CBRE Hotels' Thomas Callahan Dies At 61

CBRE Hotels' Thomas Callahan died last week after battling cancer, the company announced yesterday. He was 61.

“Tom was a guiding force with PKF Consulting USA and an integral part of CBRE Hotels. Moreover, he was a great friend to many in the industry, including all of us at CBRE,” said CBRE Hotels’ Consulting senior managing director Scott Biethan.

After graduating from the University of Washington, Tom started his career with the Pannell Kerr Forster accounting firm. He served as partner in charge of the firm's offices in Dallas, Houston, Boston and Los Angeles. He and other PKF partners split from the tax and accounting firm in 1992 to form Pannell Kerr Forster Consulting, a hotel advisory and valuation firm.

Tom was CEO of PKF Consulting USA and partner in charge of the San Francisco office. In 2014, CBRE Group purchased PKF Consulting USA, and Tom became senior managing director and national practice leader for CBRE Hotels, a hospitality advisory division of CBRE Group.

Tom also was on the board of directors and chairman of the audit committee for Ashford Hospitality Trust. 

JMBM Global Hospitality Group chairman Jim Butler said Tom was a great friend and a giant in the hotel industry on his blog yesterday. Jim quoted an email from Manhattan Hospitality Advisors founder and CEO Jack Westergom, who called Tom one of the most capable, knowledgeable, decent, honest, nice guys in our business. "He was the poster boy for demonstrating that you could be highly effective and a good person at the same time," the email read.

Tom was a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Counselors of Real Estate, a member of the Appraisal Institute and fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

His wife, Kathy, recalls Tom taking the ferry in the morning with a cup of coffee and the Wall Street Journal and then walking along the Embarcadero to the San Francisco office. He enjoyed sailing and summer racing on the Bay and making time for his family. Family vacations to Europe, New Zealand, Ireland and elsewhere reflected his love of travel and sense of adventure. 

Tom also is survived by his children, Sarah and Paul.