ABOUT
Beacon Hospitality Advisors
Beacon Hospitality Advisors, LLC (“Beacon”) provides debt advisory, asset management and capital expenditure oversight exclusively to the hospitality industry. Beacon has offices in Dallas, London and Denver.
Beacon’s principals have a depth of experience as owners, asset managers, operators, buyers, sellers, brokers, lenders, developers and franchisors. This multi-disciplined background facilitates a balanced perspective for each assignment.
The principals of Beacon have:
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Provided debt advisory and lender solutions and have successfully restructured, worked out and created value in troubled hospitality assets totaling more than $7 billion;
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Asset-managed and advised on more than 300 hotels with an aggregate asset value in excess of $10 billion in more than 40 countries around the world;
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Planned, designed, renovated, re-positioned and developed hundreds of hotels, resorts, resort amenities, retail, residential and mixed use developments.
Through its fully integrated platform, Beacon provides holistic solutions to the complex issues faced by hospitality investors today.
Leadership
Richard Watson
Richard.Watson@BeaconHA
US Phone: +1 929-292-9923
UK Phone: +44 (0) 20 7183 9210
A founder of Beacon Hospitality Partners in 2008, Tom also managed CBRE’s Hotel Advisory practice in the U.S. from 2017 through June 2019. Prior to Beacon, he was a Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for CNL Income Properties, Inc., a public REIT. Mr. Huffsmith' s experience also includes serving as President of Regent International Hotels, where he was responsible for leading the worldwide expansion of the luxury Regent Hotel company. Prior to Regent, Tom served with InterContinental Hotels Group as head of Development, Asset Management and Technical Services in EMEA, as well as LaSalle Partners and Prudential Realty Group. Tom holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He also received a B.S. in Hotel Administration from Cornell University. Tom was an accredited instructor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, Office of Continuing Education from 1995 to 2003.
Richard is a senior partner in WES Consultancy LLP. After leaving Cambridge University, he has spent 35 years, mainly as a Partner in London based DE&J Levy, Chartered Surveyors. He was responsible for its Investment Division across UK, Europe, the Middle East and the United States, covering all commercial property investment and development for industrial/offices and hotels with transactions totaling over £8B. Since 2007, WES Consultancy LLP has advised UK and US Global Funds on their worldwide commercial property investments including major transactions such as the acquisition and subsequent sale of the Palace Hotel in New York.
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Mike a CPA, has over 40 years of leadership experience in the hospitality industry. He is a principal and founder of EMA Lodging Group, an investor and advisor in hospitality real estate. Prior to forming EMA, Mike was chief investment officer of FelCor Lodging Trust Inc. from 2001 through 2015. Mike led the Felcor’s activities in over $2.5 billion of dispositions, acquisitions and development that re-positioned FelCor's portfolio and strengthened its balance sheet prior to FelCor’s merger with RLJ in 2017. Mike has held numerous leadership positions within the industry including principal and head of the Lodging Group at Lend Lease, executive vice president of mergers, acquisitions and strategic planning at Carlson Hotels Worldwide, vice president of operations for Radisson Hotels, head of hotel advisory services for Kenneth Leventhal’s Chicago office, vice president of hotel investments for VMS Realty Partners and director of hotel investments for Prudential Property Company. Mike is a graduate of Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration and is an active member of ULI's Hotel Development Council and the Lodging Industry Investment Council.
Andy is a principal and founder of EMA Lodging Group, an investor and advisor in hospitality real estate. He is also the founder of Merion Advisors, an investor and advisor focused on real estate, hospitality and technology. From 2014-2016 Andy was Chief Financial Officer of Xenia Hotels and Resorts, a multi-billion real estate investment trust, where he was instrumental with its public listing on the New York Stock Exchange. From 1998-2013, Andy was Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of FelCor Lodging Trust, Inc. where he led the balance sheet strategy through two lodging cycles and completed over $15 billion in capital market transactions. Prior to FelCor, Andy was Treasurer at Bristol Hotels & Resorts where he helped structure the sale of Bristol’s 108 hotels to FelCor in 1998. Prior to Bristol, Andy held investment banking and corporate banking positions with Bank of America, N.A. and Citibank, N.A. Andy holds an M.B.A. from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. He also received a B.B.A. from the University of Kansas.
Erik has 35 years of experience in all aspects of hospitality industry. He is a principal and founder of EMA Lodging Group, an investor and advisor in hospitality real estate. Prior to forming EMA, Erik was the senior vice president of acquisitions and development at FelCor Lodging Trust where he was responsible for major redevelopments including the Knickerbocker Hotel, Fairmont Copley Plaza, Marriott Union Square and Kingston Plantation residential developments. Prior to FelCor, Erik served as Managing Director of Hospitality Technology Solutions, Vice President for Radisson Hotels & Resorts, Boca Resorts, Inc., Ruff Callaghan & Hemmeter and VMS Realty Partners. Significant successful accomplishments in these roles include the $100 million financial restructuring and redevelopment of the Radisson Aruba Resort, the financial restructuring and the $60 million redevelopment of the Boca Raton Resort & Club and the $40 million acquisition, financing and redevelopment of the Equinox Resort in Vermont. Erik is a graduate of Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration