Member profile: Steve Rushmore FRICS, MAI, CHA, President and Founder, HVS


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08/17/2009 22:07

Steve Rushmore FRICS, MAI, CHA
President and Founder, HVS
Steve Rushmore, FRICS, MAI, CHA, is the president and founder of HVS, a global consulting and services organization with more than 25 offices worldwide focused on the hotel, restaurant, timeshare, gaming, and leisure industries. Established in 1980, HVS has provided consulting and valuation services for thousands of clients in all 50 states and more than 60 foreign countries. The company specializes in complex issues involving hotel feasibility, valuations, and financing. Steve directs the global operation of HVS and is responsible for future office expansion and new product development. He was one of the creators of the Microtel concept, has written numerous books and articles on hotel feasibility studies, appraisals, and other aspects of hotel investing, and actually owns and operates hotels.

Q. What is your current job role and what does this involve?
My role as President and Founder of HVS makes me responsible for the global operation of the company, which has more than 25 offices worldwide. I direct a professional staff of more than 400 industry specialists offering 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.

Q. Why did you opt to pursue a career in this industry?
A high-school summer job as an assistant salad chef at a resort in New Hampshire introduced me to the hospitality industry and its food and beverage operations, which strengthened my burgeoning interest in hotels. A BS from Cornell’s Hotel School and an MBA from the University of Buffalo paved the way for a job with the late Stephen Brener in the hospitality division of Helmsley Spear. When I recognized the niche that existed for someone with a degree in hotel administration to provide professional hotel appraisal services, I founded HVS.

Q. Do you have specific areas of expertise or specialist interest?
As a leading authority on the topic of hotel feasibility studies and appraisals, I have written all five textbooks and two seminars for the Appraisal Institute covering this subject. I have lectured extensively on hotel trends and taught hundreds of classes and seminars to more than 20,000 industry professionals. Lecturing at major hotel schools around the world, including Lausanne, Cornell, Houston, and IMHI, is also on my agenda.

Q. What has been a career or project highlight?
One project under my direct oversight involved the Blackstone Group’s acquisition of Hilton Hotels Corporation, the biggest buyout in the history of the lodging industry. HVS was selected to appraise Hilton’s portfolio of hotels — in 25 countries across 6 continents — in 40 days. All HVS offices participated in producing uniform, high-quality appraisal reports that were accepted by all the lenders, making the transaction possible. This monumental task included not only hotels, but the Hilton brands, management contracts, gaming operations, and time-share operations.

When I founded HVS, I envisioned building the company to be a multi-faceted source for all hotel needs; the successful completion of the appraisals for the Hilton-Blackstone portfolio is evidence that this goal has been surpassed. No other company could have brought together on an international stage all the components necessary to value this large portfolio in such a seamless, quick, and efficient manner.