Hospitality on the Horizon

Douglas N. Dreher is the President & CEO of The Hotel Group. He is responsible for all facets of the company including overseeing the company-wide portfolio, real estate acquisitions and dispositions, investor relations, business development, capital and strategic planning. Mr. Dreher was promoted to CEO in 2009, and beforehand had been President since 2002. Before joining THG in 1989 he worked for Westin Hotels & Resorts in various management positions. Mr. Dreher has supervised over 75 hotels in 15 states and Canada, overseen 25 new developments and has background experience with brands such as Marriott, Hilton, Doubletree, Radisson, Sheraton, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn. Mr. Dreher holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the School of Hospitality Business Management at Washington State University, where he has served as a guest lecturer and received a 75th Anniversary Honoree Recognition Award. He is a Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) from the Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Mr. Dreher chairs the Multi-Unit Lodging Council for American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) and he is past Chairman for the Washington State Hotel & Lodging Association. He is a current member of the Lodging Industry Investment Council (LIIC), a think tank comprised of leading hotel and real estate executives which disseminates investment trends to the hospitality industry.

Gregory Steinhauer is a graduate of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (1984) with a Bachelor of Science in economics. He has spent his entire working career in construction and real estate development. He currently directs all American Life, Inc. large-scale development projects and oversees SODO Builders, the company’s in-house construction company. A lifelong resident of Seattle, Greg served as president of a construction and residential development company for 15 years that specialized in urban infill mid-rise projects. Just prior to joining American Life, he was vice president of development for a billion-dollar institutional real estate investment firm in which he was active in acquiring and entitling several projects. Greg is an active board member of Mercer Island Boys and Girls Club and Seattle Police Foundation. He is also an active longtime supporter of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

A thirty-plus year hospitality professional, Yogi Hutsen provides the overall strategic vision for Coastal Hotels. Working directly with hotel owners and general managers, Yogi ensures each hotel operates within company standards to deliver a unique guest experience and optimum profitability. Before joining Coastal, Yogi was Chief Operating Officer at Noble House. There he created a “culture of excellence” among diverse Four and Five-Star resorts. Yogi also held senior management positions with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and ITT Sheraton, including Vice President of Operations – Washington and Oregon and General Manager of the Seattle Sheraton and the Sheraton Tucson El Conquistador Resort. Yogi is a graduate of Indiana University with a degree in Urban and Regional Development.

Alif Nurani has served as Vice President – Finance & Development for 360° Hotel Group since 2004. He oversees and manages new development as well as renovation, expansion and construction for existing hotels. He is committed to high quality in construction and encourages innovation in design. He conceptualized the Boeing 727 wing porte-cochère and Fokker F-28 awning at the Best Western Navigator Inn & Suites in Everett, Washington, part of the 360° hotel portfolio. Alif’s background is in economics and manufacturing. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics. Born in Eldoret, Kenya and having lived in Africa, London and Canada, Alif currently resides, in Kirkland, Washington, with his wife Shaiza. He is a film, history and world music buff and enjoys running and hiking.

Heidi Stuber is the Business Director for Sea to Sky Rentals in Seattle, Washington. Sea to Sky Rentals is Seattle’s largest vacation rental management company and has been an industry leader for over 12 years. Heidi has ten years’ experience in small business management. She has led two business turnarounds, managed well over a hundred people, and supported tens of thousands of customers. Heidi has a MBA, Master of Business Administration, from Seattle University with a focus on Leadership Development. Heidi works to build effective teams by communicating openly and directly, empowering shared leadership, and solving problems creatively. She is passionate about developing operational efficiencies, moving organizations forward, and getting people involved in the process. Her approach to leadership is to unite a clear vision of the future with innovation, respect, and accountability. She is committed to her staff, her customers, and her owners. When not working at her homemade treadmill desk; you can find Heidi enjoying a glass of wine, reading about business strategy or leadership in bits of borrowed time, and chasing her dog or son or both. Her favorite business maxim is from Henry Ford, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”

