Lodging Development
Leadership Team

Keith Pierce

Executive Vice President, President of Franchise & Development

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Keith Pierce joined Sonesta as Executive Vice President and President of Franchise & Development in 2021 following the acquisition of Red Lion Hotels Corporation. He created and now leads the new franchise and development organization for Sonesta – overseeing growth in all 15 brands and across the 1,200 unit/100,000-room portfolio. Pierce brings over 35 years of experience in the global hospitality industry with him.

Prior to joining Sonesta, he worked for Passionality Group as the President and Managing Partner leading day-to-day activities such as developing, implementing, and managing strategic investments. He previously worked at Wyndham for 27 years in a variety of leadership roles including EVP, Brand Operations overseeing more than 6,000 franchised properties representing over 480,000 rooms in the Americas.

His areas of expertise include brand development & management, revenue & operations management, owner & franchise relationships and strategic planning.

Brian Quinn

Chief Development Officer

• 612-812-7166
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Brian Quinn joined Sonesta as the Chief Development Officer with 20+ years of experience in executive roles in public companies and private equity firms. Prior to joining Sonesta in 2021, he worked at Choice Hotels, Driftwood Hospitality, InterContinental and Hilton Hotels Corporation. He served the American Hotel Lodging Association and Intercontinental Hotels Group Owners’ Association and Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association as a board member.

Quinn currently serves on the United States Travel and Tourism Board. He led the development of the upscale segment strategy for IHG in the Caribbean and has experience in international strategic planning. His areas of expertise include hospitality, real estate, finance, acquisitions and hotel operations. Quinn brings these talents to Sonesta as he oversees the development effort for the company.

Phil Hugh

Senior Vice President Lodging Development, Luxury & Lifestyle Brand Portfolio

• 239-898-4113
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Phil Hugh joined Sonesta in March, 2022 to lead the lodging development team responsible for Sonesta’s luxury and lifestyle portfolio. He and his team are responsible for the growth and development of The Royal Sonesta and The James lifestyle brand in the upper-upscale segment. Hugh has over 20 years of experience leading and motivating franchise sales & development teams.

He founded Hugh Hotel Group in September of 2022. HHG is an organization focused on maximizing profitability and value for hoteliers through partnerships and relationships. Most recently, he served as Chief Development Officer, Americas of Radisson Hotel Group where he led, built and delivered the development and growth strategies across its core brands in the Americas, including Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson until the successful sale of the Americas division to Choice Hotels International.

Previous related experience includes seven years as a development leader at Red Roof Franchising, where he created a franchise division. His team built strong relationships that resulted in transforming the company to an asset-light and franchisee-focused organization. Prior to that, that he was the Executive Vice President Worldwide Development & Sales at Realogy, a global leader in residential real estate franchising and brokerage with many of the best-known industry brands. He was also the President and CEO at DOC Corp. Earlier in his career, he was the Senior Vice President Franchise Sales at Cendant, a provider of business and consumer services, primarily within the real estate and travel industries.

Shane Platt

SVP Upscale Service Brands

• 614-404-0192
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Shane Platt is the Senior Vice President of Lodging Development for the 5 upscale brands in the Sonesta portfolio. In his role, he will lead the Upscale Service sales team and brand growth through new franchise development for Sonesta Hotels & Resorts, Sonesta ES Suites, Sonesta Select, Sonesta Simply Suites and Hotel RL.

Platt brings nearly 30 years of experience in hospitality franchising, and joins Sonesta from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, where he served as Senior Vice President Franchise Sales & Development. Prior to that, he held leadership roles within the franchise sales and development team at Best Western International and Choice Hotels International. Platt is eager to work with developers in the upscale space, focusing on service, ROI, creating value for developers and Sonesta.

Jason Yarbrough

SVP, Lodging Development Select Service Brands

• 770-316-4426
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Jason Yarbrough is Senior Vice President Development, Select Service Brands. A recognized leader in franchise sales and development with 25 years of experience in hospitality.

Yarbrough’s recent experience includes a similar leadership position with Radisson Hotel Group representing the eastern region of the US & Canada, and development roles with Red Roof, Americas Best and Cendant. Under his leadership, Sonesta will continue to grow the legacy Red Lion brands – Red Lion Hotels, Red Lion Inn & Suites, Signature Inns, Americas Best Value Inns, Canadas Best Value Inns, GuestHouse Extended Stay and Knights Inn in the United States and Canada. His role is to lead the company’s Select Service development sales team and brand growth of these seven brands through franchising.

