Hospitality Key Global Investment Trends

Felicity Black-Roberts joined Hyatt in 2016 in her current role as Vice President of Development. She is based in London and leads a team responsible for the development of Hyatt’s brand portfolio across Western Europe.
Since joining Hyatt, Felicity’s team has achieved significant milestones for the company including market entries in Dublin, Madrid, Biarritz and Barcelona along with brand debuts in London, Paris and Frankfurt. Felicity brings more than 25 years of hospitality experience working for brands such as Forte, Le Méridien, Starman and Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

In her most recent role as Global CEO of JLL Hotels & Hospitality, Gilda was responsible for overseeing the global investment sales, debt and equity placement, strategic advisory and asset management services, offering leading expertise throughout the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Gilda Perez-Alvarado joined Accor in October 2023 as Chief Strategy Officer and member of Accor’s Management Board. As part of her role, she in will be in charge of overseeing global strategy, relations with hotel owners, and strategic partnerships. In January 2024, in addition to her current role as Chief Strategy Officer, she was also appointed as CEO Orient Express.

As Managing Director, Luxury and Lifestyle for Driftwood Capital, Alinio brings his 25+ years of luxury and lifestyle hospitality experience to lead Driftwood Capital’s further expansion into these segments, as well as to support Driftwood Hospitality’s management and operating expertise in highly-amenitized, service-focused and mixed-use properties.

COO at easyMalon Ltd - exclusive representative of easyHotel in Israel, aiming to open seven franchised properties across Israel with the next ten years. Andriy is responsible for overall program management, investor relations, and fundraising. His 15 years in hospitality started with the development and sales of wellness products. Then he transitioned to the event business as a co-founder and CEO of the event management company, which led until moving to Tel Aviv, Israel. There, he joined a local company rendering purchasing and supply chain management services to electronic device manufacturers. Though currently serving as a COO for two companies, his primary focus is on bringing the very first easyHotels to Israel.

As a co-founder of Satori Collective, Andy functions as the MP and focuses on the firm’s strategic direction, business development, company culture, and is a voting member on the investment committee. US. Under his leadership, Satori has raised and deployed over USD $150MM in equity across USD $500MM in hotel investments across the USA.

Asli is a hotel development professional who has worked in global hospitality for over 25 years. Specialising in luxury, full & limited service as well as extended stay hotels acquisition, negotiation and execution of deals, focusing on the UK and continental Europe. Before Cycas, Asli was a hospitality and entrepreneurship lecturer in Rwanda, where she also developed and opened the country’s first boutique hotel. While a member of the Rwanda Development Board, she helped the governmental think tank maximise tourism. Her previous tenures involved managing Country House Hotels as well as Resort Hotels in America as well as Turkey.

Mrs. Bettina Graef-Parker is Head of Hotel Properties at Aareal Bank AG, one of the leading providers of debt financing to the hospitality industry worldwide. With her team, she is responsible for the structuring and origination of various forms of loans to the lodging industry. Aareal Bank AG provides property finance solutions in more than 25 countries across Europe, North America and Asia.

Camil Yazbeck is French and Lebanese. He holds an MBA in International Hotel Management from IMHI – a joint program between Cornell University, New York, and ESSEC Business School, Paris. Camil spent over 25 years in the hospitality industry, focusing on all aspects of hotel management in a variety of roles throughout the world. He held several senior leadership positions with international hotel companies, including Group Operations Director, Group & Area General Manager. He acquired extensive experience moving up the ranks in hotel management, in pre-openings as well as the extended stay market, within independent and branded hotels. Prior to joining Accor, Camil held the position of Partner and Investment Director – Hospitality & Leisure at Patron Capital, a leading Pan-European private equity real estate investor representing approximately €4.0 billion of equity across several funds and related investments including 60+ multi-branded hotels throughout Europe.

