HVS appointed Jai B. Patel to VP of the company. Patel completes much of the client appraisal work in the Tennessee-Kentucky-Indiana region of HVS' domestic operations, and has become an expert in this geographic area. Patel's assignments range from appraisals of existing hotel and resort assets to feasibility and consulting assignments for proposed hotel, resort and mixed-use developments. Some of his most high-profile assignments include proposed convention center hotels in the Nashville, Louisville and Indianapolis markets.
“Jai is valuable asset in our coverage of consulting and valuation in Nashville and its surrounding areas," Daniel P. McCoy, MAI, managing director of the HVS St. Louis office, said in a statement. "His deep hospitality roots help him provide great insight into the region's hotel markets, as well as a keen understanding our clients' needs."
Patel's parents began their hospitality enterprise with the 18-room American Inn in Metropolis, Ill., and he has grown attuned to the responsibilities, challenges, and rewards of hotel operations ever since. When the family’s Nashville hotels faced bankruptcy in the worst of the Great Recession, Patel stepped in to assume management. Three years later, revenues doubled, customer-service scores shot upward and operational costs dropped as the hotel went green. His efforts to turn the struggling hotel around earned Patel the honor of the 2012 Business Leader of the Year award in Nashville by Business Leader Magazine.
As VP, Patel will use his knowledge of hotel operations, competitive markets and performance trends to advise prospective clients on valuations of resident hotels or the prospects of new development.
Patel earned bachelor degrees in finance and enterprise management from The University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He remains active in hospitality organizations, including the Asian American Hotel Owners Association and the Tennessee Business Association.