The Rushmore Letter

About Steve Rushmore

Steve Rushmore is the president and founder of HVS, a global hospitality consulting organization with 30 offices around the globe. He directs the worldwide operation of this firm and is responsible for future office expansion and new product development. Steve has provided consultation services for more than 15,000 hotels throughout the world during his 40-year career and specializes in complex issues involving hotel feasibility, valuations, and financing. He was one of the creators of the Microtel concept and was instrumental in its IPO. Steve is a partner in HEI Hospitality, LLC, a hotel investment fund, which makes him one of the few hospitality consultants that actually invest in and own hotels.

HVS, which Steve founded in 1980, has provided consulting services for thousands of clients in all 50 states and more than 60 foreign countries. Its professional staff of more than 400 industry specialists offers a wide range of services, including market feasibility studies, valuations, strategic analyses, development planning, and litigation support. Through its divisions, HVS supplies unique hotel consulting expertise in the areas of executive search, food and beverage operations, gaming, technology, hotel operations, asset management, marketing, interior design, parking, golf, and investment counseling. HVS is the industry's primary source of hotel sales information. Its databases contain information on more than 13,000 hotel transactions and thousands of financial statements. HVS is also the most comprehensive source of hotel compensation data.

As a leading authority and prolific author on the topic of hotel feasibility studies and appraisals, Steve Rushmore has written all five textbooks and two seminars for the Appraisal Institute covering this subject. He has also authored three reference books on hotel investing and has published more than 300 articles. He writes a column for Lodging Hospitality magazine and is widely quoted by major business and professional publications. Steve lectures extensively on hotel trends and has taught hundreds of classes and seminars to more than 20,000 industry professionals. He is also a frequent lecturer at major hotel schools around the world, including Lausanne, Cornell, Houston, and IMHI.

Steve has a BS degree from the Cornell Hotel School and an MBA from the University of Buffalo. He holds MAI and FRICS appraisal designations and is a CHA (certified hotel administrator). He is a member of numerous hotel industry committees, including IREFAC and the NYU Hotel Investment Conference. In 1999, Steve was recognized by the New York chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society as "Hotelie of the Year.” In his free time, he enjoys skiing, diving, and sailing. He holds a commercial pilot's license with multi-engine instrument rating, collects hotel key tags, and is one of the foremost authorities on regional dining (www.roadfood.com).