Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG) has announced the appointment of Pete Sams as its new president.
Sams joins HVMG from Highgate Hotels, where he most recently served as president. Previously, he held multiple leadership roles within the KSL portfolio, including serving for more than six years as chief operating officer of Peregrine Hospitality and Davidson Hospitality Group. At Peregrine, he helped launch a dedicated in-house management platform for KSL Capital that operated more than 45 hotels. As COO of Davidson, the company doubled in size during his tenure.
“After a thoughtful and diligent search process and spending significant time getting to know Pete both personally and professionally, it became very clear that he is the right person and an exceptional fit for this role,” said Robert Cole, founder and CEO. “We share a strong alignment around leadership philosophy, and Pete brings a compelling combination of operational excellence, industry relationships, financial and business acumen and a proven ability to develop high-performing teams.”
Earlier in his career, Sams held corporate above-property leadership positions with Interstate Hotels & Resorts and White Lodging Services and spent more than a decade as a general manager with Omni Hotels & Resorts, including at its 836-room flagship hotel in Washington, D.C.
“I am honored to join HVMG as president at such an exciting time in the company’s evolution,” Sams said. “As a founder of two companies and a former general manager himself, Robert has built HVMG from a single hotel 25 years ago into an organization with a strong foundation, an inspiring culture and values that align with my own. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Robert and lead this talented team as we build on that foundation, continue raising the bar on performance and position HVMG for its next chapter of growth.”
Currently, HVMG operates 60 hotels and resorts and one convention center across 16 U.S. states, with nearly 12,000 guest rooms under management. The company’s portfolio consists of premium-branded full-service hotels, upscale select-service properties and resorts operating primarily under Marriott, Hilton, Hard Rock and Hyatt brands.