Sandip heads the firm’s Real Estate group, as well as the Retail, Hotel & Restaurant industry team. He practices primarily in the area of commercial real estate transactions, including retail, office and industrial leasing, purchase and sale agreements and real estate financings. He represents technology, hospitality and retail clients in this area. Sandip also brings a substantial commercial litigation background to his practice. He has represented owners, developers, design professionals, general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers in a wide variety of construction claims, including contractor’s liens, breach of contract, changes, errors/omissions, defects, warranty claims, and environmental liability claims. Further, he has experience in real estate litigation, including earnest money agreements, easements and landlord-tenant disputes. Sandip serves as outside real estate counsel to a number of companies, including Microsoft, Nordstrom, Blue Nile and zulily.

Anthony Anton is the president and CEO of the Washington Restaurant Association (WRA). Anthony brings more than a decade of government affairs and association management experience to the WRA. He guided the WRA’s government affairs business from 1995 to 2001 when he left to manage The Boeing Company’s state relations in Olympia. Coming back to the WRA in 2004 as vice president, Anthony successfully marshaled the industry’s efforts to support important legislation and increase the WRA’s grassroots lobbying efforts. Anthony’s family has been in the restaurant business for more than 60 years, lending him a broad understanding of industry issues.

Tom has more than 25 years of professional experience as an architect, serving as the design and entitlements lead on a variety of building scales and project types, predominantly focused on urban markets. Tom has deep experience in several market sectors, including large-scale mixed use; multi-family residential; pre-development services; and branded resort, residential and hospitality projects. Evident throughout his portfolio is his focused effort in coordinating a variety of domestic and international sustainability standards, introducing clients to innovative green technologies and incorporating local cultures and lifestyles to fully realize unique, relevant and responsible design. What excites Tom about design is the process itself. “The dynamics of the team approach to design, being around creative people and leading the effort to blend diverse viewpoints and backgrounds into unique and cohesive ideas, is my focus,” says Tom.

HVS Portland Vice President Desiree Flanary gears her hotel consulting and appraisal efforts to sync up with each project’s goals and timetables, excelling at valuations of even the most complex, atypical, and time-sensitive hotel assignments in the midst of a market’s flux. Desiree is a designated member of the Appraisal Institute (MAI). Tenacious and teeming with insights, Desiree’s ability to hunt down facts, decipher data, and produce authoritative advice has come over the course of hundreds of hotel assignments in the West and Pacific Northwest. She has also researched and written on innovative hotel brands; the hotel industry in Reno, Nevada; and energy-driven markets in Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota. Desiree earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Colorado. Desiree regularly donates to United Blood Services. She belongs to the professional association CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) of Portland, serving on CREW's sponsorship committee for 2014 and attending the organization’s national and regional events throughout the year. Desiree is an active outdoorswoman and knows the areas around Lake Tahoe and Glen Haven (in Northern Colorado) particularly well. She also skis at the Northstar-at-Tahoe, Mary Jane, Breckenridge, and Mt. Rose resorts and is a regular visitor to and connoisseur of wines from the Napa and Sonoma Valleys.

Throughout his career, he has worked closely with some of the top brands in the industry, directing the design, planning and project management for five-star properties, boutique hotels and luxury resorts around the world. As the hospitality market leader for MG2, Ron captures the story each client wishes to tell through their site, architectural design and guest experiences. His work reflects an expertise in creating spaces that are not only memorable for guests, but also highly reflective of the needs of hotel owners and operators.

SeaPac is one of the premier retail brokerage and consulting firms in the Puget Sound/WA Market. Since 1978 SeaPac has specialized in retail services for retailers, property owners, landlords and developers. We are the state of Washington member for Chainlinks Retail Advisors, the nation’s leading retail network. Jeff Rosen is a partner and works as a retail real estate broker.