Travel & Tourism Expert Witnesses

This expert in Hotel Management has extensive experience as a senior executive in premier hospitality organizations with national, international, and local responsibilities. He received a BS in Hospitality from Penn State University and an MS in Hospitality from NYU. He is a member of numerous professional societies. The expert has served in a number of management positions at independent hotels, HEI Hotels, and Sheraton/Starwood Hotels. He is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at a hospitality graduate school in New York City and the President of an independent hospitality management consulting firm.

This highly qualified expert has experience managing properties including resorts, hotels, and condos. His experience includes all operational aspects of reorganizing, quality control, risk management, and project management. He is particularly experienced in hospitality safety, and has dealt with issues ranging from slip and falls to hurricanes. He is a member of associations such as SKAL International and ARDA and is currently a board member of the Cocoa Beach Visitor & Convention Bureau. He has worked as a general manager for properties such as Crowne Plaza, Marco Island Hilton Beach Resort, and Wyndham Ocean Ridge. This expert is currently a general manager and director of operations at a resort company in Florida.

This expert earned his BS in hotel administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and his MBA from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He began his career in hotel operations and hotel accounting for Westin Hotels and Resorts, before working at Amfac Hotels and Resorts as the director of management services. He also served as the director of real estate administration in the world headquarters of Hilton Hotels Corporation. This expert is a certified master hotel supplier and a member of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Currently, he is the president of a hospitality and hotel consulting firm based in Nevada, where he specializes in advising clients about hotel operations management, standards of care, feasibility, and real estate development.

This qualified nursing home administration expert earned her BA in international hospitality management from the University of Tourism and Transport Studies and her MA in marriage and family therapy from Alliant International University. She is licensed in marriage and family therapy, residential care for the elderly and as a nursing home administrator. This expert has formerly served as a multi-site nursing home administrator for Elmcroft Senior Living and as a nursing home administrator for Premier Healthcare. Currently, she is the assisted living memory care executive director at a senior living management center.

This qualified expert has nearly 30 years of experience in hospitality management and golf operations. He received his BS in accounting from St. Joseph's University and his MPS in applied statistics from Hodges University. He also completed coursework in supervisory management at the Wharton School of Business and a master's level course in operations management at the University of Wisconsin. He is quite active in his field, having conducted golf research, authored publications, and given presentations on his research. He has received several awards for his work, including Best Paper Award at two international academic conferences and the Horton Smith award from multiple PGA chapters. His former positions include the head golf professional at Glades Country Club, the director of golf at Heron's Glen Country Club, and the emeritus director of gold at Glades Country Club. He has also served as the manager of cost accounting at Scott Paper Company, the CEO and CFO of Micro Business Solutions, and an adjunct professor in the PGA Professional Golf Management program at Florida Gulf Coast University. This expert currently serves as a Level I instructor for the PGA Professional Golf Management program at a university in Florida.

This qualified expert has over 40 years of experience in foodservice management. He received his BS in economics from Oregon State University. He is a certified speaking professional and is considered to be one of the top foodservice speakers in North America. He is a member of the Foodservice Consultants Society International and the Chaine de Rotisseurs, an international gastronomical society. He was the formerly the owner of a thriving restaurant, The Shore Bird, for 23 years and held the title of president of the California Restaurant Association. Additionally, he was the chairman of the CRA Education Foundation. He was also an adjunct professor of hospitality at the University of California San Francisco and an adjunct professor for the hotel and restaurant school at California State Polytechnic University. This expert is quite involved in his field, having authored several foodservice articles and guides as well as being a regular columnist for a few foodservice publications. Currently, he serves as the founder of a foodservice hospitality and retail consulting firm based in California.

This highly qualified expert has extensive experience in the field of hospitality. He has held several distinguished positions overseeing the food and beverage division of many renowned hotels and hotel chains, including Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand, W Hotels, Hilton Worldwide, and Hyatt Hotels. He has served as a consultant for multiple hotel chains and managed hotel openings for hotels such as the W Fort Lauderdale and the Westin Diplomat. Currently, he serves at the president of a hospitality management consulting group based in Nevada.

