After a year and a half of leading the business, Sonal Sinha is set to step down as chief executive officer of G6 Hospitality, the parent company of the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands and part of the hospitality technology group Prism. According to a statement from the company, Sinha will continue to support the business through a transition period to ensure continuity and will thereafter remain involved in an advisory capacity.
Sinha was appointed as the CEO in late 2024 when Prism—then known as Oravel Stays—completed the acquisition of G6 Hospitality from Blackstone Real Estate for $525 million. The company rebranded under its new moniker in September.
In addition to announcing Sinha’s departure, the company announced the promotion of Nikhil Heda to country head of G6 Hospitality for the U.S. and Anuj Ladha to an expanded role of national head of brand performance—both meant to support the company's growth in the U.S. as it expands its presence across the economy, midscale and upscale hospitality segments.
New Leaders
Having led development efforts across the country, Heda will now oversee G6's broader growth agenda, including franchise expansion, strategic partnerships and business-development initiatives across the United States.
Ladha has assumed an expanded leadership role within his mandate as national head of brand performance. In his expanded role, he will continue to focus on franchisee engagement, brand performance and operational excellence across G6's national footprint.
To further support the company's growth ambitions, Ankit Tandon will increase his presence in the United States and spend substantial time in Dallas and other key markets. As vice chairman of G6 Hospitality and global COO of Prism, Tandon will oversee the execution of the company's strategic priorities, support franchisee relationships and help drive delivery against the growth commitments being made across the U.S. business.
Both Heda and Ladha will report directly to Ankit Tandon, vice chairman, G6 Hospitality.
"Nikhil knows our U.S. business; he's spent years building it, market by market. Anuj has run our brand performance across the country and knows what it takes to support owners on the ground,” Tandon said in the statement. “Together they step in with a clear mandate to deepen our partnership with franchisees and grow the brands across the country. Sonal leaves the business stronger and well-positioned for its next phase, and we thank him for that. He leaves behind a stronger organization that is well-positioned for future growth. We wish him continued success in his next chapter.”
Nikhil Heda
Heda brings more than a decade of leadership within the Prism group and more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality, real estate and consumer sectors, spanning its U.S. and South Asia businesses.
Most recently, he was head of development, U.S., based in Seattle, leading business development across the country. Earlier, he was VP operations and region head, West U.S., and before relocating to the U.S., he led B2B Sales for South Asia.
Before Prism, Heda was zonal head, India at Housing.com. He was also category head, India at Videocon Consumer Durables, and began his career at Shell in Singapore. He holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business.
Anuj Ladha
Ladha is national head of brand performance for G6 Hospitality, where he oversees brand performance and ground operations across the country, with direct oversight of all region heads and directors of brand performance nationwide and responsibility for franchise owner relationship management and issue resolution.
Ladha brings more than five years within the Prism group. He led revenue management for OYO International across the U.S., U.K., and LATAM, and before that served as VP and Senior Director of Revenue Management for OYO USA. Before Prism, Ladha spent over eight years with Essex Lake Group, a management consulting firm in New York and India offices.
He began his career on the central finance team at Essar Group, working on debt financing for Essar Oil. He holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM Bangalore).
Next Steps
According to the statement, Prism's long-term vision is to “build a leading end-to-end hospitality platform in the U.S., spanning economy, extended-stay, midscale and upscale segments.” Over the past year, the company has made progress toward that goal through the launch of its upscale Belvilla District 6 brand, which currently includes Court Square & The Dutch in New York and The Louie in New Orleans, with additional properties expected to join the portfolio in the coming months.
The company has also expanded its extended-stay offering through the launch of Studio 6 Plus. G6 recently secured a commitment from Natson Hotel Group to develop 18 Studio 6 Plus properties across key U.S. markets. In addition, a JV of its parent Prism, has expanded its hospitality footprint through the acquisition of 38 Extended Stay America assets under the Studio 6 brand further strengthening its position in the extended-stay segment.
Looking ahead, the company plans to broaden its portfolio through the launch of new midscale and upscale boutique hotel offerings, creating a multi-segment platform designed to serve guests, owners, and developers across board.