Carlos Hernández has extensive experience in developing innovative and sustainable concepts in the urban planning, luxury hotels and real estate development sectors in remote or emerging destinations. As CEO of Pellas Development, he oversees a portfolio of development and investment of lands and resorts in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama; for more of 1,000 million dollars. Among its most significant projects is the Development of the Mukul Hotel, Beach Golf & Spa (Auberge Resorts in Nicaragua) and the Hotel Dreams Las Mareas Resort & Spa (AMResorts in Costa Rica). Also has experience in various projects in Bahamas, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and USA.

Nearly25 years of experience in hotel development in various senior management positions. From 1995 to 2003 Director Development of ACCOR Hotels in Germany and Austria, from 2003-2011 Director Development of Motel One Group for European development of these Budget Design Hotels. In 2011 I joined TUI Hotels & Resorts, but after strategic change in hotel business I started in 2013 as Managing Director Development for Vienna based Falkensteiner Hotels & Residences, being responsible for the growth of Falkensteiner in CEE. In 2017 I returned to TUI Group to manage the growth of Tui own hotels & resorts worldwide, especially TUI Blue, Club Robinson and Club Magic Life

Federico joined ALG, now World of Hyatt Inclusive Collection, in 2017. He leverages over 30 years of experience in luxury hotel management/operations, destination/hotel marketing, and travel product development in the luxury segment Before that he spent 13 years as director of product development at Classic Vacations, Expedia Group's luxury brand, responsible for Caribbean and Mexico. His prior role was Senior Director of Marketing at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, for nearly a decade, where he successfully opened Mexico City and Punta Mita. Federico was founder and President of the Promotions Committee at the Mexico City Hotel & Motel Association and later appointed Chief Counsel of the first Mexico City Tourism Board,

Felicity Black-Roberts joined Hyatt in 2016 in her current role as Vice President of Development. She is based in London and leads a team responsible for the development of Hyatt’s brand portfolio across Western Europe.
Since joining Hyatt, Felicity’s team has achieved significant milestones for the company including market entries in Dublin, Madrid, Biarritz and Barcelona along with brand debuts in London, Paris and Frankfurt. Felicity brings more than 25 years of hospitality experience working for brands such as Forte, Le Méridien, Starman and Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Mr. Melnik joined KSL Capital Partners in September 2006. Previously, he worked as an investment banker in the Gaming and Leisure Groupe of Merrill Lynch. He holds a B.S. in Finance and International Business (magna cum laude) from New York University's Stern School of Business. Additionally, he is a CFA Chartholder.

Joan Bertran joined Banco Sabadell in 2008 to manage the Group’s Real Estate portfolio ($15bn). Since then he served in different executive positions and today he is the Banco Sabadell’s Group Global Head of Commercial Real Estate & Hotels. Based in Miami, he is in charge of the CRE & Hotels Group’s financing activity with teams in America and Europe. Previously, Joan served as Business Manager at ‘Logispark’, a Banco Sabadell JV with a RE developer, where he managed investments for $400M to develop more than 700.000sqm of CRE in Europe. He started his professional career in 1999 as Construction Manager at Ferrovial.

Joanna Ayala is responsible for the development of managed properties in the Caribbean for Marriott International . She joined Marriott on 2022 after working for more than 3 years for Nh Hotel Group as Assets and Development Director for America. Before NH, she worked for more than 5 years at AccorHotels as Development manager for different countries. Between 2010 and 2014 she worked for the Synergy Group owned by Germán Efromovich, where she was part of the group that created Movich Hotels in Colombia and she later led its development in the country. Joanna has a BA degree at CESA University in Colombia and she followed her studies at the University of Kansai Gaidai in Hirakata, Japan.

Responsible for overseeing operations, business development, commercial and establishing key partnerships and infrastructure to position Hotel Equities for success in the Caribbean and Latin America hospitality markets. With a proven track record in corporate development, development of Hotels and owners relations, he brings expertise in market conditions, strategic advice, commercial negotiations, and project management. His leadership will play a critical role in growing Hotel Equities' portfolio and strengthening its presence in these International dynamic regions. Formerly he was responsible for the full circle corporate development for Hilton brands in Latin America & Caribbean inclusive of Development, Architecture, Design, Project Management and Owner Relations- Retention functions.

