Performance Hospitality Management, a national hospitality organization, appointed Richard J. Cotter as COO. Cotter has more than 30 years of experience working in hospitality, and in his new role he will oversee the operations of Performance Hospitality's independent and branded full-service and lifestyle hotels and resorts. These properties include those owned by B Hotels & Resorts, which are located throughout the Southeast U.S., as well as CoCo Key Hotel & Water Resort, Sagamore Hotel Miami Beach, Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk and others.
Richard Cotter’s credentials include a knowledge of operating hotels and resorts designed for guests who are seeking luxury experience. He opened the Wynn Las Vegas as EVP of food & beverage and hotel operations, where he led the opening of the Wynn Tower Suites and Villas and the Wynn Las Vegas, along with 19 restaurants and the hiring of more than 7,000 associates. He also launched the St. Regis brand worldwide as VP and managing director, responsible for the opening of the St. Regis Monarch Beach, St. Regis Los Angeles, and the conversion of St. Regis Hotels in Beijing, Rome, Aspen, Houston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. Cotter simultaneously managed the St. Regis New York, where he repositioned Lespinasse Restaurant to four-stars in The New York Times.
Cotter was subsequently regional VP for the Mid-Atlantic states for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, where he was responsible for the opening of two hotels in Manhattan: W Hotel Times Square and Westin Times Square, as well as 37 hotels from Starwoods’ brands, including St. Regis, Westin, W and Sheraton.
Cotter has been an advisory board member for the Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell University, Howard University in Washington DC and the Tisch Hospitality Program at New York University. He has received the Distinguished Citizen award from the Mayor of Beverly Hills, the Cardinal’s Committee of the Laity award by the Cardinal of New York and the Corporate Citizen Award from the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce. Cotter is a graduate of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University.