ALH appoints new CEO
Associated Luxury Hotels (ALH), the parent company of Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI) and Worldhotels, has announced Josh Lesnick as its new President and CEO.
Lesnick joins ALH from Wyndham Hotel Group, where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, responsible for all aspects of revenue generation for 18 brands encompassing more than 8,000 hotels in 77 countries. In his new role, Lesnick will oversee all business operations and subsidiaries of ALH. He will also become only the third CEO in the 30+ year legacy ALHI history. Lesnick will assume his new role starting in April and will be based out of the company’s New York City office, and at its headquarters in Orlando, Florida.
While at Wyndham, Lesnick was responsible for leading a team of more than 1,200 sales, marketing, and call centre associates through a major global transformation that touched all revenue generation functions. This included the roll out of Wyndham’s new loyalty program, the repositioning of the company’s 18 brands, a refresh of its brand websites and online capabilities, and a refresh of the company’s global sales organisation and revenue management services.
Lesnick earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Audience Rewards, and the Advisory Board of the Centre for Hospitality Research at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration.
Lesnick comments: “Incredible changes are going on in our industry with respect to soft branding, loyalty services, and distribution that are having a major impact on independent luxury hotels. To have the opportunity to work with the very talented and passionate teams of ALHI and Worldhotels, creating a new approach to these challenges, will allow us to better serve the needs of such unique and independent hotels, their owners, and guests. Together our goal is to build upon the decades of experience from both ALHI and Worldhotels to become the market leader in serving and supporting independent luxury-level hotels and resorts worldwide. I look forward to leading the team and working with Dave to help guide Associated Luxury Hotels and our fantastic members to even greater heights in the future.”
The appointment marks the second major announcement in a week by ALH of a major brand executive joining the team. Last week, the company announced that Mark Sergot, the Senior Vice President of Sales from Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, had joined the company as its Chief Sales Officer. Further, only last summer, the appointment of Tom Santora, the former Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Sales for Omni Hotels & Resorts, was announced as the firm’s Chief Commercial Officer.
