international practice, including directing the firm's Singapore office for almost a decade, providing a viewpoint that is informed by worldwide trends. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, he is a LEED Accredited Professional, a member of the AIA, the IIDA and the Atlanta Hospitality Alliance.

Eli Sokol is a Vice President of Development & Investment, North America for citizenM hotels. In this role, Eli is responsible for leading the strategic growth of citizenM’s real estate footprint in the US & Canada, overseeing acquisitions and investment management across the brand’s focus markets.

Sarah has 20 years of architectural design experience across a variety of projects that include hospitality, multifamily, and mixed-use lifestyle developments. She prizes a collaborative design approach and applies intensive research from environmental, cultural, and historical contexts as essential tools in the creation of an intelligent and purposeful design. Her design process is inspired by a legacy of artistry in architecture, and she applies technology to traditional techniques and materiality to bring a modern authenticity to all her projects.

Jason Epstein joined Sonder as a Regional Director in December 2018. He is responsible for overseeing Sonder’s real estate growth for portions of the East Coast and Midwest, as well as lender outreach. Mr. Epstein has over nineteen years of real estate industry experience. Prior to joining Sonder, Mr. Epstein was a Managing Director at Seligson Properties, a regional real estate developer based in Norwalk, CT, for over four years, where he oversaw acquisitions, asset management and capital markets. Prior to joining Seligson Properties, Mr. Epstein ran has his own commercial real estate investment and consulting company for nearly five years and was a Partner at The Cordish Company in Baltimore, MD for nearly a decade. Mr. Epstein has acquired, financed and managed over $3 billion in complex real estate transactions throughout the United States, crossing all property types. Some of the projects in which Mr. Epstein played an integral role include The Power Plant and Power Plant Live! in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, Fourth Street Live! in Louisville, KY, The Power & Light District in Kansas City, MO, and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos in Hollywood and Tampa, FL. Prior to starting his real estate career, Mr. Epstein practiced law in New York City, where he concentrated in commercial litigation. He is admitted as an attorney in New York and Maryland. Mr. Epstein graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Business of Administration and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law. He resides in Larchmont, New York with his wife and two children.

Nelson F. Migdal is Co-Chair of the Hospitality Practice. He focuses his practice on the acquisition and disposition of hotels, hotel operations and management, franchising, licensing and branding, development and finance, large mixed-use projects, hotel management agreements, licensing agreements, commercial real estate acquisition and sale, and commercial leasing. He has prepared and reviewed management and franchise agreements, purchase and sale agreements, multiple building covenants, and other documents related to the acquisition, financing, development, leasing, management and disposition of hotels, resorts and other real and personal property. Concentrations Hospitality and resorts Hotel management and operations Real estate acquisition, development and leasing Education J.D., cum laude, Albany Law School, 1978 B.A., cum laude, Hofstra University, 1975 Admissions District of Columbia New York

He focuses on the company’s investment and capital deployment strategies and oversees a real estate portfolio with a market capitalization of approximately $6 billion. He joined Peachtree in 2015 and has contributed significantly to Peachtree's growth and investment performance. Throughout his 20-plus-year career, Brian has had experience investing and managing a broad range of asset and portfolio types. Brian is a graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, where he completed a dual concentration in Real Estate and Finance. In addition, he serves as a board member for the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities and High Meadows School.

Chip Ohlsson is executive vice president and chief development officer, North America, for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel-franchising company. In this role, he is responsible for the development strategy for Wyndham’s 22 brands across North America, identifying and building strategic partnerships to position Wyndham in new markets and increase presence in existing markets. Ohlsson is also responsible for strengthening and expanding relationships with owners and key ownership groups including real-estate investment trusts, developers and financial institutions with hospitality portfolios. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts partners with owners to provide powerful marketing and sales programs to drive reservations to hotels while the company’s competitive online travel agencies and supplier pricing reduces costs for hotel owners. A 30-year veteran of the hospitality industry, Ohlsson brings with him hotel financing and portfolio management experience, as well as many established industry relationships. Ohlsson, previously served as vice president of North American development at Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Prior to this, Ohlsson held several leadership positions across the industry including senior vice president, vice president and franchise sales director with Cendant/Wyndham. During this time he oversaw sales, business development and financial management initiatives and was consistently a top sales producer, earning accolades including Vice President of the Year.

