Bios
Jim Pantelas, CHA – President
Jim Pantelas, a licensed Real Estate Broker and American Hotel & Lodging Association Certified Hotel Administrator saw that the commercial broker, though well-versed in the commercial field, had no idea of the complex problems specific to the lodging industry. A successful hotel broker must make accommodations for a large amount of related factors concerning employee confidentiality, franchise requirements, tax laws, financing, liquor license transfers and the laws in the respective state. The experience of owning and managing hotels has added to Mr. Pantelas’ expertise as a hotel broker, giving him a first hand knowledge of operations, development, construction, renovations sales & marketing, food & beverage, training, and purchasing from an investor instead of a passive observer.
Prior to founding Hospitality Realty Associates, Jim has held executive and corporate positions with some of the finest independent and international hotel brands such as; Sonesta Hotels, IHG, Radisson, Hyatt Global and Wyndham Worldwide,
Jim Pantelas has over 40 years of experience in the hospitality industry in the United States and the Caribbean with full and limited service hotels, resorts and country clubs and franchise development. His experience encompasses all aspects of the hospitality industry.
Jim has been the recipient of numerous industry excellence and service recognition awards including The Massachusetts Governor’s Award and DeKalb County, GA Man of the Year. He has also served on many of the industry association boards, including two terms as President of the Greater Boston Hotel Association, the oldest Hotel Association in the nation. Jim was selected by The Washington, DC Accreditation Board to approve curriculum for Boston hospitality university programs.
Daiman B. Cassel – Vice President of Asset Management
Daiman Cassell has been with HRA since 2009. Prior to joining the Company, Daiman was a Director of International Private Placements with MetLife, Inc., where he sourced and underwrote International and Domestic Private Placements for the MetLife’s $320 billion general account. At MetLife, Daiman performed and managed all phases of the investment process including deal origination, credit analysis, documentation, due diligence, portfolio management, the assignment of internal credit ratings and valuations, and where appropriate, the resolution of stressed and distressed assets. Prior to joining MetLife, Daiman was a Managing Director in MONY Capital Management’s (MONY Life Insurance Company) investment department sourced, underwrote and managed a portfolio of fixed income private placements, leveraged bank loans and high yield debt. Daiman began his eighteen-year career as an investment professional at Manufacturers Hanover Trust where he completed the Bank’s Management Credit Training Program. Daiman is a graduate of New York University and has studied at the Harvard Business School and Pontifica Universidade Catholica in Brazil.
Shannon Larson – Sr. Vice President of Development
Shannon Larson serves as Senior VP of Development in HRA’s Boston, Massachusetts office. Shannon is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University, Providence, Rhode Island with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel & Restaurant Management, as well as a Masters of Education from Salem State College, Salem, Massachusetts.
Upon graduation from Johnson & Wales, Shannon joined Marriott Hotels & Resorts and was introduced to all facets of the industry. She specialized in Sales, Marketing and Executive Meeting Management. Her hospitality experience was with the Newport, Rhode Island Marriott, the 4 star Copley Square Marriott in Boston and the Atlanta Airport Marriott.
Shannon also spent 5 years with Delta Airlines and is a licensed Massachusetts Realtor.
Mike Wien – President, Wien & Associates
Mike Wien, founder and senior consultant at Wien & Associates, helps clients grow more consistently and profitably by applying nearly three decades of senior level marketing and sales expertise to their operations. Wien & Associates clients benefit from both time-tested instincts and the predictive power of a 50-point marketing diagnostic tool. Success is delivered in the form of stronger implementation and more predictable sales growth.
Wien’s own track record has been notable for this type of value delivery.
As a senior marketing executive, he has developed marketing programs that increase sales and market share for such major organizations as:
- Deloitte & Touche
- Cole Taylor Bank
- Citibank
- Omni Hotels
- PepsiCo (Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group)
Wien’s most recent role was national director of marketing for Deloitte & Touche, the global audit, accounting and consulting firm. In that position, he drove the e-Business marketing initiative, along with the national industry marketing program, new service development and marketing human capital services.
Mike has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Colorado State University and an MBA from Northwestern University.
Randall C. Redman, President
Redman Construction Services, Inc. (RCS)
Redman Construction Services, Inc. is headed by veteran Randall C. Redman, a licensed General Contractor. His experience spans over 43 years in the residential and hospitality industry. He has been involved in numerous hotel projects with varying degrees of complexity. Each project benefited from his extensive knowledge in new construction, as well as renovation from conception to completion.
Prior to joining HRA as an associate, Randall served as Vice President of Design and Construction for Hyatt Global extended stay suite division of Hawthorn Suites.
His deep commitment to his trade, has allowed clients the advantage of all the efficiencies and value engineering that it entails.
John W. O’Neill, MAI, CHE, Ph.D.
Hospitality Advisory Services, LLC
Managing Director
John W. O’Neill is Managing Director of Hospitality Advisory Services, LLC, a firm specializing in consulting services related to the hospitality industry. Dr. O’Neill’s practice specializes in hotel valuation, feasibility analysis, economic analyses, market analyses, and litigation support. He also holds a Professorship in the School of Hospitality Management at The Pennsylvania State University, where he specializes in teaching and research related to real estate and strategy in the hospitality industry, and was awarded the Favorite Professor Award in 2003. Prior to his professorship at Penn State, he spent seven years as Professor in the International Hotel School at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, where he was named Teacher of the Year in 1999. Previously, Dr. O’Neill was Senior Associate in the Hospitality Industry Consulting Group at Coopers & Lybrand in New York, and prior was Director of Market Planning for Holiday Inn’s Eastern Region. Previously, he held management and real estate development positions with Hyatt and Marriott in a number of different locations.
Dr. O’Neill is a licensed real estate appraiser, holds the MAI (Designated Member) designation from the Appraisal Institute and the CHE (Certified Hospitality Educator) designation from the American Hotel & Lodging Association. He has presented seminars for Hilton Hotels, Radisson Hotels, Embassy Suites, Army Lodging, Appraisal Institute, Port Authority of New York, Robert Morris Association, Decision Sciences Institute, Commercial Property News, Academy of Management, Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education, Pennsylvania Tourism & Lodging Association, Maine Innkeepers Association, and Novgorod State University in Russia.
Dr. O’Neill is frequently quoted on a variety of topics related to the hospitality industry in USA Today, Business Week, Business Travel News, Hotel & Motel Management, Hotels, Lodging, Lodging Hospitality, Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Times, Crain’s New York Business, and U.S. Japan Business News. In addition, he has written articles for Lodging, Lodging Hospitality, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, and the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research.
Dr. O’Neill holds a B.S. degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University, an M.S. degree in Real Estate from New York University, and a Ph.D. degree in Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island.
Byron P. Alterman, LLC
Byron P. Alterman, Attorney at Law
Byron Alterman is an experienced commercial real estate attorney based in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area. Byron excels in negotiating creative solutions to complex problems, and understands the business from both the ownership and legal side. Throughout his career, Byron has been fortunate enough to complete transactions with some of the largest real estate owners in the United States. Attorney Alterman’s firm provides assistance and guidance to its clients in all aspects of real estate acquisition, development, construction, financing and disposition. You will also receive assistance with land use zoning, environmental, mechanic’s liens, commercial leasing, title marketability and regulatory issues.
Some representative transactions are as follows:
* Representation of mixed use owners in hotel and resort developments;
* Representation of both purchasers and sellers in raw land deals;
* Representation of purchasers and sellers in complex licensing agreements.