Expotel Hospitality has appointed Larry Spelts as the new president and chief development officer of Expotel Hospitality located in New Orleans, Louisiana. With a career spanning 30 years in all facets of the hospitality industry, Spelts brings uniquely diverse experience.
Prior to joining Expotel Hospitality, Spelts served as vice president of business development for Charlestowne Hotels. In this role, Spelts developed strategic relationships for Charlestowne Hotels with diverse hotel ownership and development groups and led the acquisition of management contracts that added 34 properties and development projects over 7½ years.
“Larry is recognized within the industry as a thought leader, and his reputation combined with the role he played in the tremendous growth of his prior firm make him the ideal individual to lead the charge for growth at Expotel,” states George Newton, Chairman of Expotel Hospitality. “We are excited to have Larry at the helm and look forward to seeing what he can do with the resources that Expotel provides for participation in hotel acquisition and development deals.”
“I am excited to work with the talented team at Expotel Hospitality and to attempt to do again what we did at Charlestowne where we grew from a few more than a dozen management contracts in 2009 to 51 upon my departure in May of 2017,” states Spelts. “I expect that Expotel’s ability to invest capital into deals will be a potent accelerant for growing the portfolio of managed hotels.”
Spelts has been involved with all types of hotels from flagged to independent and from midscale to luxury. In addition to working with hotels in prestigious groups such as Relais & Châteaux and Rosewood Hotels, he has experience with flags and soft brands including Hilton, IHG, Wyndham, Starwood and Choice. Having worked in all phases of hotel operations and development, Spelts brings unique insight to the opportunities and challenges of hotel operations. Spelts was a founding trustee of the American College of the Building Arts, is active in Urban Land Institute, and he is an advisory board member for Radical Innovation, an annual hotel design competition. His hospitality career is complemented by an MBA degree from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
