Joseph Champ

Consultant

Joe Champ has over 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry. This includes extensive practical applications in the areas of hotel franchising, management contracts, hotel branding, acquisitions, dispositions, construction and all aspects of the hotel development process from site acquisition and feasibility to opening. Somewhat unique to Joe’s career is his “360 degree” understanding of the hospitality industry having worked as the franchisor and franchisee, owner and operator, independent versus branded hotels, developer and brand standards enforcer. As a result, Joe is able to visualize every transaction from the perspective of all key stake holders which leads to successful and streamlined transactions.

Joe has spent 21 years in positions of leadership with both private and publicly traded companies. His greatest asset has been his ability to develop a strategy and successfully execute that strategy consistent with organizational goals and constraints. Contributing to that success has been his ability to build a team, identify strengths and weaknesses of team members and build on those strengths while motivating the team to achieve successful execution of company strategy.

Joe is President of Champ Hospitality LP, a hotel development services company. The primary focus of his organization has been the development of 9 branded Aloft, Sheraton and Westin Element hotels. Recently completed projects include the Aloft Hotel in Miami Beach which was an historic renovation and adaptation to Aloft hotel brand standards and The Sheraton McKinney Hotel; a brand leading new construction project in McKinney Texas. Champ recently completed the historic tax credit renovation of the historic Bassett Tower in El Paso into an Aloft Hotel which opened in May 2018. This project involved working closely with the City of El Paso, State of Texas and the National Park Service for successful execution. Champ is currently is currently working on the design of a new Aloft by Marriott to be constructed in Dallas, Texas. Champ serves on the Marriott Franchise Advisory Council for Aloft Hotels.

Joe is currently President of Gateway Hotel One, Ltd and led the development of the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in McKinney, Texas. The Sheraton opened in 2015. While Champ has been involved in a number of successful public private hotel partnerships over the past 20 years, the unique structure of the Sheraton McKinney Hotel was conceived by the Champ-Beck Development team and creatively addresses public private partnerships in a manner that more appropriately allocates the risk and reward of hotel ownership and development among public and private stakeholders while allowing both parties the flexibility needed to successfully finance a hotel.

Champ is also a partner in an upscale hotel development company developing hospitality property in Playa de Jaco, Costa Rica. Joe Champ serves as an expert in hospitality, resort and golf oriented assignments for Realty Capital Solutions and has testified in US Bankruptcy Court in the matter of River Canyon Real Estate Investments regarding the viability of the reorganization plan submitted by the Debtor in Possession. Champ also was instrumental as an expert witness in the favorable ruling in the arbitration proceeding between Capital House Hotel Operating Company LLC and Ashby Hospitality LLC in Louisiana. Champ has provided support to Realty Capital Solutions in other matters including the forensic transaction analysis for two troubled U.S. resort developments: Vail Four Seasons Resort, Vail, Colorado ($300± million), and the Fontainebleau Hotel and Resort in Miami Beach, Florida ($1,000± million). Both resorts suffered as a result of the 2008 Global Melt-down, and litigation ensued. Both cases were settled after our team’s various reports and analyses were completed and used in settlement negotiations. Champ recently completed an assignment representing a West African government in an international arbitration claim.

Prior to founding Champ Hospitality, Joe served as Executive Vice President Development and Chief Investment Officer of Wyndham International. As an Executive Committee member of this publically traded corporation, Joe’s direct responsibilities included overseeing Wyndham’s growth through acquisitions, development, joint ventures, management, franchise contracts and branded timeshare sales. As Chief Investment Officer, Joe had responsibility for strategically transitioning Wyndham’s portfolio of approximately 240 hotels from a hotel real estate company to a branded hotel company. This resulted in the successful sale of approximately $2.2 billion of assets and contributed to the sale of Wyndham International to the Blackstone Group in 2005.

Prior to joining the executive team at Wyndham, Joe was Senior Vice President of North American, Canadian and Latin American Development for Starwood Hotels and Resorts. In that position, Champ was responsible for growth of all of Starwood’s core brands including St. Regis, Luxury Collection, Westin, W Hotels and Sheraton. Joe and his team executed joint ventures, management contracts and franchise agreements. Joe was also responsible for franchise sales for Starwood in the Americas and Canada.

Joe has also held senior positions at Westin Hotels, Cobblestone Golf Group, American Golf Corporation/National Golf Properties, Interstate Hotels Corporation and AIRCOA/Richfield Hospitality.