Kim and Kaufman Come Aboard
from CNL Hotels & Resorts and Starwood Hotels & Resorts
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Lightstone Group, LLC, one of the largest private real estate owners in the country, today announced that it has boosted Extended Stay Hotels’ senior management team with the hiring of David Kim as executive vice president of finance and chief investment officer, and John Kaufman as executive vice president of revenue management.
David Kim comes to Extended Stay Hotels from CNL Hotels & Resorts, where he was senior vice president of investment analysis. In that capacity, he played an integral role in the company’s strategy formulation and execution, which culminated earlier this year in the company's $6.6 billion sale to Morgan Stanley Real Estate and Ashford Hospitality Trust. Prior to CNL Hotel & Resorts, Kim worked in several positions of increasing responsibility for a variety of lodging industry organizations.
“I’m thrilled to join a firm that recognizes the value and strong performance of the extended stay segment, and look forward to leading Lightstone’s capitalization of Extended Stay Hotels’ dominant position in the extended stay sector,” said Kim, who will also serve as managing director of asset management for The Lightstone Group, which recently hired Peyton (Chip) Owen, Jr. as president and COO.
Kaufman joins Extended Stay Hotels with more than 15 years of travel industry experience, including the past six years with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, where he was most recently vice president, global revenue management. Prior to Starwood, Kaufman was with Priceline.com, first as vice president of revenue management for Priceline Yardsale, and then as vice president of U.S. airline relations for Priceline’s airline group. Before that, Kaufman spent 10 years at American Airlines, with growing responsibility in the areas of sales, finance, revenue management and customer relationship management.
Kaufman is extremely excited to be part of the Extended Stay Hotels senior management team, as well as for the future prospects of the company. “Extended Stay Hotels is a very successful company, with an unparalleled group of over 680 operating assets across North America, providing great consistency and product quality not found in any other company in the industry at their price point,” said Kaufman. “The company’s margins are incredible, though to this point, they have been driven more by attention to the cost side of the equation than the revenue side. The amount of upside that exists on the revenue side is incredible. There is a strong revenue management team in place, so with enhanced pricing strategies and technology, coupled with plans for new third party distribution and other marketing opportunities, there is just tremendous revenue growth potential for Extended Stay Hotels.”
Gary A. DeLapp, who signed a new contract to remain president and chief executive officer of Extended Stay Hotels, added, “Adding David Kim and John Kaufman, both from leading worldwide hotel companies, to our executive management team will allow us to accelerate our brand and revenue growth strategies as we continue to further reinforce Extended Stay Hotels leadership position within the extended stay segment.”
David Lichtenstein, chairman and CEO of the Lightstone Group, concluded, “While the Extended Stay Hotels acquisition marked Lightstone Group’s entry into the hotel sector, adding Starwood Hotels and Resorts executive John Kaufman and CNL Hotels & Resorts veteran David Kim proves that we are committed to growing Extended Stay Hotels with the industry’s brightest and most knowledgeable senior management team. In addition, retaining Gary DeLapp in the top management role will help maintain the consistency and brand knowledge that is necessary to grow the brand. We’re very excited that Gary has chosen to remain president and CEO of Extended Stay Hotels.”
Extended Stay Hotels is the largest owner of mid-price extended-stay hotels in the United States, with over 680 hotels and approximately 76,000 rooms located in 44 states and Canada. The company currently operates under five brands in the extended-stay segment: Extended Stay Deluxe, Extended Stay America, Homestead Studio Suites, StudioPlus and Crossland.
