Role that Tourism & Policy Plays in Impacting the New York Economy

Travel, Tourism & Other Macro Factors Impacting the Economy

• 

  Julie Coker

  President & CEO

  New York City Tourism + Conventions

• 

  Joyce Leveston

  Joyce Leveston will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer of the New York Convention Operation Corporation, which operates the Javits Center, on March 10, 2025. Leveston brings over 30 years of high-caliber industry experience to the chief executive officer role. Most recently, she was the Senior Vice President of Convention Centers at Oak View Group, where she oversaw strategy and operations for more than 60 convention and conference centers in the OVG360 portfolio. She has worked in convention centers across the country, including holding senior positions at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center, Boston Convention & Exhibitions Center, Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C., Miami Beach Convention Center, George R Brown Convention Center in Houston and the San Diego Convention Center Corporation.  Additionally, Leveston has worked on high-profile special events such as fan fests for the Super Bowl, NBA All-Star Weekend and MLB All-Star Weekend; presidential inaugural balls; the Nuclear Security Summit for President Obama; the International AIDS Convention; the White House State of Women Summit; and Art Basel Miami. In addition to her extensive experience, Leveston is well known for providing exceptional customer experience and leading with authenticity. Her passion for the hospitality industry has led to strong relationships across the convention center sector and beyond. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from UCSD. Joyce is on the board of governors at IAVM and has industry memberships with IAEE, ASAE, PCMA, IAVM, SISO, MPI and AIPC.

  Jacob K. Javits Convention Center

  CEO

  Joyce Leveston

  CEO

  Jacob K. Javits Convention Center

• 

  Vijay Dandapani

  Mr. Dandapani is a hotel industry veteran who cofounded Apple Core Hotels, an owner-operator of boutique hotels in Manhattan in 1993 and was president of the company till December 2016. He was appointed President and Chief Executive officer of the Hotel Association in January 2017. He is an active participant in the hospitality industry and has spoken on hospitality issues at many forums sponsored by organizations such as the Lodging Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, the ALIS conference, University of California at Los Angeles, Columbia University, New York University and the National Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives. In 1998, he was recognized by Crain’s New York Business as one of the top 100 minority business leaders in New York City. In 2002, the Asian American Business Development Center, New York selected him as one of 50 Outstanding Asian Americans in Business. He has written in a number of industry publications and the mainstream media on topics affecting the hotel industry. As a Part of New York's response to the COVID crisis, Mr. Dandapani has been appointed by Mayor de Blasio to the COVID-19 Arts, Culture and Tourism Sector Advisory Council. He was also appointed by Governor Cuomo to the “New York Forward Advisory Board” tasked with guiding the state’s reopening strategy in the aftermath of the Covid 19 crisis. Mr. Dandapani has a Master’s degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and is a winner of the Aga Khan Foundation Scholar for graduate studies. He also holds the CHAE certification from HFTP.

  Hotel Association of New York City

  President & CEO

  Vijay Dandapani

  President & CEO

  Hotel Association of New York City

• Moderator

  Rob Hunden

  President & CEO

  Hunden Partners

Enhancing & Activating Hospitality Assets with Thoughtful Design & Innovative Brands