Marco Roca

Lead, Lodging Development LATAM/Caribbean

• 678-975-0555
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Marco Roca is the Development Lead for Sonesta to South & Central America, Mexico & Caribbean. He is a senior executive leader with over 30 years of global experience in real estate, hospitality, casinos and restaurants. He has been responsible for the ground-up development of three major brands in the midscale, upscale and upper upscale segments and has served in executive leadership and property operations roles with leading lodging real estate and gaming companies. Over the course of his career, he has been involved in closing more than 1,500 transactions which equate to approximately $50 billion in development expansion. Under Marco’s leadership, Sonesta will continue to grow its presence in this region – specifically expanding from just the Sonesta Hotels & Resorts and Sonesta Posadas del Inca currently offered to introduce Sonesta Select, Sonesta ES Suites, Sonesta Simply Suites, The Royal Sonesta, The James, Red Lion Hotel/Red Lion Inn & Suites and Signature Inn brands to the market.

Bill Hall

RVP

• 973-220-1533
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Joshua Benson

RVP

• 801-803-2502
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Josh Benson recently joined Sonesta as a Regional Vice President, Select Service Brands overseeing franchise growth in the central region of the United States. Josh’s focus and perseverance have come to the fore throughout his career – which has included roles in sales & marketing, membership, business development, vacation rentals and consulting in hospitality and related fields. His positive attitude will serve him well as he leads the lodging development effort for Red Lion Inns & Suites, Signature Inns, Knights Inn, GuestHouse Extended Stay, and Americas/Canadas Best Value Inn.

Andre Giannandrea

RVP

• 587-877-2547
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Andre Giannandrea joined Sonesta as Regional Vice President to lead Canadian development for the portfolio in 2021. An experienced hotelier with a previous focus on operations, he was most recently a Regional Director of Operations for Hotel Equities, and held leadership roles in operations or franchise performance with Brewster Travel Canada, Choice Hotels and Best Western. He started his career as a General Manager and has an MBA from Haskayne School of Business.

Mike Higgins

RVP

• 602-524-6249
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Mike Higgins is Regional Vice President Development, Upscale Brands. A recognized leader in hospitality real estate development with 30+ years of experience in roles with public and privately-held companies, and membership associations. Higgins’ experience includes roles in hotel operations, development, and brand development. Specializing in strategic growth through intense relationship management, he has held positions with global, national and regional responsibilities.  He is dedicated to integrity, the power of teamwork and collaboration and brings those skills to the Western region on behalf of Sonesta Hotels & Resorts, Sonesta ES Suites, Sonesta Select, Sonesta Simply Suites and Hotel RL.

Connor Murray

RVP

• 781-929-1405
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Connor Murray joined Sonesta in 2021 as Franchise Development Manager for Upscale Brands. Previously, he worked as a commercial real estate broker in Manhattan selling multifamily, mixed-use and development sites. Murray has a track record of success developing strong relationships with owners and completing complex transactions. He believes that knowledge is trust and always acts as an advisor to his clients. He now assists with development for Sonesta Hotels & Resorts, Sonesta ES Suites, Sonesta Select, Sonesta Simply Suites and Hotel RL.

Dallas Setser

RVP

• 713-819-4636
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Dallas Setser is Regional Vice President Development, Select Service Brands. With nearly 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry leading him to various positions such as task force management, directing property opening teams, sales & marketing, hotel operations, and his current role in lodging development. Integrity, professionalism, hard work, and attention to detail have been key in developing numerous relationships within the hospitality industry over the years. He represents Sonesta in the Southwest for Red Lion Inns & Suites, Signature Inns, Knights Inn, GuestHouse Extended Stay, and Americas Best Value Inn.

Justin Snyder

RVP

• 301-821-0292
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Justin Snyder is the Regional Vice President Development, Select Service Brands. He handles all 7 select service brands – Red Lion Inns & Suites, Signature Inns, Knights Inn, GuestHouse Extended Stay, and Americas Best Value Inn – for Northern California, the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountain West. Prior to joining Sonesta, Snyder was with Choice Hotels for nearly 6 years where he worked his way up from a Development Marketing Intern to a Regional Vice President of Franchise Development in the Pacific Northwest for the company’s conversion brands.

Scott Wolfe

RVP

• 973-222-5566
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Scott Wolfe joined Sonesta as a Regional Vice President Development, Select Service Brands in August 2022.  Wolfe has over 16 years of experience in the hospitality industry.  Wolfe had prior Senior Director roles with Wyndham Hotels and Resorts in Franchise Development.  Wolfe’s extensive experience will be a key factor in building the Northeast Region with Sonesta and Sonesta Simply Suites.  Wolfe is committed to growing the all the Sonesta brands and capitalize on new business while creating a collaborative work culture.

Tom Williams​

RVP

• 561-504-9676
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Tom brings to the Sonesta team over three decades serving the hospitality industry. Tom has extensive knowledge in sales and customer service. He has served in wealth of capacities over the years to include Customer Support Manager, Director of Lodging, Hospitality Consultant, and Franchise Developer. Tom started in the Franchise sales vertical in 2018 with Red Roof, where he was recognized as rookie of the year award. The following year he was awarded the Franchise developer of the year award. Tom joined Radisson hotels in 2020 where he was recognized as Top Developer of the year. Since joining the Franchise community in 2018 Tom has developed and nurture relationship with the hotel industry. He strongly believes that relationships will result in Sales and will continue, every day, to build on those relationships. Tom leads development in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and parts of Florida.

