G6 Hospitality has a new woman at the top—for now.
Julie Arrowsmith has been named president and interim CEO of G6 Hospitality, parent company of the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands. She is replacing Rob Palleschi, who is moving on to take the CEO role at American Campus Communities, the a student housing manager, owner and developer.
Arrowsmith is no stranger to G6, having held various leadership positions over 28 years with the company, most recently as president and CFO, responsible for all finance and revenue-driving efforts, including the oversight of the revenue management, sales and e-commerce departments.
Palleschi had been with G6 for six years, five of which as CEO. He came up with Hilton, where he was for 12 years, before becoming CEO of TGI Fridays in 2016. He joined G6 in 2017. Palleschi replaced Jim Amorosia, who had been CEO for six years but with G6 for 33 years in total, before retiring.
“It has been a great honor to be CEO of G6 for the last five years,” Palleschi said. “I want to express my gratitude to our dedicated team members, talented management team and valued franchisees across the nation for their tremendous contributions to G6. With Julie’s energy, commitment to G6’s values and nearly three decades as part of the G6 team, I could not be more confident in the Company’s next chapter.”
G6 Hospitality franchises more than 1,400 economy lodging locations under the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands in the U.S. and Canada. The Motel 6 plays in the budget, economy space while sister brand Studio 6 occupies the economy, extended-stay space.
“It is a privilege to take on this additional responsibility as we position G6 for continued growth,” said Ms. Arrowsmith. “We have an incredibly strong team in place across the organization, and I look forward to continuing our work to support our franchise partners and deliver exceptional value for our guests.”
G6 Hospitality is owned by private equity behemoth Blackstone, which acquired the company in 2012 from Accor for close to $2 billion. Since then, the firm has divested most of the real estate. In 2021, there was talk that Blackstone was soliciting interest from potential suitors to acquire G6. No deal has since consummated.
“There is no one that knows G6 better than Julie, and we are confident the business will see a new level of success under her leadership,” said Rob Harper, head of real estate asset management Americas at Blackstone. “I want to extend my sincerest thanks to Rob for his years of dedication and stewardship. He has been invaluable to the company, and we know this will be a seamless transition for team members, franchisees and guests alike.”
WOMEN IN THE RANKS
Woman CEOs in the hospitality industry are few and certainly not at any of the top publicly traded companies.
Alison Brittain had been CEO of Whitbread, parent company to UK’s Premier Inn brand, but she left the company last year and was replaced by Dominic Paul, who came from Domino’s Pizza.
Kathleen Taylor was let go as president and CEO of Four Seasons in 2013 after three years at the helm.
Niki Leondakis was CEO of Commune Hotels + Resorts before leaving to become CEO of CorePower Yoga.
From 2011 to 2016, Jennifer Fox led Fairmont Hotels & Resorts as president and was also CEO of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels for a short time.
Currently, Harvard-educated Sonia Cheng is CEO of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts and, though certainly qualified, is a member of the family that acquired the hotel company in 2011.
Lindsey Ueberroth is the current CEO of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, after taking over the top spot from her father, John.
Leslie Hale is president and CEO of REIT RLJ Lodging Trust. She assumed the position in 2018 and has been with the company for 18 years.
In December 2022, Dubai Holding, named Katerina Giannouka as the new CEO of Jumeirah Group as of December 2022.
Meanwhile, Gilda Perez-Alvarado is the global CEO of JLL Hotels & Hospitality.
When Arne Sorenson passed away as CEO of Marriott International, it was considered that next in line for the top spot would be either Tony Capuano or Stephanie Linnartz. The former was tapped and Linnartz left Marriott some time later to become CEO of Under Armour.