This highly-qualified expert has over 25 years of experience in travel, including the management of large corporate retail travel agency sales and service teams, tour operation, standard of care, and duty to warn. She has held a variety of roles at AAA surrounding travel arrangements including travel arrangements for corporate and independent domestic and international travel. She is currently the president of a firm that consults in travel agency and tourism-related needs.

This highly qualified expert has over 30 years of experience in security and premises liability, with experience in the following settings: hospitals & healthcare, hotels, corporate, churches & places of worship, offices & buildings, restaurants, retail, and colleges. He earned his BA in justice and law administration from Western Connecticut State University and later earned his JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law. This expert holds several certifications including being a certified protection professional and a certified healthcare professional associates. In addition, he holds a FEMA certification in hospital incident command systems. This expert holds several professional memberships including being a member of the Florida Bar Association, the Florida Defense Lawyers Association and the Defense Research Institute, the American Society for Industrial Security, and the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety. Formerly, this expert has held several roles including a senior associate attorney at McIntosh, Sawran & Cartaya, PA, an administrative security supervisor/chief investigator at Danbury Health Systems, the director of security and emergency m management at Kootenai Health, and director of security and transportation at Spectrum Health. Currently, this expert is the executive director of safety at a major health system and president and chief consultant at a security management consulting firm in Florida.

This well-qualified expert received his BS in hospitality management from Nova SouthEastern University and his MBA from Barry University. He is a member of the American Society of Appraisers, Antique Automobile Club of America, Sports Car Club of America, and Veteran Motor Car Club of America. He has been involved in the collector car and restoration hobby for over 50 years and has formerly served as a body shop technician at Macmetals Body Shop. Currently, this expert works as an auto appraiser at an appraisal network in Florida.

This expert is a recognized authority and consultant in the hotel industry. He operates his hotel, hospitality and consulting practice specializing in operational audits and the effectiveness of hotel franchising agreements and litigation support assignments. Prior to forming his hotel consulting firm, this expert was the Product Line Manager for Hotel/Motel Operations at the International Telephone & Telegraph Co. overseeing the Sheraton Corporation of America. His previous experience includes working as the General Manager of the Summit Hotel (762 Rooms), General Manager of the Drake Hotel (680 Rooms) and Resident Manager of the Americana Hotel (1842 Rooms), all in New York City. He serves on the Board of Advisors and lectures at the NYU Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management. He is a member of the prestigious International Society of Hospitality Consultants and is certified as a Master Hotel Supplier by the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. He served for eleven years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the City Club of New York. He is one of the most widely published authors in the hospitality field. His insightful articles on various hotel subjects have been published in the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Lodging Hospitality, Hotel & Motel Management, AAHOA Lodging Business, and posted on the Hotel Interactive and Hotel Online websites.

This hospitality expert has extensive experience in facilities management, corporate compliance, and social responsibility. He has held numerous positions at top international hotel chains including Marriott International and The Ritz-Carlton. His positions have included leading overall maintenance of hotels and training individuals in proper maintenance and safety procedures. He has extensive experience leading teams of engineers and hotel directors in hotel operations. Currently, this expert is a hospitality consultant focusing on facilities management training and operational standards.

This hotel/hospitality expert is a certified hotel administrator who has been heavily involved in the industry for more than 40 years, including positions as General Manager of a Best Western Inn Motel, Executive Vice President of State Street Associates, and General Manager of AmeriSuites Hotel. He is a former program director/associate professor of hospitality management at a local college, and is currently a consultant in the hotel/hospitality industry. He has 11 years of experience as an expert witness/consultant for attorneys with cases in his field.

