The Future of Hospitality | An Executive Outlook

What's Next for Hotels and Experiential Hospitality?

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  Jenny Robinson

  Jenny is the Chief Investment Officer, leading all debt and equity transactions and directing asset management activities. Jenny originally joined Continuum’s finance department in 2005 where she has worked on sourcing debt and equity for a number of Continuum’s development projects to date as well as underwriting new project opportunities. In her current capacity, Jenny has overseen the debt and equity raises for Continuum’s $120M Block A project, Continuum’s $200M Market Station project and the $48M public finance component of Continuum’s 9th + Colorado project. Following a move to California and Nevada, Jenny returned to Continuum in 2014 in the role of Development Manager on the 9+CO and A Block teams where part of her role included working with the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise/Small Business Enterprise programs to encourage involvement in Continuum’s projects. In the spring of 2015, Jenny was appointed to Director of Capital Markets and Asset Management and again promoted in 2018 to her current role. Jenny currently sits on the board of a $130 million asset community bank and takes an active role with several real estate industry organizations. She is heavily involved with the University of Colorado Real Estate Center, ULI, the Downtown Denver Partnership Leadership program, and CREW, being twice nominated for the Woman of Influence award in 2015 and 2017. Mentoring young women entering the professional workforce is a passion of hers and she currently has two mentees through the Denver Urban Scholars program and the CU real estate center. Jenny began her career in real estate with Principal Financial Group, as a commercial mortgage underwriter. She graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in finance and accounting, and went on to complete a master’s degree in finance and real estate from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

  Continuum Partners

  Chief Investment Officer

  Jenny Robinson

  Chief Investment Officer

  Continuum Partners

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  Yvonne Choi

  Yvonne Choi brings over 10 years of experience in hospitality branding, real estate development and marketing. She currently serves as Chief Brand Officer – Hotel RL for RLH Corporation. Choi oversees the development, branding and marketing of the Hotel RL brand, a lifestyle upscale hotel brand. Prior to joining RLH Corporation, Choi served as Chief Marketing Officer for Cachet Hospitality Group. Part of Cachet’s founding team in 2013, Choi led all marketing and branding strategies, including launching and establishing the Cachet corporate brand, building its luxury brands internationally, and managing key relations with owners and developers. Choi also was responsible for closing Cachet’s early deals, including Cachet Hotel Chengdu and Cachet Beach Cabo. Prior to Cachet, Choi has held sales and marketing positions at SBE International and at the Corcoran Group, New York City’s premier real estate marketing company. While at Corcoran, she oversaw the sales and marketing of luxury residential portfolio worth in excess of US$500 million. In addition to her broad experience working with leading international developers, architects and designers, Choi also specialized in developing Corcoran’s international markets. Choi was born in Hong Kong and earned a double degree in Marketing and Business Management from New York University’s Stern School of Business. An avid painter, classical pianist and a Marathon runner, she speaks Mandarin, Shanghainese and Cantonese.  Her accomplishments have been highlighted in the Wall Street Journal, Hospitality Industry News and at hospitality industry events including NYU and ALIS.

  Red Lion Hotels Corporation

  Chief Brand Officer

  Yvonne Choi

  Chief Brand Officer

  Red Lion Hotels Corporation

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  Paul Books

  Paul is the President of Palisade Partners and has become a respected player in the multifamily market in Denver, Colorado. Currently, Palisade Partners is developing and co-developing three mixed use projects and a townhome project in the Five Points neighborhood, totaling $75 million. Mr. Books is also concurrently overseeing the development of Summit Sky Ranch, a 240-unit, high-end single family residential development in Summit County. Books recently completed an $9 million 27 unit for-sale town home project in Jefferson Park. In 2013, Books completed two new construction multifamily projects near downtown Denver for a combined investment of $20 million. In 2011, Books syndicated and gained financing for the purchases of four existing multifamily properties for a combined acquisition price of $5.4 million and a combined renovation budget of $1.8 million. Mr. Books graduated from the University of Denver: Daniels College of Business with a Masters of Science in Real Estate and Construction Management. Mr. Books received his bachelors of arts in Economics and Math with a Finance Sequence from Claremont McKenna College.

  Palisade Partners

  President

  Paul Books

  President

  Palisade Partners

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  John Hamilton

  John S. Hamilton is responsible for PHG’s new management assignments, acquisitions, and business development. In the past 17 years, Hamilton and his team have underwritten, financed, acquired and/or taken over management of over 140 hotels with over 55,000 rooms. Hamilton has years of experience sourcing, evaluating, underwriting, and executing hospitality real estate and management transactions. Previously a licensed CPA, he has been associated with such prominent firms as Lowe Hospitality Group, Promus Hotels, Carnival Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree Hotels, and Laventhol & Horwath. PHG is a third-party hotel and resort management and asset management company providing services to owners and lenders, including hotel and resort property management, asset management, receivership, and project management. PHG over 100 hotels and resorts under management, comprising over 24,000 rooms, over 1.5 million square feet of meeting space and approximately 12,000 employees. Pyramid Hotel Group, ranked among the largest U.S. hotel management companies by independent sources, www.pyramidhotelgroup.com

