EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT & RETENTION
034 | Thank, Appreciate and Connect with Your Associates with Walter Isenberg
EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT & RETENTION
Walter Isenberg is Co-Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer of Sage Hospitality, one of the top hotel investment, management and development companies in the United States for more than 30 years. Based in Denver, Sage Hospitality owns and operates over 75 hotels and 10 restaurants in 23 states, from urban full-service hotels to smaller select-service suburban properties. Isenberg directs all company operations, including property management, development and finance.
Last year, Hotel Business ranked Sage Hospitality #17 in their Top 100 Management Companies of 2014 report.
Isenberg co-founded Sage Hospitality in 1984 with partner Zachary Neumeyer. The company’s history in hospitality includes ground-up development, historic-adaptive re-use, acquisitions and third-party management. Sage hotels include well known brands such as JW Marriott, Renaissance, Westin and Hilton, as well as several independent hotels. In 2006, Sage formed the Sage Restaurant Group, which operates unique high-volume restaurants inside its urban hotels.
Sage Hospitality has been consistently recognized for its significant commitment to corporate citizenship. The company was the first recipient of Marriott International’s “Spirit to Serve Award,” which is given annually to a franchise partner that lives the vision to be an outstanding corporate citizen. Sage Hospitality has also been an industry leader in implementing green operating practices, committed to developing Gold and Silver LEED certified hotels as well as making it a company-wide mission to make each of its hotels as environmentally friendly as possible. Sage Hospitality has also been recognized for its superior customer service, receiving Excellence in Service awards at many of its hotels. Sage’s development group has won numerous awards for excellence in the development of hotels and has been nationally recognized as a leader in historic preservation.
A graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, Isenberg is a member of the American Hotel Lodging Association Government Affairs committee as well as Marriott International and Starwood Owner Advisory Boards. Isenberg was recently inducted into Denver & Colorado’s Tourism Hall of Fame, which is the highest award given by Denver’s travel industry. Active in the community, he currently serves on the boards of Visit Denver, The Downtown Denver Partnership, The Children’s Hospital Foundation, Colorado Concern and the Metropolitan State University of Denver Board of Trustees.
In This Episode, Walter Reveals:
- How an early introduction to the hotel industry, and an amazing mentor, guided him to Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration
- How his experience in operations after Cornell prepared him for a partnership with Zachary Neumeyer to co-found Sage Hospitality in 1984
- How the Savings and Loan Crisis of the 1980’s led to unbelievably rapid growth for Sage in their early years
- Why having 80 hotels under management was not a good, long-term strategy
- Why Sage chose to enter the equity side of the business in 1990
- The game changing, 9-figure deal with Marriott in 1994 where they purchased 30 Fairfield Inns with the help of a private equity fund
Resources & Links
Walter Isenberg
- Email: walter.isenberg[at]sagehospitality.com
- Walter on LinkedIn
Sage Hospitality
- Email: info[at]sagehospitality.com
- sagehospitality.com
- Sage on LinkedIn
- Sage on Twitter
- Sage on Facebook
- Sage on YouTube
- Sage on Pinterest
1575 Welton Street, Suite 300
Denver, Colorado 80202
Phone: 303-595-7200
EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT & RETENTION
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310 | Hotels Convert to Housing: Federal COVID-19-relief funds fuel transactions
Dhruv Patel, president of Ridgemont Hospitality, in October shared a bittersweet moment with his parents, Pravin and Sima Patel, when the family business sold the first motel that Pravin had built from the ground up more than 30 years ago. But they rest assured knowing it was the right decision because the 22-room property is being converted into affordable housing for military veterans at risk of homelessness. The transaction is among hundreds taking place across the U.S. as state and local governments work with non-profit agencies to create affordable housing solutions for vulnerable populations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In Episode 310 Long Live Lodging reports on the financial and legal aspects of what it takes to convert a hotel into long-term housing. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s special coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hospitality industry.
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309 | ‘Stay the Course’: Kathleen Bertrand recalls hospitality career focused on growth through diversity
Kathleen Bertrand believes Atlanta is a city where dreams can come true. A jazz recording artist, she served at the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau for more than 30 years, finding new ways to promote to the world the best things about the city she calls a “melting pot” of races and cultures. In Episode 309 of Lodging Leaders podcast Bertrand gets vocal and tells her story of rising through the ranks as one of the few Black women in leadership in the tourism industry. This session is part of Long Live Lodging’s special report commemorating Black History Month and the hospitality industry’s impact on the Civil Rights Movement.