The new company�s main objective is to own and operate top quality hotels where it can increase and enhance value. Associated is targeting branded and independent mid-priced to upper mid-priced properties in the Midwest. These hotels generally have between 100 and 500 rooms and could include food and beverage operations or be limited service. 

 Associated plans to own and/or operate 15 to 20 hotels within the next three years and to continue to offer its property owners personalized service�with direct access to the company�s three principals. Associated is looking to work with a variety of hotel owners-- including individual developers, venture capital firms, financial institutions, REITs, and insurance companies. 

�We will work with owners who are committed to the quality and success of their assets and can benefit from our expertise in enhancing the revenue and overall performance of their properties,� says Associated President Jay Fishman. �It is important that our owners know that they will be dealing with an Associated principal at all times. This is how we will stand out amongst the many other management companies now operating in the lodging industry.�

Chief Operating Officer Gary Wood adds: �We have spent our careers creating value for other people. That is where our expertise really lies.� 

Associated currently operates six first-class hotels with a total of 1,920 rooms that generate $50 million in annual revenue. The properties range in size from 228 to 430 rooms and employ 1,000 associates. These properties are the following: 

• Holiday Inn Rolling Meadows (Ill.); 
• Holiday Inn Select-Minneapolis Airport; 
• Holiday Inn Select-St. Louis; 
• Holiday Inn Select-Appleton, Wis.; 
• Radisson Duluth (Minn.); and 
• Doubletree Little Rock (Ark.). 

�We selected Associated Hotels as our management company because its leaders could offer the personal, hands-on expertise necessary to make this turnaround situation successful,� says Sam Patel, principal in Rolling Meadows-based Woodfield Hotels LLC.

Associated will be responsible for a variety of management duties, custom-designed to each client�s needs. This includes all aspects of operations, marketing, human resources, and financial management.

�We are not a cookie-cutter operation. We will custom tailor our services to the needs and goals of each client�always keeping in mind the success and performance of the property,� says Chief Financial Officer Bryan Curry.

The principals of Associated Hotels have diverse backgrounds in just about every aspect of hotel management.

Jay Fishman has 22 years of experience in the hotel industry. Prior to working with Seymour N. Logan Associates, the Chicago native was senior vice president/ hotel investments at VMS Realty Partners for more than a decade. His expertise includes the development and implementation of workout strategies, hotel repositioning, negotiation and administration of management and franchise agreements, and portfolio management. Fishman is a former chairman of IAHI, the Owners� Association of InterContinental Hotels Group�where he currently resides on the board of directors and remains active in the committee process. He received a bachelor�s degree in accounting from Indiana University.

Bryan Curry has more than 20 years of financial experience. Prior to being chief financial officer of Seymour N. Logan, he worked in public accounting and specialized in hotel and real estate auditing and taxation. Curry is Central Region Committee Chairman at IAHI, as well as a member of the Distribution Channel Task Force. He also is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Illinois Certified Public Accountants Society. Curry received his bachelor�s degree in accounting from DePaul University.

Gary Wood has more than 30 years of hospitality expertise, spent at both the individual hotel and multi-unit levels. Before joining Associated, Wood was most recently vice president of operations for Hostmark Hospitality Group, where he worked for 13 years. He spent much of his career with Holiday Inn Worldwide, where his experience included food and beverage, sales and marketing, general management, and multi-unit operations. Wood is the immediate past chairman of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association; a trustee of the Chicago Area Pre-Paid Legal Fund; and a member of the Holiday Inn Committee of IAHI, the Owners� Association of InterContinental Hotels Group. The Columbus, Ohio native received a bachelor�s degree in industrial management from the University of Tennessee.

Jay Fishman
President
312-782-9443
[email protected]