  Pyramid Hotel Group "PHG"

  SVP, Acquisitions and Business Development

  John Hamilton

  SVP, Acquisitions and Business Development

  Pyramid Hotel Group "PHG"

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  Larry Weeks

  Cities exist for people to exchange goods, services, and ideas. Larry works on the ideas. How to best serve a client’s needs or how to design a place—a master plan, a resort, a sports arena, an airport—where people can enjoy the time they spend there. To that end, Larry’s job is to present audacious concepts in a compelling fashion, winning new clients and inspiring existing clients to take exceptional action. Larry works at the intersection of design and developing new business, ensuring that his group has a steady flow of new, culturally relevant projects, but also maintaining his edge as an established senior architectural designer in his own right. He’s received many design awards from organizations around the US, and he has extensive national and international experience in architectural, interior, and environmental design. Larry focuses on fostering meaningful, memorable user experiences in the public realm by harmonizing his team’s design disciplines from architecture to interiors, landscape, and branding. For example, when Western Union wanted to update their global headquarters to improve retention and recruitment, Larry and his team tapped into Western Union’s history, global presence, and innovation. After using interior-design storytelling to connect the dots between an employee’s everyday work and a life-saving money transfer for a client, Larry and his team also improved office connectivity by working on collaboration and social zones within the headquarters. To secure the resiliency and longevity of his clients’ work, Larry looks to experiential design. He’s always asking how a space can improve a user’s interactions, experiences, and memories. “Humans are creatures of the edge,” says Larry. “We love the unexpected. We love discovery.”

  Stantec

  Principal, Buildings

  Larry Weeks

  Principal, Buildings

  Stantec

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  Heather Personne

  Heather Personne is a Principal with Point B, a national real estate development, management consulting and venture capital firm. Heather oversees Point B’s growing real estate development business, focused primarily on small-scale ground-up and adaptive mixed-use redevelopment in urban areas. Ms. Personne has over 20 years of experience in real estate acquisitions, development, management and dispositions. Throughout her career, she has spearheaded the development of more than 100 retail, office and multi-family properties throughout the western United States. Prior to joining Point B, she held roles as a Retail Partner with Phoenix-based commercial development and investment firm ViaWest Group and as a Principal with Evergreen Devco, Inc., a regional retail and multi-family developer. Ms. Personne graduated Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Arizona Honors College and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and French. She is heavily involved with the Urban Land Institute, having served as Membership Chair, founding member of the Arizona Chapter of the Women’s Leadership Initiative and Technical Advisory Panel Moderator. Ms. Personne currently serves as Chair of the ULI Arizona Trends Day Conference, the largest ULI event in the district council system, and Vice Chair and founding member of the national ULI Place Making Product Council. She is also a member of ICSC, the Arizona chapter of CREW and sits on the board for the Phoenix Center for the Arts. In addition to her professional commitments, Ms. Personne also participates on the alumnae board of the Phoenix chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta and is a founding board member of the Roadrunner League of Boys Team Charity, a civic organization focused on encouraging philanthropic commitments among young adults. Ms. Personne resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband Matt and three children. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, snow-skiing and traveling.

  Point B

  Principal

  Moderator

  Heather Personne

  Principal

  Point B

Retail Deep Dive: The State of E-Commerce and Brick-and-Mortar

The Impact & Innovation Within the Retail Sector

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  Mark Shaker

  Mark Shaker is the co-founder of Flighline Ventures and Stanley JV and the lead developer of the Stanley Marketplace project in northwest Aurora, overseeing the transformation of a 1950s aviation facility into a locally inspired food and retail community hub. Stanley features 50 independently owned Colorado businesses under one roof, with an events center, urban farms, and park. Mark has been developing organizations and leading teams for fifteen years. His last project was a five million dollar fundraising campaign to build a freestanding maternal health hospital in rural Niger. Mark holds an MSW from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the University of Denver. He is active in many philanthropic endeavors and dedicated to making sure Stanley Marketplace is a force for good in the greater Aurora and Denver communities.

  Stanley Marketplace

  Founder/Chief Visionary Officer

  Mark Shaker

  Founder/Chief Visionary Officer

  Stanley Marketplace

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  Kelly Perkins

  Kelly Perkins is Founder and Chief Formulator for Spinster Sisters Co., a Colorado based luxury natural skin care brand. She started the company out of her basement, after learning of the harmful effects of harsh chemicals commonly used in mass-produced skin care. The company has since grown to 30+ employees, with a 7,800 Sq Ft production facility, 3 brick and mortar locations of their own, and 1600+ wholesale stockists around the country. She grew up in Boulder, CO, and has 30+ years experience in business, from operations and logistics to business analysis, for companies ranging from regional to national corporate travel agencies, and several years spent working for the US Antarctic Program.

  Spinster Sisters Co.

  Founder & Chief Formulator

  Kelly Perkins

  Founder & Chief Formulator

  Spinster Sisters Co.

