New board members for Vacasa, CHLA; more people on the move

Vacation rental management platform Vacasa has added a new member to its board of directors, while the California Hotel & Lodging Association has elected its new leadership.

Vacasa appoints Barbara Messing to board
Vacasa has revealed that Barbara Messing is expected to join the company’s board as an independent director upon the successful completion of its business combination with TPG Pace Solutions, a special purpose acquisition company.

She currently serves as the chief marketing & people experience officer at Roblox and as a board member of Overstock, where she’s helped guide both tech-enabled platforms through various stages of growth. Formerly, she was SVP/chief marketing officer at Walmart U.S. and SVP/chief marketing officer at Tripadvisor.

Messing plans to join Vacasa’s board as an independent director upon closing of the company’s transaction with TPG Pace Solutions, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

CHLA elects new board of directors
The California Hotel & Lodging Association (CHLA) elected its 2022 board of directors during its annual meeting on Nov. 18, at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach.

Tom Patton, GM/partner, Ramada by Wyndham Santa Barbara is stepping in as the 2022 CHLA board chair, with Bijal Patel, CEO/principal partner, Coast Redwood Hospitality, becoming immediate past chair. Patton will be supported by Vice Chair Hee Won Lim, GM, Pacific Palms Hotel, and Secretary/Treasurer Dhruv Patel, president/COO, Ridgemont Hospitality.

The board also voted to add Kristi Allen, SVP, hotel operations, Ensemble Real Estate Solutions & Investments; Matt Humphreys, area VP/GM, Hyatt Regency San Francisco; and Perry Patel, partner, BPR Hotels as new board members and renew the terms of nine board members with expiring terms.

These members are:

  • Bimal Patel, Concept Hotels
  • Wes Tyler, Chancellor Hotel
  • Pam Ryan, Inn at the Mission, San Juan Capistrano
  • Chip Rogers, American Hotel & Lodging Association
  • Daniel Kuperschmid, Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego
  • Michelle Millar, University of San Francisco
  • Michael Pace, InterContinental Mark Hopkins SF
  • Terri Haack, Terranea Resort
  • Nic Hockman, The Hotels of Disneyland Resort

Outgoing board members include Elvin Lai, owner, Ocean Park Inn and Scott VandenBerg, former GM, Hyatt Regency Sacramento.

CBRE adds Ely in Asia
CBRE has appointed Chris Ely as head of hotel asset management, Asia.

Based in Singapore, he leads CBRE’s hotel asset management and operator selection business within the Capital Markets team. His role involves working with clients to unlock value from hotel and hospitality assets, enhance profitability and align stakeholders behind investment objectives.

Ely joins an expanding team of hotel industry veterans at CBRE and will be part of the firm’s Asia Pacific Hotels & Hospitality leadership committee.

He has more than 20 years of experience as a hotelier and asset manager. He was most recently VP, business development and asset management, Next Story Group (NSG), where he was responsible for developing and executing NSG’s regional development plans. He also oversaw the asset management of NSG’s hotel portfolio which comprised assets across Australia and Southeast Asia including co-working spaces. Prior to that, he held senior managerial positions at JLL, Outrigger Hotels & Resorts and Jumeirah Group.