Hospitality Hotline

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.

Matt Livian is a Managing Partner and the Chief Investment Officer of The Sydell Group, an owner, developer and manager of unique hotels deeply rooted in their location and architecture. Sydell Group’s diverse portfolio of award-winning properties includes NoMad New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas; the LINE LA, DC and Austin; Freehand New York, LA, Miami, and Chicago; The Ned, London; and Park MGM, Las Vegas. Since April 2011, Matt has lead Sydell’s acquisitions efforts and has overseen the acquisition and financing of over $1.5 billion worth of hotel real estate in major markets including New York, Los Angeles, Miami and London in addition to overseeing the Company’s successful sale of the Freehand brand and real estate portfolio to Queensgate Investments in October 2019. Prior to joining The Sydell Group, Matt served as the Vice President of Acquisitions & Development at the Ian Schrager Company from July 2006 through April 2011. The Ian Schrager Company is an owner, developer and manager of hotel & residential projects in gateway cities. During his tenure, Matt was responsible for all transaction execution, origination, coordinating market & property due diligence, financial underwriting and various development initiatives. Matt started his career in the investment banking division at Bear Stearns focusing on mergers, acquisitions and financings for real estate, gaming and lodging companies. Matt graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2004 with concentrations in Finance, Accounting and Entrepreneurship.

Ashley Lin is the Director of Development & Acquisitions for Virgin Hotels, a lifestyle hospitality brand that combines heartfelt service, straightforward value, and a seamless, personalized hotel experience with the track record of innovation and smart disruption that Sir Richard Branson's global Virgin Group has pioneered for over 50 years. Virgin Hotels’ portfolio includes Virgin Hotels Chicago, Dallas, and Nashville, with a robust pipeline under development including Las Vegas, New Orleans, and New York locations opening this year. In her role, Ashley is responsible for identifying properties in key North American markets for management and investment. Prior to joining Virgin, Ashley held a relationship management role within Wells Fargo’s Hospitality Finance Group. Ashley started her career in Finance & Accounting operations at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. She is a graduate of Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration with a minor in Real Estate and a concentration in Corporate Finance.

Rani Gharbie is currently the Head of Acquisitions & Development for The Pod Hotels where he is responsible for identifying potential investment opportunities and working closely with capital partners and strategic investors to increase equity positions and funding for future projects for the brand. Formerly, he oversaw development and acquisitions for North America at Virgin Hotels. Prior to that, Gharbie was the Managing Director and Founder at Cedar Funds, a New York City based development and investment firm with a focus on progressive hotel and real estate assets, as well as regional Director of Development with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), where he was responsible for actively expanding IHG’s premier hotel brands including InterContinental, Hotel Indigo and Holiday Inn. In this position, he oversaw and contributed to the growth of 20 hotels worth over $1.8B in real estate value. In addition, Rani is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia's Master in Real Estate Development program, where he teaches the spring course Private Equity Development, Hotel Focus. He holds a Master’s Degree from the program, an MBA from the HEC Business School in Montreal, a Bachelor degree in Hotel Management from the Glion Hotel School in Switzerland, and a Certificate in Hotel Real Estate Investments and Asset Management from Cornell University in New York. Rani is a regular guest speaker at key industry conferences and is an avid traveler, runner, cyclist, golfer and Vinyasa Yogi. He currently resides in New York City.

A Director with HVS New York, Chris has completed more than 300 appraisals, market and feasibility studies, and consulting engagements throughout the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast regions. Chris is the New York City market leader for the firm, having appraised over 200 hotels across all five boroughs.

Mr. Wolfe is the Managing Partner in the Property Tax Department at Skoloff & Wolfe, PC, where he focuses his practice on representing taxpayers in significant real estate tax appeals and property tax related matters. He has extensive experience in all types of property tax appeals, including hotel, multi-family, retail, office, and industrial properties. Mr. Wolfe frequently counsels clients on the property tax implications of the development, acquisition, and disposition of significant assets. He also counsels clients with respect to property tax exemptions and PILOT agreements. Mr. Wolfe serves on the Board of the National Association of Property Tax Attorneys (NAPTA) and as the Co-Chair of the Real Property Tax Practice Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Mr. Wolfe has been featured or quoted in a wide variety of local and national publications, including Forbes.com, GlobeSt.com, Marketwatch.com, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Law.com, Law360.com, The New York Law Journal, and Commerce Magazine. Mr. Wolfe has a track record of obtaining significant assessment reductions on behalf of his clients. Examples of those assessment reductions include: • Reduced hotel assessment from $188 million to $131million; • Reduced multi-family assessment from $116 million to $67 million; • Reduced office assessment from $115.5 million to $90million; • Reduced supermarket anchored center from $66.9 million to $46 million; • Reduced nursing home assessment from $36 million to $10.1million; • Reduced big box retail assessment from $21.3 million to $13.4 million; • Reduced office assessment from $27.8 million to $6.5million. Mr. Wolfe began his career as an associate at the law firm of Davis Polk and Wardwell in New York. While at Davis Polk, he focused his practice on regulatory investigations, securities litigation and banking disputes. Mr. Wolfe is a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates and is the Co-Chair of the ABA’s Diversity & Inclusion 360 Presidential Commission. As a young lawyer, Mr. Wolfe served as the Chair of the ABA Young Lawyers Division, the ABA’s largest entity with more than 130,000 members. Mr. Wolfe received his J.D. from New York University School of Law, and graduated from Cornell University with distinction in all subjects.