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South Florida Hospitality and Tourism Summit

Name: South Florida Hospitality and Tourism Summit
Start: 2019-11-07T08:00:00-05:00
End: 2019-11-07T11:15:00-05:00
Location: InterContinental Miami

Developing and Designing Hotels For The Next Generation

Event Ended On: Thursday November 7 2019

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Speakers and Panels

Keynote Address

Daniel Lesser

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.

LW Hospitality Advisors

Co-Founder, President & CEO

Keynote

Daniel Lesser

Co-Founder, President & CEO, LW Hospitality Advisors

Developing and Designing Hotels for the Next Generation

Dream South Beach, Dream Downtown

Christian Glauser Benz

Managing Partner, Leman Holdings

Cadillac Hotel and Beach Club, Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove

Sandra Cardona

VP, Development & Capital Planning, Hersha Hospitality Trust

Collin Ross

SVP and Partner, Newgard Development Group

Jon Cardello

Partner, CUBE 3

Moderator

Amy Jennings

Director of Business Development, Craft Construction

How the Brand is Shaping the Hospitality Industry

Jared Galbut

Hailing from a long lineage of hospitality and real estate professionals, Jared Galbut brings a wealth of industry expertise to his position as co-founder and managing principal of Menin Hospitality. Galbut has a deep understanding for hospitality development with two decades of experience in organizational and operational management. Growing up in Miami Beach, Galbut was already well immersed in the industry by his teen years when he worked for his notable uncle, Russell Galbut of Crescent Heights -- one of the nation’s largest developers of high-rise, multifamily housing and hotels. After many years of working closely alongside some of the best in the marketplace, he discovered his passion and decided to claim the world of hospitality a career of his own. After gaining a deep understanding of the industry, Galbut acquired the Raffaello Chicago and relocated to Illinois to develop the hotel. While maintaining success of this new venture – a hotel that is still part of Menin Hospitality’s portfolio – Galbut sought out further opportunities to take him home to Miami Beach and founded Menin Hospitality with another emerging hotelier, his cousin Keith Menin. Menin Hospitality consists of a fast-growing, eclectic portfolio of brands spanning throughout South Florida and Chicago. Offering upscale lodging, lifestyle restaurants and nightlife venues, Menin Hospitality currently owns, manages and/or operates the Mondrian South Beach; Shelborne South Beach; Gale South Beach; Raffaello Chicago; Drumbar Chicago; Bodega Taqueria y Tequila; and Pizza Bar South Beach. Presently, Galbut oversees operations for each property and venue within the Menin Hospitality portfolio. Galbut received his Bachelor’s in Accounting and Finance from the University of Miami. He resides on Miami Beach with his wife Stacey and their two children.

Menin Hospitality

Co-Founder & Managing Principal

Mondrian Hotel, Shelborne South Beach, Bodega, Gale South Beach/Fort Lauderdale

Jared Galbut

Co-Founder & Managing Principal, Menin Hospitality

Amara at Paraiso, Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, Harry's Pizzeria

Michael Schwartz

Founder, The Genuine Hospitality Group

Beachwalk, Elite Hotels & Resorts

Joseph DeMatteo

Founder, JDM Capital

Diana Farmer-Gonzalez

Principal & Co-Managing Director, Gensler

Jeff Hardin

Owner and CEO, Straticon Construction

Moderator

Joe Ferst

Director, Hotwire

Financing and Investing in Hospitality

Carlos Rodriguez

Carlos J. Rodriguez, as Executive Vice President of Driftwood Hospitality Management, LLC. has successfully built on his 30+ years of experience in finance, real estate and the lodging industry. When his Wall Street investment-banking career was cut short due to a death in his family, Rodriguez moved to his native Costa Rica to head up the Aurola Hotels group (1986 – 1996). Between 1991 and 1995 Rodriguez also served the Costa Rican government as Vice Chairman of the country’s pension, hospitals and social security system and represented his country as its Director of the Central American Bank of Economic Integration (1990-1991). In 1996, Rodriguez relocated to Miami, FL with his family to form Cardel Hotels, a development company, and Cardel Hospitality Group, specializing in hotel management. After opening several successful hotels in the area as well as developing a bank and two restaurant parcels, the Miami Doral-Airport West Chamber of Commerce named Rodriguez its “Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2000. In 2003, he merged the Cardel Group with Driftwood Hospitality Management where, as Executive Vice President he oversaw lodging real estate development and acquisitions. With his Driftwood Hospitality partners, he co-founded the group of DVI Cardel Investment Funds in 2006, specializing in hotel properties. His hotels have won numerous awards and accolades across all of the major hospitality franchises. In 2007, Rodriguez teamed up with developer Stephen Blumenthal to form RodBlu Investment Fund to invest in a wider variety of real estate sectors. In 2015, he and his son Carlos Jr. developed the blueprint for Driftwood Acquisitions and Development, designed to combine the best attributes of private equity funds, REITS and high-net worth family offices as a vehicle for highly profitable U.S. hotel investments. Since 2015 DAD has acquired 12 hotels and has several others in various stages of development. Rodriguez holds a degree in Finance from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Driftwood Acquisitions & Development