Justin oversees retention for Aimbridge Hospitality. His team focuses on retaining management contracts for Aimbridge’s strategic hotels that are placed for sale by their respective owners. During his tenure at Interstate, his team nearly doubled the company's retention success rate. As Aimbridge’s ownership base continues to grow and diversify, Justin adds further acumen to the Development team focusing on communicating Aimbridge’s value proposition and leveraging relationships with investors, hotel owners, and brokers to increase retention. Additionally, he specializes in key strategic business development opportunities for strategic ownership groups.

Justin is SVP Development - Europe for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts since June 2016. In this role, Justin is responsible for all development activities across the European region. Prior to joining Four Seasons, Justin was with Starwood Hotels for 14 years in a number of operational and corporate roles in the U.S. and Europe, including within the Finance and Treasury team in the U.S. and Europe, notably overseeing Starwood's extensive capital deployment program across its owned and leased portfolio in Europe as well as leading the EMEA portfolio management group. Justin moved into Starwood's development group in 2012 and, as VP Acquisitions & Development, oversaw new development activities across Starwood's Southern European region.

Keith leads the global investment and development team at Ennismore. This includes new acquisitions as well as expanding the management platform with investment partners from all over the world. Prior to joining Ennismore, Keith was SVP of European Hotel Acquisitions at Starwood Capital. He has transacted on>2bl USD of hotel real estate across the globe in his numerous investment roles from institutional funds

Lorcain Egan serves as Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Real Estate Private Credit at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, Mr. Egan oversees Starwood’s commercial real estate debt investment activities. Since joining the firm in 2013, he has played a key role expanding the firm’s global lending footprint. Mr Egan previously worked in the Capital Markets team, where he arranged financing for equity investments in Europe and Asia. He is a member of Starwood Capital’s Investment Committee and Starwood Property Trust’s Investment Committee (NYSE: STWD). Prior to joining Starwood, Mr. Egan was a Vice President at Barclays Bank in London, where he specialized in real estate lending. Earlier in his career, he held roles at Barclays and Allied Irish Bank, working across a range of asset-based lending and corporate finance areas. Mr. Egan holds a degree in Law and Economics from the University of Ulster.

Marc-Olivier has 16 years of industry experience and joined Benson Elliot in 2007 to cover acquisitions and asset management for France and hotels in Europe. Prior to that, he was a member of the acquisitions team at London-based Starwood Capital, where he was involved in various projects in the hospitality sector, and also worked on office transactions in the UK and France. Before joining Starwood, Marc-Olivier was at Goldman Sachs in Paris, where he focused on M&A in the real estate sector. Marc-Olivier graduated from ESSEC Business School in Paris with a specialisation in Finance and Real Estate. Marc-Olivier is a native French speaker and fluent in Spanish.

MariaPia Intini is the Managing Director of Almar Resorts & Spa, the luxury division of the independent operator HNH Hospitality. In this role, she drives the overall business strategy with a focus on brand development, operational excellence, and market expansion. MariaPia’s career spans more than 15 years across hospitality and real estate investment, marked by impactful roles that bridge operational leadership and financial expertise. Before joining HNH, she led development and investment across Europe for citizenM hotels, the disruptive, tech-forward brand that created the concept of affordable luxury, and recently joined the Marriott International portfolio. Her foundation was built at Cushman & Wakefield and Colliers International, where she specialised in financial feasibility and valuations for hotel assets across EMEA. MariaPia holds a Master’s degree in Hospitality Management with a concentration in Real Estate Finance and Investment from Cornell University (USA).

Matteo Ghedini is the founder and CEO of Brera Serviced Apartments. Matteo started Brera in 2013 by opening the first location in Nuremberg. Since then Brera expanded in many German cities and manages today ca. 700 Apartments. Born in Italy, Matteo started his career as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, attended an MBA at INSEAD and thereafter successfully completed the turnaround of a Real Estate Family Office in Germany. Passionate about Interior Design and about unleashing People´s talent, Matteo´s goal is to develop Brera to one of the most important long stay players in Europe.