Jacob Ham

RVP

• 702-306-2904
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Jacob Ham is the Regional Vice President of Franchise Development for Southern CA, NV, AZ, NM, KY, and TN. Handling the Select Service Brands for Sonesta. Prior to Joining Sonesta, Jacob was a Squad leader in the United States Marine Corps as a Rifleman, and was hand selected to be a part of the Honor Guard. After his Career in the USMC Jacob started his career in hospitality with Red Roof in 2016, which ended up leading him to Choice hotels. His 7 years of experience has been mainly focused on select service brands, working mostly in the Southwest.

Jacob Irvine

RVP

• 470-338-7702
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Jacob Irvine is the Regional Vice President of Development for Select Service Brands in The Carolina’s, Tennessee, and Kentucky. He represents Sonesta for all select service brands – Sonesta Essential, Red Lion Inns & Suites, Signature Inns, Knights Inn, GuestHouse Extended Stay, and Americas Best Value Inn. Jacob is a Marine Corps Veteran, and comes to Sonesta with more than half a decade of hospitality experience, From design and construction with Hotel Management Firms to Development positions with Red Roof Inns and Choice Hotels.

Jason Heard

RVP

• 214-533-6090
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Ahmer Naushad

Vice President of Analytics/Franchise Administration

• 786-553-9533
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Ahmer Naushad is Vice President of Analytics & Franchise Administration analytics and under writing for single and portfolio deals. He has 20+ years of a globally diverse career in real estate/ hospitality strategy, investments, asset management in major developed markets of the Americas and Europe and the emerging markets of the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Caribbean & Indian Ocean. He has held senior level positions with ownerships and operations groups including Gencom Group, Miral Asset Management, Lehman Brothers, Kingdom Hotels Investment, Trimont Real Estate Advisors, Istithmar World, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, InterContinental Hotels & Hilton. His core expertise in real estate/hospitality transactions, work outs and asset management. His experience across various hotel brands as well as asset classes including full-select service hotels/resort, mixed-use development, serviced apartments, branded and unbranded residential developments, golf courses, shopping mall/retail, student hostels, green field/brown field developments, and F&B/Entertainment establishments.

Cindy Kelly

VP Franchise Administration

• 973-610-5403
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Cindy Kelly, Director of Franchise Administration, has more than 25 years of leadership experience working with thousands of organizations in the real estate and hotel franchising business at Hospitality Franchise Systems, Cendant Real Estate Franchise Group, Realogy Corporation and Wyndham.  Her expertise in franchise sales administration and compliance within the real estate and hotel industries has driven growth throughout various franchise systems. During her tenure at these organizations, Ms. Kelly most notably achieved substantial growth and renewal rates as Senior Vice President of Franchise Sales Administration and Compliance.  She successfully negotiated and executed thousands of franchising agreements around the U.S. and successfully concluded renewals, mergers and acquisitions, ownership changes, workout plans as well as other deal structures.

Taylor Goff

Vice President, Franchise Development & Re-licensing

• 954-213-1037
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Taylor Goff is Vice President Franchise Development & Re-licensing. He has overseen the Red Lion family of brands for 4 years, with prior experience with Vantage Hospitality Group since 2011 and Americas Best Value Inn since 2006.  With nearly 15 years in the hospitality arena, Goff has extensive experience and a wealth of industry knowledge, including franchise development, hotel operations, revenue management, and project management. Goff manages the Franchise Development Renewal & Relicensing division between the franchisee and corporate. He oversees all areas including contract renewals, relicenses, and ownership changes across all brands. Goff has been influential in the growth and retention of Red Lion family of hotels.

Nathan Anton

Lodging Development Support Manager

• 440-465-7983
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Nathan Anton is Development Support Manager for the western region of the U.S. and has 16 years of experience in the hospitality industry holding various positions in operations and in management. Some of his previous positions include operational roles at the Blackwell Hotel in Columbus, Courtyard Marriott hotel downtown Columbus, and the Hilton Garden Inn University area in Columbus. His previous positions included Assistant Club House Manager for BrownGolf and Global Sales Professional for Associated Luxury Hotels International. Anton’s expertise lies in supporting the development team with various duties driving the impact into the development team and assisting with yearly development goals.

Sarah Howard

Lodging Development Support Manager

• 614-706-8874
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Sarah Howard joined Sonesta in 2022 as the Lodging Development Support Manager, primarily supporting event management and lead generation. She has 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry, working for Radisson Hotel Group Americas and Red Roof, in operations and contract management roles. Howard earned a degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management from Hocking College.