Newport, RI – March 11, 2014 – Kirby Payne, CHA, President of HVS’s asset management division in Newport, Rhode Island, has announced the appointment of Laura Benner as Senior Vice President of HVS Asset Management – Newport.

Laura Benner, who is based in Manhattan, is a hotel real estate executive with more than 20 years of experience in hotel asset management, value creation, contract negotiations, strategic and branding analysis, acquisitions, dispositions and highest and best use assessments. Ms. Benner has worked within the hospitality divisions of such well-established and highly regarded firms as Host Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, PricewaterhouseCoopers, RFR Holding and HVS’s Consulting & Valuation office in New York. She is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, and she has an MBA from the University of Southern California where she received a Dean’s Account Fellowship.

“We are excited to have Laura join our team,” said Payne. “Her experience and knowledge of asset management and value creation will be a benefit to our clients. Her unique skills and experience add to the extensive aptitudes on our team and speaks strongly to our mission, vision and values at HVS Asset Management – Newport.”