UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Steve Rushmore, chairman and founder of the global hospitality consulting organization HVS, has been named 2012 Hospitality Executive of the Year by the Penn State Hotel & Restaurant Society (PSHRS). Rushmore will receive the award during the 51st Hospitality Executive of the Year Award Reception, which will take place Nov. 11 in conjunction with the annual International Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Show in New York. As part of the honor, Rushmore also will be inducted into the Penn State Hospitality Hall of Fame, located at The Nittany Lion Inn on Penn State’s University Park campus.
“Steve Rushmore has repeatedly shown the entrepreneurial vision to find market opportunities to serve the hospitality industry with excellent and unparalleled services," said John O’Neill, director of the School of Hospitality Management. "He also serves the industry as a frequent speaker and author, and the industry recognizes the HVS brand name as the leader in professional services.”
Rushmore founded HVS, a hospitality consulting and services firm with more than 30 offices around the globe, in 1980, and continues to direct the worldwide operation of this firm, as well as the firm's ever-growing expansion and new product development. He has provided consulting services for more than 15,000 hotels throughout the world during his 40-year career, and he specializes in complex issues involving hotel feasibility, valuation and financing. He was one of the creators of the Microtel concept and was instrumental in its initial public offering. Rushmore is a partner in HEI Hospitality LLC, a hotel investment fund.
HVS has provided consulting services for thousands of clients in all 50 states and more than 60 foreign countries. Its professional staff of more than 400 industry specialists offers a wide range of services, including market feasibility studies, valuations, strategic analyses, development planning and litigation support. Through its divisions, HVS supplies unique hotel consulting expertise in the areas of executive search, food and beverage operations, gaming, technology, hotel operations, asset management, marketing, interior design, parking, golf and investment counseling. HVS is the industry's primary source of hotel sales information. Its databases contain information on more than 13,000 hotel transactions and thousands of financial statements. HVS is also the most comprehensive source of hotel compensation data.
"It is an honor for me to receive this recognition, particularly from a hotel school program as renowned as Penn State," said Rushmore. "I take pride in and enjoy working with and teaching the students at Penn State, as I know they are the emerging leaders in our ever-evolving industry."
"The 7,000 alumni and 700 students of Penn State's School of Hospitality Management are proud to honor Steve Rushmore as our Hospitality Executive of the Year,” said Tom Riley, president of the PSHRS. "We recognize his industry leadership and appreciate his commitment to hospitality education."
ABOUT STEVE RUSHMORE:
As a leading authority and prolific author on the topic of hotel feasibility studies and appraisals, Rushmore has written all six textbooks and two seminars for the Appraisal Institute covering this subject. He also has authored three reference books on hotel investing and has published more than 300 articles. He writes a column for Lodging Hospitality magazine and is widely quoted by major business and professional publications. Rushmore lectures extensively on hotel trends and has taught hundreds of classes and seminars to more than 20,000 industry professionals. He is also a frequent lecturer at major hotel schools around the world.
Rushmore received a bachelor's degree from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration and a master of business administration degree from the University of Buffalo. He holds MAI and FRICS appraisal designations and is a CHA (certified hotel administrator). He is a member of numerous hotel industry committees, including IREFAC and the NYU Hotel Investment Conference. In 1999, he was recognized by the New York chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society as Hotelie of the Year, and Penn State recognized him as Walter J. Conti Visiting Professor in 2010.
ABOUT PSHRS:
PSHRS was established in 1948 to strengthen the hospitality profession and to enhance the reputation of the hotel, restaurant and institutional management program in the Penn State School of Hospitality Management. PSHRS and the school created the Hospitality Executive of the Year Award in 1960 to honor individuals who exemplify the successful leadership characteristics that they strive to instill in students and to convey to alumni and colleagues.
Last year's award recipient was Randell Smith, chairman and co-founder of STR. Previous winners include Roger Dow, president and chief executive officer, U.S. Travel Association; Niki Leondakis, chief operating officer, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants; Andrew Kerin, former group president, Global Food, Hospitality and Facility Services, ARAMARK Corp.; and other notable people in the industry.