Mauro RIAL joined AccorHotels in 2017 as Chief Financial Officer for South America, in charge of leading all financial and administrative activities and supporting all the development challenges in the region. Seasoned executive with extensive experience in restructurings, ERP implementations, process reengineering and M&As. Previously worked for Arthur Andersen, Ernst & Young and Suez Group, where he fulfilled for more than 13 years executive financial positions in Puerto Rico, Chile, Argentina, France, Spain and Brazil. Holds a Public Accountant degree by Universidad Nacional del Sur, Argentina, a Master of Finance from Universidad del CEMA, Argentina, and a specialization on Mergers & Acquisitions from London Business School.

CEO of Fibra Inn, Advisor, Hotel Manager and Administrator. He has more than 27 years of experience in the real estate industry and more than 34 years of experience in the area of ​​Finance. Responsible for REIT management, property acquisition and development. He graduated as a Mechanical Engineer from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana; He has a Masters in Business Administration from the Instituto Panamericano de Alta Dirección de Empresas (IPADE) and Member, Former Vice-President, Secretary and President of the 2003 Forum of the Monterrey Chapter of IMEF, the prestigious Mexican Institute of Finance Executives, which has among its members with Mexico's leading finance executives.

Paula Menis Dyksztein serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Excem Real Estate, a Spanish asset manager, co-investor, and multi-platform operator. The company, with over 40 years of experience, operates with a value-oriented investment philosophy across hospitality, shared accommodation, residential, and office segments in Spain. In her role, Ms. Menis Dyksztein contributes to the strategic and operational management of Excem Real Estate's diverse portfolio.

Board Member and major shareholder of Refundos Explorer. He joined Explorer Investments in 2012 as responsible for the Discovery Fund. Since 2017 he is responsible for the real estate area, namely the real estate fund EREF I (Explorer Investments Real Estate Fund) and Penha Longa. Joined CBRE in Madrid in 1987 and founded CBRE in Portugal in 1988. Since then and until 2012 headed CBRE operation in Portugal. During that time supervised more than €1.5bn of Commercial Real Estate Transactions, headed property Funds such as Selecta and Fundo Primeiro Imobiliário (today Square Asset Management) and was board member of Neoturis.

Peter is a dual American and British citizen who splits his time between New York and London—but his true home is wherever bold ideas are being built. He’s traveled to more than 65 countries, often venturing into the world’s most remote corners. That global curiosity has shaped a 30-year career focused on helping visionary founders turn world-changing ideas into investable, scalable realities. A recognized leader in global finance, Peter has worked across the buy-side and sell-side, earning accolades including “Top Rising Stars of Hedge Funds,” “Institutional Investor All-American,” and “Euromoney Top Research Analyst.” He’s also held a term membership at the Council on Foreign Relations—testament to his credibility not only in markets,

Pranav's transactional track record includes negotiating over US $3 Billion of transactions (M&A, Distressed Dispositions, Restructuring), capital markets (debt and equity/fund raising/VC), developments (ground up and conversion), in an international context. Unlike many professionals, he brings a 360-degree, cross-functional and multi-disciplinary perspective to the table – innovation and strategy through business model canvasing, principal investor, third party advisor, developer, and operator/asset manager – that collide into one objective: delivering shareholder value.

Ramsey is Chief Executive of Cedar Capital Partners, a specialist hotel investment firm. Cedar has acquired hotels with a value in excess of $4 bln. Prior to Cedar, Ramsey was EVP at Kingdom Holding, a major investor in the tourism industry with sizeable holdings in both hotel real estate and management companies (Four Seasons, Fairmont and Mövenpick). Ramsey was previously Associate Director at HVS International in their London and NY offices. Ramsey received his MA in Property Valuation and Law from City University in London and his BA in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Michigan State University in the U.S. He has published numerous articles and sits on several tourism-related boards.