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  Patrick Heck

  Patrick Heck is the Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President. In this role, he is responsible for all airport commercial revenue programs including the retail, food and beverage, commercial property, car rental, parking and ground transportation businesses. He is also in charge of airline affairs and air service development. Heck returned to DEN in 2016 after serving five years as the airport’s Chief Financial Officer from 2009 to 2014.

  Denver International Airport

  Chief Commercial Officer & EVP

  Patrick Heck

  Chief Commercial Officer & EVP

  Denver International Airport

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  Robert Thompson

  As a 20-something bartender and waiter in the early 1990’s, Robert Thompson bounced from the US to the UK, gaining experience in restaurants and pubs where he sowed the seeds for his future passion. In 1997 at the age of 26, Robert opened his first restaurant, a dual concept called Buffalo Billiards & Havana Lounge in Nashville, launching what would become a lifelong career in hospitality. Punch Bowl Social was imagined by Robert Thompson after an extensive career of conceptualizing and operating both large-format eatertainment brand and independent boutique restaurants. Following the successful openings of nine different restaurant concepts, Robert began to actualize his vision for Punch Bowl Social early 2010 but it took three years of real estate searches, design iterations and funding discussions before the first location opened in Denver’s historic Baker neighborhood in November 2012. With lines around the block starting on day one, it was clear that Punch Bowl Social had struck a chord with young diners and drinkers seeking something authentic and out-of-the-ordinary. Since then, Robert and his team have opened 10 additional locations across the US and employ more than 1,600 team members. Each new Punch Bowl Social is designed specifically for the local market with an atmosphere that perfectly aligns with its brand personality. By the end of 2018, Punch Bowl Social will open another six new locations, in cities including Dallas, San Diego, Washington, DC and Chicago. In 2017, Ernst & Young recognized Robert’s contribution to the hospitality industry by naming him a recipient of the prestigious Entrepreneur of The Year® 2017 award in the Mountain Desert region. Punch Bowl Social has been honored by a number of awards and recognitions including Fast Company Magazine’s Most Innovative Companies in the World 2018, the 2017 Inc. 5000 list of fasting-growing private companies in America, and Nation’s Restaurant News’ 2017 Next 20 Brands to Watch and as one of their 2015 Breakout Brands. Born in Mississippi, Robert still loves traveling to explore the roots of southern cuisine, adding to his collection of tweed vests, going for long, mind-clearing runs and spending every free moment with his wife, Mia and their sons.

  Punch Bowl Social

  Founder & CEO

  Robert Thompson

  Founder & CEO

  Punch Bowl Social

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  Jason Rogers

  Jason Rogers is the Chef/Partner and Restaurant Director at Oskar Blues Fooderies. Jason was born and raised in Chicago, bouncing his career from Chicago, Vail Colorado, Aspen Colorado, Atlantic City NJ, and Denver Colorado. Jason joined the Oskar Blues team in 2009 as the opening Chef of the Flagship Gastro Pub “Oskar Blues Homemade Liquids and Solids”. During Jason’s tenure, they have opened CHUBurger Craft Casual Burger Joint, CYCLHOPS Bike Cantina, HOTBOX ROASTERS CAFÉ, and an additional 2 Oskar Blues Grill and Brew Concepts. Oskar Blues Fooderies latest growth has created an exciting portfolio of eateries and Americana Craft Beer Drinking destinations.

  Oskar Blues Fooderies

  Chef/Partner & Restaurant Director

  Jason Rogers

  Chef/Partner & Restaurant Director

  Oskar Blues Fooderies

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  Carolyn Martinez

  Carolyn Martinez is a retail specialist with a unique approach to providing comprehensive landlord and tenant representation services throughout the Denver area. By focusing on matching client strategies and retailer requirements with market trends, she maximizes revenues at grocery-anchored and community centers with optimal tenant placement to enhance synergy. Ms. Martinez's unique and energetic approach and focus on client satisfaction sets her apart from her peers. She is known for establishing long-term relationships with merchants on a local, regional and national level. Throughout her career, she has consistently been recognized by both DMCAR and the Denver Business Journal as one of the Top Ten Retail Brokers in Denver. Ms. Martinez joined the firm in 2013. Previously, she was a senior associate at CBRE, Inc. She began her real estate career at Trammell Crow Company. Ms. Martinez's extensive direct retail experience provides insight into the concerns and requirements of retailers today.

  Newmark Knight Frank

  Director

  Moderator

  Carolyn Martinez

  Director

  Newmark Knight Frank

Hodges Ward Elliott Presents:

Opening Keynote Featuring Rick Rush

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  Rick Rush

  Rick has spent over two decades in the hotel industry, in operations, as a principle acquiring hotels and in 2014 joined Hodges Ward Elliott co-directing investment sales and financing primarily for Western U.S. He has been involved with over $5 billion in transactions. In 2015, Rick led the second largest hotel single asset transaction in U.S. history with the transaction of the New York Place for $805 million. The Hotel was purchased by Lotte Group of Seoul Korea and the seller was Northwood Investors of New York. Rick offices in both Denver and Los Angeles, and lives in Denver.

  Hodges Ward Elliott

  Director Western U.S. + Asia

  Opening Keynote

  Rick Rush

  Director Western U.S. + Asia

  Hodges Ward Elliott