Daniel H. Lesser brings more than 30 years of expertise in a wide range of hospitality operational, investment counseling, valuation, advisory, and transactional services. He provides services to corporate, institutional, and individual clients as well as public agencies on all facets of hospitality real estate including: litigation support and expert testimony, site evaluation, highest and best use analysis, appraisals for mortgage, acquisition, and portfolio management, workout strategies, operational analysis, property tax assessment appeal evaluations, economic impact studies, deal structuring, and fairness opinions. Mr. Lesser is a leading authority on hotel feasibility and valuation, and is highly sought after to speak at lodging and real estate events, as well as lectures at prestigious institutions of higher education, including Cornell University, Columbia University and New York University. He is widely published and quoted, and serves as a quarterly columnist for HotelNewsNow.com and GlobeSt.com. Most recently, Mr. Lesser created and served as the Senior Managing Director - Industry Leader of the Hospitality & Gaming Valuation Advisory Services Group at CB Richard Ellis Hotels (CBRE). 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 also held operational and administrative positions with Hilton Hotels Corporation and Eurotels - Switzerland. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University, and also attended the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland and Baruch College - City University of New York. Mr. Lesser holds the following professional designations: MAI (Member of the Appraisal Institute), FRICS (Fellow of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), CRE (Counselor of Real Estate), and CHA (Certified Hotel Administrator). Mr. Lesser is a member of and has served on numerous committees for the Counselors of Real Estate, the Appraisal Institute, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, and the Board of Directors of the New York City Chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society. He is a former Advisory Board member and member of the Fundraising Subcommittee for the New York University Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management. Mr. Lesser is a founding member of the Lodging Industry Investment Council (LIIC), the hotel industry “think tank.” Furthermore, Mr. Lesser served as an Honorary Committee Member of the annual UJA - Federation New York Hotel & Hospitality Division Dinner, and is a member of the AIPAC Real Estate Division.

Jason Fudin is the CEO and Co-Founder of Placemakr (formerly WhyHotel), based in Washington D.C. Placemakr is a venture-backed platform that operates at the intersection of hospitality and multifamily real estate. With its pop-up hotels, it operates furnished, transient stays out of the vacancy of newly built luxury apartments during the lease-up phase. With its hospitality living buildings, it operates assets as a mix of multifamily and hospitality on a permanent basis with the ability to flex the inventory between both uses. Prior to Placemakr, Jason was the VP of Strategic Initiatives at Vornado Realty Trust where he worked on developing innovative commercial real estate concepts for the organization. Over his career, Jason has managed commercial real estate development projects valued at over $2 billion and has worked in real estate development, acquisitions, and capital markets. He has his B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Management from McGill University and his M.S. in Finance and Real Estate from American University.