Ravi is the VP of Real Estate at Yon. He has worked across real estate, fundraising, master planning, and big data over the past 10 years. He was most recently the Head of Global Growth Strategy at Selina where he led the company's real estate strategy, origination, feasibility and investment committee. During his time there he oversaw more than 70 deals closed in 13 countries across three continents.

Reem Garrash serves as CEO of SHADA Hospitality, a prominent Saudi Arabian hospitality company operating luxury hotels and resorts. Under her leadership, SHADA has expanded its portfolio of premium accommodations across the Kingdom, contributing to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 tourism objectives. Garrash brings extensive experience in hospitality management and strategic business development to her role. She has been instrumental in positioning SHADA as a key player in the region's growing tourism sector, overseeing operations that blend traditional Saudi hospitality with modern luxury standards. Her leadership focuses on delivering exceptional guest experiences while supporting the Kingdom's economic diversification goals through sustainable tourism development.

Robert Mangan joined Bain Capital in 2020. He is an Operating Partner in the Portfolio Group of the Special Situations team in Europe, serving as Head of Hotels. Prior to joining Bain Capital, Robert held a number of roles in hotel investment firms.

With over 25 years of real estate and hospitality experience, Rogerio leads all initiatives related to hospitality and tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean for IDB Invest, the private sector division of the Inter-American Development Bank Group. In his capacity as Head of Tourism, he is responsible for origination efforts and executing IDB Invest's strategy in the region, offering a variety of financial instruments including debt, mezzanine and equity.

Rohan is responsible for overseeing the development efforts for all Yotel brands across EMEA along with the global corporate strategy including feasibility and portfolio management. He joined YOTEL from Starwood Hotels and Resorts where he spent four years on the Real Estate Investment Management team responsible for the corporate owned assets. Over his time with Starwood, Rohan worked towards transacting over USD700M in asset sales to support the overall ‘asset light’ brand strategy. In addition to asset sales, Rohan worked on the asset management and renovation planning of existing properties across all brands in the North America portfolio. Previous to Starwood, Rohan was with E&Y on the Transaction & Hospitality Advisory team.

Sanjay is a hotel management graduate from IHM Pusa. He is the Managing Director and CEO of Chalet Hotels Ltd, a leading hospitality asset owner in India. In February of 2019, Sanjay took Chalet Hotels public. The company was listed on the Indian Stock Exchanges through a successful IPO. Chalet owns six hotels with ~2,550 keys spread across markets of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad..The company also owns co-located non-hotel real estate assets in Bengaluru and Mumbai. He is an Executive Committee Member of Hotel Association of India (HAI), Member CII committee for Tourism & Hospitality, and special invitee to the Hotel and Restaurant Association of West India.

Vamsi Bonthala is Co-Founder, Managing Principal & CEO of Arbor Lodging Partners, a leading hospitality investment and management company. With extensive experience in hotel acquisitions, development, and operations, he has built a portfolio of premium hotels across key markets. Under his leadership, Arbor Lodging has established itself as a prominent player in the hospitality industry, focusing on select-service and extended-stay properties. Bonthala brings deep expertise in real estate investment, asset management, and strategic growth initiatives, driving value creation through operational excellence and market positioning.

Vincent Mezard joins AXA IM - Real Assets from AccorInvest, where he was Head of Development, and oversaw the development of the real-estate focused platform of AccorHotels. Prior to that, he was Opening General Manager of the iconic Hotel Molitor Paris, MGallery by Sofitel, having also worked for Colony Capital and Bouygues Construction.

Willemijn brings to the role 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry and holds an MBA in International Hospitality Management. Prior to joining IHG in 2015, Willemijn was Development & Acquisitions Director for Europe at Louvre Hotels Group. She also gained experience in Deloitte’s Transport, Hospitality and Leisure team in Paris, where she led multiple hotel valuations, feasibility studies, and transaction and strategic advisory assignments.