COO

Canopy by Hilton West Palm Beach, Home 2/Tru by Hilton

Carlos Rodriguez

COO, Driftwood Acquisitions & Development

AC Hotel by Marriott, Element by Westin

Robert Finvarb

President, Robert Finvarb Companies

Carmine Zayoun

Carmine Zayoun is the Vice President of Heafey Group’s Miami office, and he has been a partner on all new U.S. investments since 2013. Mr. Zayoun has a broad spectrum of responsibilities, which include management of the firm’s American assets, evaluation of all acquisition and disposition opportunities, coordination of strategic partnerships for the firm, and supervision of the day-to-day operations of the Miami office. In 2012, Mr. Zayoun joined the Heafey Group as an asset manager in Canada, where he spearheaded the successful turnaround and sale of a winery near Niagara Falls. An engineer by training, Mr. Zayoun orchestrated the implementation of a number of new corporate policies that effectively augmented corporate efficiency, including an overhaul of the company’s IT protocols and a number of tactical personnel decisions to increase the firm’s in-house capabilities. Mr. Zayoun relocated to Miami with an eye to grow the company’s South Florida presence and to take advantage of the incredible real estate opportunities that were presented to the firm on a regular basis. Since 2013, Mr. Zayoun has overseen the purchase and sale of over $400 million in real estate assets throughout the State of Florida, including the acquisition of the stunning Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, the purchase and development of several high performing multifamily communities in Orlando and Jacksonville, and the long-term ground lease of the historic Miami Women’s Club. After first commencing undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa in biopharmaceutical sciences, Mr. Zayoun pursued his B.Sc.A. in civil engineering, which he completed in 2010. Upon realizing his profound interest in the business world, and particularly in the real estate sphere, Mr. Zayoun matriculated into the Executive MBA program at the University of Ottawa, where he graduated with honors in May 2013.

Heafey Group

Vice President

Conrad Fort Lauderdale

Carmine Zayoun

Vice President, Heafey Group

Moderator

Christian Charre

, CBRE

Venue

InterContinental Miami
100 Chopin Plaza
Miami, FL 33131

Ballroom and Floor: Brickell - Lobby Level

Parking Information:

$18 per vehicle for the day of the event - does not apply to overnight parking

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Agenda

Time	Activity
8:00 AM 9:00 AM	Coffee, Breakfast & Networking
9:00 AM 9:15 AM	Keynote Address
9:15 AM 9:55 AM	Developing and Designing Hotels for the Next Generation Driving Revenue Beyond The Room
9:55 AM 10:35 AM	How the Brand is Shaping the Hospitality Industry The Art of Storytelling and Creating Memorable Experiences
10:35 AM 11:15 AM	Financing and Investing in Hospitality
11:15 AM 11:45 AM	More Networking & Deal Making

Summary

Creating memorable experiences is the key ingredient to achieving long-term success in the hospitality industry. How are brands differentiating themselves?
Will RevPAR continue to rise despite lower occupancy rates?
How much more of the hotel market can home-sharing businesses like Airbnb absorb? How will low-cost hotels compete with these providers?
What major lifestyle and boutique brands are entering the hospitality space? What effect will they have on traditional players?
With a record numbers of 16 million visitors coming to Miami in 2018, what are municipalities and key local players doing to continue to attract tourists here?

1) What major lifestyle and boutique brands are entering the hospitality space? What effect will they have on traditional players?

2) Will RevPAR continue to rise despite lower occupancy rates?

3) Creating memorable experiences is the key ingredient to achieving long-term success. How are brands differentiating themselves?

How much more of the hotel market can home-sharing businesses like Airbnb absorb? How will low-cost hotels compete with these providers?

4) Is hotel construction and new supply outpacing tourism growth in South Florida and hurting profits?

5) With a record numbers of 16 million visitors coming to Miami in 2018, thanks to several annual events like Art Basel and Miami Music Week, what are municipalities and key local players doing to continue to attract tourists here?