WASHINGTON, D.C., October 19, 2009—Officials
of the Hispanic Hotel Owners Association (HHOA), a rapidly growing
non-profit
organization that seeks to increase Latino ownership of hotels, today
announced
the election of two new members to its Board of Directors:
Juan
Carlos Contalba,
vice president, international development, Benchmark Hospitality, and Jose Luis Lopez,
president, Lopez Marketing
Group.
“Both of these individuals bring a wealth of valuable
experience to our board of directors,” said Angela Gonzalez-Rowe,
founder and president of the Hispanic Hotel Owners Association. “Juan Contalba
is with a leading hotel developer/owner/operator with more than 22
hotels and
has in-depth experience and expertise in international markets. Jose Lopez
is a highly active and visible member of the Hispanic community who can
help
HHOA identify and reach out to new potential hotel investors. We expect both men to play a key role in our
outreach initiatives to increase the presence of Latinos in the
hospitality
industry.”
A two-decade veteran of the hospitality industry, Contalba has extensive
experience
in establishing and operating international ventures in the United States, Europe (France, Monaco,
UK, Switzerland, Italy),
the Caribbean, Central and South America (Mexico,
Costa Rica, Argentina, Panama,
Chile). He began his career with Benchmark
Hospitality International and later served with Hyatt Hotels
Corporation. He subsequently left the
industry to enter the legal and financial fields. In
his career, he has represented foreign
companies and individuals doing business in the United States, as well as U.S.
entities and individuals doing
business abroad. He attended Rice University
and the South Texas College of Law.
Lopez is founder and president
of Lopez Marketing Group, Inc., an integrated marketing and public
relations
firm based in El Paso,
Texas.
During his career in consumer marketing, he spent more
than 15 years in El Paso
supervising
advertising campaigns for such national companies as Nabisco, Kimberley-Clark,
Procter & Gamble, Quaker Oats and Pepsi.
Prior to founding his own firm, he was responsible for
regional
marketing for Coca-Cola Foods Division. A civic activist, Lopez
currently serves on the boards of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce
Education Development Foundation and the USHCC (U.S. Hispanic Chamber
of
Commerce), is past chairman of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
and is
former committee chair of the United Way. He
earned his BA degree from the University
of Texas at El Paso.
About HHOA
Headquartered in Washington,
D.C., HHOA is a
non-profit
organization whose mission is to increase the number of Hispanic-owned,
-developed
and -operated hotels, further the participation of Hispanic-owned
suppliers
serving the hotel industry and increase executive level employment
opportunities for Hispanics within the lodging industry. The
industry’s leading brands, including
Hilton Hotels Corporation, Marriott International, Choice Hotels
International,
Wyndham Worldwide Corporation and
Global Hyatt Corporation have joined the organization and have become
major
corporate sponsors.
HHOA membership is open to hotel owners, developers,
investors, financiers, real estate executives, investment bankers,
professional
advisors, analysts, franchisors, management company executives,
industry
product and service providers, hotel general managers, hotel sales and
marketing
managers, government agencies for tourism and development, hospitality
schools,
hospitality students or anyone seeking to do business within the
Hispanic
market.
Additional information about HHOA is available at the
association’s Web site, www.hhoa.org. To learn more about the Hotel Investment
Series, contact Angela
Gonzalez-Rowe at 202-587-5707,
or www.hhoa.org.
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