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Sourcing great talent has always been a challenge for the hospitality industry, but in recent years it has reached a critical boiling point. With lower unemployment, rising labor costs, stiffening labor laws, slowing RevPAR gains, and increasing talent drains in many new supply-ridden markets, what should hoteliers be evaluating?

The industry has honed in on attracting millennials to come stay in hotels, but what will entice them to come and work in hotels? Is the hospitality industry still an attractive place of employment? Are companies being diligent in their hiring and retention efforts? Is the “human touch” still critical to the guest experience, or can it be replaced by automation?

The Cornell Hotel Society of New England, in conjunction with Boston University’s School of Hotel Administration and Title Sponsor Group One Partners presents the seventh annual Lodging Pulse networking event and panel discussion anchored by Operators, Asset Managers, Hotel Innovators, and Talent experts to share unique perspectives. 

SCHEDULE OF EVENT:
5:30pm – Registration
6:00pm – Program begins - confirmed speakers below
7:30pm – Cocktail & hors d'oeuvres reception begins

Speakers for the Event:

MICHELLE S. RUSSO – Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Hotel Asset Value Enhancement (hotelAVE)

Michelle S. Russo, CHAM, MAI, CHA, has more than 30 years of practical, hands-on experience with hotels, restaurants, resorts, convention centers, real estate, and finance. She has worked on thousands of hotel assets across the United States and, in 2003, founded Hotel Asset Value Enhancement, one of the largest hospitality asset management firm with a current asset management portfolio comprising over $5.5 billion, 22,000 rooms and over 30 different hotel operators. In addition to overseeing the practice, Russo is closely involved with strategic asset positioning, management contract negotiations, and interacting with senior-level brand and management executives on behalf of the portfolio. 

Prior to founding hotelAVE, Russo was vice president, senior leisure analyst for Deutsche Banc Alex Brown and managed a $500 million portfolio for John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, where she improved the portfolio and achieved 20 percent cash-on-cash returns. She is a regular guest lecturer at Cornell University and has appeared on CNBC and CNN to provide commentary on the hospitality and leisure industry. She serves on the dean’s advisory board for Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and is a member of ULI’s hotel council, Marriott’s distribution strategy advisory committee, the AHLA’s financial management committee, formerly on the Morgans board of directors, Johnson School and the Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship advisory board at Cornell University.

ERNEST LEE – VP, Development & Investment, CitizenM

Ernest Lee is Vice President of Development & Investments for citizenM in North America. In this capacity, Ernest is responsible for originating new development opportunities, managing the company's principal investments as well as implementing strategic initiatives within that region. Prior to joining citizenM, Ernest was a Senior Director within Cushman & Wakefield's lodging and leisure group (formerly Sonnenblick-Goldman), where he provided capital markets advisory for hotel owners and was involved in over $3 billion of asset sale, finance, and equity capitalization transactions. Ernest is a graduate of New York University. 

CAROLINE WARREN – EVP & Chief People Officer, Pyramid Hotel Group

Caroline Warren started her hospitality career as part of the opening team for the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago serving as the Human Resources Coordinator and remained with the Hard Rock for 3 years, leaving as the Human Resources Director to join Pyramid's corporate office team as Human Resources Director. During Ms. Warren’s tenure, she implemented Pyramid’s training system, PALMS (Pyramid Advanced Learning Management System), and was promoted to Director of Talent Development in 2007 where she oversaw training programs for all associates. In 2008 she was promoted to Vice President of Human Resources and oversaw HR operations for the managed Hotel Portfolio. Ms. Warren is a graduate of Boston University.

DR. CHRISTOPHER MULLER, Professor of the Practice, Boston University School of Hospitality Administration 

Dr. Muller is a leading academic expert in the field of corporate/chain restaurant management. His research has focused on multi-unit restaurant brand management; chain restaurant organization development and growth; and the training of multi-unit managers. Most recently he served as the Dean and Chief Academic and Administrative Officer for Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration, one of the leading undergraduate programs in hospitality management education in the country. Dr. Muller received both his Doctorate and Master’s degrees from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University.

Be sure to follow @CHSNewEngland on Twitter for all your Boston Lodging Pulse updates, as we will be live-tweeting throughout the event with the hashtag #BLP2018.

This event is co-sponsored by Cornell Hotel Society - New England Chapter and Boston University School of Hospitality Administration.

Register now, as we had a sold out event last year!

Register Now!