Designing Hotels, Restaurants & Common Spaces to Elevate Spaces and Brands

• 

  Michelle Reiss

  SVP

  Tishman Realty

• 

  Alex Kuhl

  VP, Development, Luxury, Lifestyle & Premium Brands

  IHG Hotels & Resorts

• 

  Brian Sparacino

  President & CEO

  Rebel Hotel Company

• 

  David Carofano

  Strategy & Commercial Director

  Crown Creative

• 

  Becca Roderick

  Executive Director, Interiors

  Morris Adjmi Architects

• 

  Ana Maria Huertas Iragorri

  Ana Maria Huertas Iragorri has been focused on delivering elevated guest experiences in the hospitality space since 2003. Her vast experience includes successful collaborations with ownership groups, major hospitality brands, and the greater specification community, where she often highlights go-to-market strategies for sustainable, tech-forward, and human-centric guestroom control. Ana Maria is committed to innovations that improve the future of the hospitality market while enhancing the guest experience. Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, Ana Maria is currently based in Pennsylvania where she works alongside Lutron’s global specification and hospitality team in the U.S., Asia, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. She has spoken to audiences around the world on the topic of innovative lighting design and smart control for the hospitality market, including the Forbes Travel Gala Summit ('23), the HIC Conference in Jakarta ('23), Hotel & Hospitality Expo in KSA ('22, '23), and various Global Hospitality Talk sessions. Ana Maria has both a bachelor’s degree and an MBA in International Business from Allegiant International University in San Diego, CA. She is passionate about traveling, reading, arts, and the opportunity to embrace other cultures and traditions in the pursuit of meaningful, life-changing experiences.

  Lutron

  Global Hospitality Director

  Moderator

  Ana Maria Huertas Iragorri

  Global Hospitality Director

  Lutron

National Investment Outlook: Underwriting, Financing & Acquiring Hotel Assets

Acquisitions, Financing & Investment Outlook

• 

  Eric Jacobs

  Chief Global Growth Officer

  Aimbridge Hospitality

• 

  Clark Hanrattie

  Partner

  HEI Hotels

• 

  Timothy Hodes

  Tim Hodes joined Wheelock in 2008. At Wheelock, Mr. Hodes is a Managing Director in the acquisitions group, where he is responsible for overseeing the Firm’s hotel investment activity. Other focus areas have included supporting the firm’s efforts in Chicago and the major Texas markets. Mr. Hodes has experience with structured-debt, entity-level and asset-level investments. Prior to joining Wheelock, Mr. Hodes was an analyst in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group at Deutsche Bank AG, where he focused primarily on the real estate and gaming industries. Mr. Hodes received a B.B.A. from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, where he graduated with High Distinction.

  Wheelock Street Capital

  Managing Director, Head of Hotel Acquisitions

  Timothy Hodes

  Managing Director, Head of Hotel Acquisitions

  Wheelock Street Capital

• 

  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

  Daniel Lesser

  Co-Founder, President & CEO

  LW Hospitality Advisors

• 

  Julian Buffam

  Partner

  New Castle Hotels & Resorts

• Moderator

  Yariv Ben-Ari

  Partner

  Herrick

Strategic Capex: How to Navigate Rising Costs & Evolving Asset Management Needs

Analyzing Costs & Assessing Portfolio Optimization

• 

  Andre Zotoff

  André Zotoff is the Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Hotels & Resorts, LLC. He was appointed to the head role in January 2022 after serving as Chief Operating Officer since June 2021 and the previous four years as Vice President, Asset Management. Just prior to joining Strategic, Mr. Zotoff was Vice President and General Manager of the historic Hotel del Coronado, a Strategic-owned property while under his leadership. He is a seasoned hotel professional with over 30 years of experience. Mr. Zotoff began his career as a Chef and has since held several food and beverage and management positions for notable brands including IHG and Fairmont.

  Strategic Hotels & Resorts

  CEO

  Andre Zotoff

  CEO

  Strategic Hotels & Resorts

• 

  Edouard Schwob

  SVP, Development

  Accor

• 

  Scott Hochman

  Senior Director, Head of Hotel Asset Management

  MetLife Investment Management

• 

  David Feldan

  Construction and development manager with a 20+ year record of success delivering all phases of construction, development and remediation projects for the profit and non-profit sector. Experience includes managing teams of up to 200 and projects up to $350M, all with a solution oriented, customer-centric, results delivering approach.

  Rider Levett Bucknall

  Project Management Executive

  David Feldan

  Project Management Executive

  Rider Levett Bucknall

• 

  Jack Robbins

  As Vice President of Sales, Jack is responsible for the overall framework and management of Evolution’s go-to-market strategy. With a history in Commercial Real Estate Management and a passion for sustainability, Jack’s focus at Evolution is to find creative approaches to improve corporate bottom-line performance through energy conservation measures, energy risk management, and ESG Solutions.

  Evolution Sustainability Group

  Vice President

  Moderator

  Jack Robbins

  Vice President

  Evolution Sustainability Group

Opening Remarks

• 

  Isaac Weinberger

  Regional Sales Manager

  Madison SPECS