As a valued team member of clients in the real estate and hospitality industries, Rori is able to leverage her understanding of their business concerns and objectives with her deep experience and current market knowledge to navigate her clients from term sheet to closing of complex commercial transactions. Recently, Rori has been speaking to clients and the real estate community on the uptick in preferred equity transactions, sharing the depth of her experience with both joint ventures and financings and offering guidance on these transactions. She represents local and national developers, REITs, institutional equity investors, institutional and non-institutional lenders, and hotel owners and operators with their commercial real estate development and finance transactions. These transactions involve a variety of asset types, including mixed-use development, office, retail, hotel, condominium, multifamily and residential and commercial property. Working with clients across the United States, she assists both borrowers and lenders on financings, and hotel owners and operators on the negotiation of managements and license agreements. Additionally, she partners with clients on real estate acquisitions, dispositions, workouts, and equity and debt participations. Rori is a frequent speaker and panelist on the hospitality industry and preferred equity transactions. Relevant Experience Represented Hersha Hospitality Trust on its sale of seven Manhattan limited-service hotels to a joint venture between Hersha and Cindat Capital Management Ltd., in a transaction valued at $571.4 million. The transaction included senior and mezzanine financing in an aggregate amount of $335 million from Natixis Real Estate Capital LLC and Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. Represented leading private equity firm in the acquisition of 38 limited service and extended stay hotels, 4,950 rooms, for $590 million, and negotiation of mortgage and mezzanine financing from two major financial institutions and the securitization of the mortgage and a mezzanine tier. Represented a major insurance company with a preferred equity investment in the construction of a 391-key nationally branded hotel in Chicago, Illinois for total project cost of $113 million. Represented a major insurance company with a $150 million preferred equity investment in the acquisition and renovation of an office building in Chicago, Illinois. Represented a major insurance company with a preferred equity investment in the renovation of two well-known Walt Disney World hotels in Orlando, Florida. Represented a national lending institution with a preferred equity investment in the acquisition and development of a mixed-use property in New York City for a total project cost of $87 million. Represented a joint venture in the acquisition of a 34-story, one million square foot skyscraper in Boston, Massachusetts for $561 million. Represented an institutional lender with the $159.5 million mortgage and mezzanine financing of a historic hotel in Washington, DC. The transaction included the sale of one of the floors as an air space parcel to a vacation club and the negotiation of the documents governing the relationship between the hotel and vacation club. Represented a major insurance company with the upsizing of a $177 million preferred equity interest in a hotel located in the heart of New York City’s Times Square. Advised Israel Discount Bank of New York with a $31.5 million mortgage loan to Berit Realty LLC, owner of SIXTY hotel 6 Columbus, located at 6 Columbus Circle (308 West 58th Street), New York City. Representation of an operator in the negotiation of a joint venture agreement for the acquisition and development of a to-be-constructed 128-room Mondrian hotel in the Old City of Istanbul, Turkey. Representation of an operator in the acquisition, lease and management negotiations with respect to food and beverage operations at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada, and related documentation and negotiation with respect to Delano, Las Vegas, Nevada. Representation of a developer in the negotiation of a purchase and sale agreement for the acquisition of a newly constructed 185-room Hyatt Place in New York City (Midtown). Representation of an owner in the negotiation of management and license agreements for a Crowne Plaza in Charlotte, North Carolina. Representation of a developer in the negotiation of management and license agreements for a Courtyard by Marriott in College Park, Maryland. Representation of a joint venture in the negotiation of a $350 million loan secured by the St. Regis in Laguna Beach, California. Representation of a joint venture in the negotiation of a $201 million loan secured by the Anaheim Hilton in Anaheim, California, and negotiated the joint venture agreement and related documents on behalf of the developer. Representation of equity in the refinance of a $250 million loan secured by the historic and award-winning Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, in Washington, DC. Representation of a joint venture in the acquisition and $130 million financing of a 35-acre mixed-use development project (including hotel and branded residences as well as commercial, retail and residential) in Huntington Beach, California, known as Pacific City, and negotiated the joint venture agreement and related documents on behalf of the developer. Representation of equity in the acquisition of a 20-acre mixed-used development project (including retail, restaurant, hotel, entertainment, commercial, residential, education and civic space) in Miami, Florida, known as Miami Worldcenter, and negotiated the joint venture agreement and related documents on behalf of equity. Representation of a developer in the $46 million refinance of a GSA leased office building in Washington, DC. Representation of a developer in the restructure of a $200 million real estate portfolio of undeveloped land, hotels, mixed-use, office and development holdings in California and Texas. Representation of an equity investor in a $262 million purchase of two office buildings and a development parcel located in Washington, DC.