This expert specializes in hotel operations, hospitality industry franchising, management company operations, and guest safety issues. He has more than 40 years of experience in the field. He is a certified hotel administrator. He started his career as the youngest general manager of the Holiday Inn chain at the age of 18. He served as President & CEO of The Equity Hotel Corporation which operated approximately 45 hotels in 14 states including economy, mid-tier and luxury resorts. He eventually took the position of President & CEO of the Ramada Hotel chain and Executive Vice President of the Cendant Hotel Division, now Wyndham Worldwide. This expert is currently a private hotel consultant as well as CEO of Vimana Franchise Systems which franchises Centerstone Inns, Hotels & Plaza Hotels as well as Key West Inns, Hotels & Resorts.

This expert has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality and restaurant industry. His experience includes positions at convention hotels in Los Angeles and Washington D.C., as well as management with fortune 500 restaurant companies in major cities throughout the country. He specializes in restaurant and hotel openings and consulting, as well as restaurant operations including safety and management. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Hospitality Management at a mid-Atlantic/northeast regional college.

This highly qualified expert has over 20 years of experience in the hotel industry. His hotel safety and maintenance experience includes 10 years with Marriott Hotels, Resorts, and Suites in various management positions. This expert was on the opening management team of the San Francisco Marriott, a 1500-room convention hotel. He was honored with the Director of Services of the Year award, Northwest Region. He later moved to the Marriott regional office in San Ramon, California as a Total Quality Management Facilitator where he worked with 17 hotel executive committees in the Northwest Region to develop strategic initiatives for each hotel. He has published 30+ articles on the hospitality industry and serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality and Tourism. He earned his Bachelor's from Indiana University and his Master's degree in Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management and PhD in Education-Instructional Design from Purdue University. Currently, this expert is an Associate Professor in the School of Hospitality Business at a major university, where he teaches classes on Executive Housekeeping Management.

This expert is recognized as one of the country's top food safety trainers and has 25+ years experience as a food safety consultant in the food industry. Currently, he has recently retired as president and founder of an independent food service practice which provides consulting and training to food service and lodging companies throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. The expert was involved in the creation of the ServSafe instructional series which is endorsed by the National Restaurant Association. This expert is a member several professional organizations including the Central Atlantic States Association of Food and Drug Official and Florida Association for Food Protection. Former positions have included Chair and Professor of Hospitality Management at Essex Community College, President and Chairman of the Board of the Council on Hotel. This expert earned a BS from Kent State University, a MS from The Johns Hopkins University, and an honorary Doctorate of Food Service from the National Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers.

This expert brings 28 years of furniture industry and seating experience (including development and catalog introduction of 250+ seating and table collections and 100+ custom designs), with hands-on expertise in all aspects of furniture development, collaborative design, frame construction, commercial use and hospitality environments, warranty, care and maintenance, user inspections, all types of field issues and product support. He spent many years working right alongside many of the world's premier independent product designers and factory resources, from the initial concept rendering stage, through the entire prototyping process, then coordinating with the component suppliers, conducting product testing in laboratory environments and then making sure the products are properly manufactured for their targeted markets, intended use and specific types of customers.

This highly qualified expert currently serves as Director of Facilities at a major casino and hotel. He oversees the facilities maintenance department that is comprised of 100 team members that include 71 EVS attendants, 2 construction & development project managers, 2 waste water technicians, and 20 facilities team members. One of his major accomplishments includes designing, developing, and implementing a safety program for the facilities department. He is a member of the operations committee and the safety committee and served as Chairman for the fire prevention subcommittee. He has received awards for his performance as a facilities leader and he has served in a variety of facilities maintenance capacities.

This highly qualified expert has extensive experience in Food Safety and Nutritional Management Services. He holds certifications including ServSafe Food Safety Instructor/Proctor; Certified Executive Chef; Certified Culinary Educator; Registered Dietician; as well as a New York State License from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. This expert is nationally recognized as a food safety trainer operating certification classes and "Third-party Audits" throughout New York State approved by local Health Departments. Furthermore, he has traveled the United States as well as Canada inspecting food service operations and restaurants, and instructing food safety certification programs. Currently, he is a Professor of Hospitality instructing food-safety classes for various colleges within New York State; and President of a training and consulting company in the Greater New York City Area.