Los Angeles, CA (December 3, 2009) -- Philipp Kainbacher has been appointed Chief   Development Officer of Luxe Hotels and Luxe Worldwide Hotels, it was announced by Efrem Harkham, CEO and Founder of the L.A.-based upscale hospitality companies. This is Luxe Hotels' latest move in its aggressive worldwide brand expansion program to provide hotel owners with a performance-driven alternative to the hotel industry's typical franchise brands.
 
"In this difficult economic climate, Luxe Hotels offers hotel owners a viable and affordable alternative to the strict operational requirements and underperforming sales results from the most well-known franchise brands," Mr. Kainbacher notes. 
 
Mr. Kainbacher has over 18 years of experience in developing more than 200 hotels worldwide including acquisitions, management, securing equity and investments, and rebranding/repositioning.  Prior to joining Luxe Hotels, he served as the Managing Director of PK Capital Partners, a hotel investment advisory organization.  Mr. Kainbacher has also held senior management  and consulting positions with Ashford Hospitality Trust, Highgate Holdings, Kempinski Hotels, and HVS. He is a graduate of Harvard University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. In addition, he holds an MBA summa cum laude and BS cum laude from Johnson & Wales University, Providence, Rhode Island. 
 
In his new position, Mr. Kainbacher will be involved in many activities including: 

• Seeking four-star branded hotels in corporate gateway cities worldwide. The company currently has branded Luxe hotels in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and Los Angeles, and have already commenced negotiations on assets in New York, Paris, Mumbai, and London.
• Forming alliances with capital investment companies to assist owners/properties with acquisitions, renovations, and other enhancements that will enable them to properly up-brand to the four-star plus Luxe Hotels brand. 
• Creating potential alliances with management companies to offer Luxe branded hotels an option for hotel management or to select their own management company. 
• Seeking new members hotels for Luxe Worldwide Hotels, the hotel representation and sales and marketing division of the company.  These hotels may not allow branding options, do not fit the Luxe brand segment, or may simply benefit more greatly from the sales and marketing platform that Luxe Worldwide Hotels currently offers to its 190 members.
• Leading the development efforts worldwide by managing a team of 19 business development professionals.

"Luxe Hotels operates from a truly entrepreneurial, bottom-line based mindset.  We focus on leveraging our extensive and highly effective sales and marketing resources to increase revenue for the hotels.  Many of the properties who have joined Luxe Worldwide Hotels typically see an increase of 40 to 60% on average with regard to sales.  We are also receiving a substantial amount of inquiries from owning companies who are tired of the strict franchise regulations and want a company that will provide personalized attention and results and that is exactly what Luxe Hotels delivers.  We are a 24/7 sales powerhouse," he adds.
 
Mr. Kainbacher also notes that "There are many distressed hotels being offered by lenders, and we envision a partnership with an investor or fund on the acquisition side where we can operate as the branding partner with a selective operator in the luxury or mid-market sector to either down-brand or up-brand.  A successful company in today's economic marketplace needs to adapt in order to compete in this new environment and that is exactly what Luxe is doing."
 
ABOUT LUXE HOTELS
Luxe Hotels is part of the global hotel organization founded by Efrem Harkham, which also includes Luxe Worldwide Hotels, a hotel marketing and reservations organization with an impressive portfolio of nearly 200 independently owned and operated, award-winning hotels in the best locations around the globe. The properties include such esteemed hotels as Canyon Ranch Tucson, Canyon Ranch Lenox, Palms Place Hotel & Spa in Las Vegas and Waterford Castle in Waterford, Ireland.  Luxe Hotels has 13 offices worldwide including Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Frankfurt, Buenos Aires, Mexico, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney, and Mumbai.