Michelle Russo, President, has more than 20 years of practical, hands-on experience with hotels, restaurants, resorts, convention centers, real estate, and finance. She has worked on hundreds of hotel assets across the United States and, in 2003, founded Hotel Asset Value Enhancement. While Ms. Russo oversees the practice, she is very involved in strategic asset positioning, management contract negotiations and interacting with senior level brand and management executives on behalf of the portfolio.
Prior to founding hotelAVE, Ms. Russo managed a $500M portfolio for John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company where she improved the portfolio and achieved 20% cash-on-cash returns. She is well-known for initiating the legal action taken in the 2660 Woodley Road case in which Hancock was originally awarded $52M. In addition, Ms. Russo was responsible for changing the property’s management and overseeing a $100M repositioning renovation of the 1,500-room convention hotel. Ms. Russo is a regular guest lecturer at Cornell University and has appeared on CNBC and CNN to provide commentary on the hospitality and leisure industry.
Experience
- Deutsche Banc Securities, Inc.
Vice President, Senior Leisure Analyst - John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company
Investment Officer, Hotel Real Estate Asset Manager - Pinnacle Advisory Group
Senior Vice President - Hospitality Valuation Services
Vice President
Professional Affiliations and Designations
- Appraisal Institute - Designated Member (MAI)
- AH&LA - Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA)
- Urban Land Iinstitute - Hotel Development Council Member
- Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA),
Board member: 1996-2000
President: 1999 and 2000
Education
- Bachelor of Science - School of Hotel Administration
Cornell University
Publications
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Co-Author: Benchmarking & Financial Analysis (Chapt 11) - Hotel Asset Management Principles and Practices (2009) 2nd Ed.
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Co-Author: Benchmarking & Financial Analysis (Chapt 9) - Hotel Asset Management Principles and Practices (2004) 1st Ed.
Industry Activities and Engagements
- Guest Speaker: Conversations with Entrepreneurs - The Leland and Mary Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship, Cornell University (Mar 8, 2011)
- Panelist: Checking In: Hospitality Investment and Development 101 - NAIOP Massachusetts (Feb 23, 2011)
- Co-presenter: Key Business Terms/Concepts in Major Hotel Agreements and Mastering Key Reports & Metrics - 2011 Hospitality Law Conference (Feb 9, 2011)
- Panelist: Hospitality Industry Leaders Panel: News From the Corner Office - Distressed Hotel Summit (Nov 1, 2010)
- Panelist: Distressed Hotels - Urban Land Institute (May 15, 2010)
- Panelist: Asset Management - Now More Than Ever - Hunter Hotel Investment Conference (Mar 18, 2010)
- Moderator: Asset Management: Needed Now, More Than Ever? - NYU International Hotel Investment Conference (June 5, 2006)
- Guest Lecturer: Hotel Revenue and Expense Benchmarking - Cornell University (2005)
- Moderator: The Game is the Same, But the Rules Are Changing - NYU International Hotel Investment Conference (June 6, 2005)
- Guest Lecturer: Asset Management Fundamentals - Cornell University (2004)
- Guest Speaker: Creating the Asset Management Plan - American Lodging Investment Summit (Jan 20, 2004)
- Moderator: Owner/Manager Relations: Making the Marriage Work - NYU International Hotel Investment Conference (June 8, 2004)
- Panelist: You Are An Asset Manager Whether You Realize It or Not - Hotel Investment Conference (Mar 16, 2004)
- Panelist-Broker's Forum: Are Deals Being Done? The Brokers Speak Out - NYU International Hotel Investment Conference (June 3, 2003)
- Speaker: Hotel and Leisure Industry Outlook - Timothy C. Russell Distinguished Speaker Series, University of Denver School of Hotel Restaurant & Tourism Management (2002)