The awards, including David Kong winning for lifetime achievement, were
announced at ALIS in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES — The
Fontainebleau Las Vegas and Moxy/AC Hotel Downtown Los Angeles were awarded
Development of the Year in their respective categories of the ALIS Awards.
The
Fontainebleau Las Vegas was named Development of the Year in the full-service
category, which includes luxury and upper-upscale chain scales and casinos,
including branded and unbranded hotels.
Sixteen
years after its groundbreaking, the Fontainebleau opened in December. The
67-story, $3.7-billion luxury resort and casino is named after its sister hotel
in Miami and will be the tallest occupiable building in Las Vegas.
Other
finalists in the category were the Omni PGA Frisco Resort in Frisco, Texas and
The St. Regis Chicago.
The
awards were announced on the second day of the Americas Lodging Investment
Summit (ALIS) at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live in Los Angeles.
The
Moxy/AC Hotel Downtown Los Angeles was named Development of the Year in the
select/limited-service category, which includes upscale, upper midscale,
midscale, and economy chain scale for branded or unbranded hotels. The
development also includes Level 8, a unique and aggressive food and beverage
play that takes up an entire floor of the 36-story property and includes eight
different bars and restaurants.
Other
finalists in the category included citizenM Menlo Park in Menlo Park,
California and Residence Inn by Marriott San Francisco Airport Millbrae Station
in Millbrae, California.
Other awards
The
Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida, was named Single Asset Transaction
of the Year (Over $25 million). Honolulu-based Trinity Real Estate Investments
partnered with Credit Suisse to acquire the 1,000-key property from Brookfield
Properties on February 3 for $835 million. At the time, it was reported by
CoStar to be the largest hotel deal since the beginning of the pandemic,
excluding trades of resorts in Las Vegas. Other finalists in this category
included Royal Isabela in Isabela, Puerto Rico and The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe
in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
Bear
Valley Mountain Resort in Bear Valley, California, was named Single Transaction
of the Year ($25 million & under) in 2023. The California Mountain Resort
Company acquired the property from Skyline International in November. Other
finalists in this category included Best Western Ocean Breeze Inn in Hilton
Head Island, South Carolina and Comfort Inn The Pointe in Niagara Falls, New
York.
KSL
Capital Partners’ $1.4 billion acquisition of Hersha Hospitality Trust was
named Merger & Acquisition of the Year. The all-cash transaction was the
first REIT to trade hands in many years. The deal saw KSL take 25 luxury and
lifestyle hotels private. Other finalists in this category included Marriott
International’s acquisition of City Express Hyatt Hotels’ acquisition of Dream
Hotel Group.

(From left:) Jonathon Zink, COO of The BHN Group; Kevin M. Davis, Americas CEO of JLL Hotels & Hospitality; and Thomas J. Corcoran Jr., president of TCOR Hotel Partners.
Kevin Davis, Americas CEO
of JLL Hotels & Hospitality, was named Jack A. Shaffer Financial Advisor of
the Year. Other finalists in this category included Zach Eckler, managing
director of Goldman Sachs and Eric Guerrero, senior managing director &
partner, brokerage & advisory for HVS.
Lifetime Achievement
Award
David
Kong, former president and CEO of Best Western Hotels, was given the ALIS
Lifetime Achievement Award. He worked for Best Western for 20 years before
retiring in 2021. He previously worked at KPMG Consulting, Hyatt Hotels, Hilton
and Omni Hotels & Resorts.
Kong
is currently the founder and principal of Arizona-based nonprofit DEI Advisors,
which is dedicated to empowering women and minority groups to achieve their
career aspirations.

Jeff Higley, president of The BHN Group and Lifetime Achievement Award winner David Kong.
The award is presented to
individuals who have made significant contributions to the hospitality industry
through their actions, deeds and accomplishments.
“Being
recognized alongside industry legends whom I have long admired is both humbling
and heartening,” Kong said. “My sincere thanks to the exceptional team with
whom I had the privilege of working. Together, we turned seemingly impossible
dreams into reality, making my career journey incredibly fulfilling and
gratifying.”