People on the move at KAYAK, ESA

KAYAK Hotels and Extended Stay America are both adding new leaders with a goal to expand their portfolios.

KAYAK Hotels adds Adenaw as managing director
KAYAK has tapped Indy Adenaw (pictured above) as the managing director of KAYAK Hotels to lead global expansion and pipeline growth. KAYAK Hotels is on track to welcome 10 new properties this year.

Adenaw brings more than 15 years of experience, having influenced some of the most respected global hotel brands, from Moxy Hotels to Sheraton Hotels & Resorts.

“Indy’s a terrific addition to our KAYAK Hotels team,” said Steve Hafner, CEO, KAYAK. “His experience building and refining global hotel brands will help accelerate both the rollout of KAYAK Hotels, and the development of our software platform.”

KAYAK Hotels’ software, currently in early development, is intended to help independent hotels leverage the KAYAK app and capitalize on the latest advances. It will include integrations to cloud-based property management systems, wireless lock and access controls and sophisticated distribution channel management. It will also incorporate insights from the billions of travel queries that KAYAK processes annually.

Adenaw’s hospitality career began as senior director, brand management & global brand leader for Moxy Hotels, part of Marriott International’s portfolio of hotel brands, where he crafted the business case for the enterprise’s first lifestyle select-service brand, bringing it from plan to pipeline. He later was tapped as VP/global brand leader for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, where he drove its global transformation while strategically navigating the brand’s global complex nature.

Most recently, he served as managing director for the national nonprofit Management Leadership for Tomorrow, leading its Black Equity at Work program to bring companies closer to racial equity.

“KAYAK Hotels has an incredible vision and team behind it,” said Adenaw. “I’m looking forward to shaping the future of the brand.”

ESA expands franchise development team
Extended Stay America has expanded its development team with the addition of two regional VPs, Terry Sanders and Mike McGaughey.

“With the demonstrated resilience of the extended-stay model and our strong value proposition throughout the pandemic, this is the perfect time to expand our development team,” said Mark Williams, managing director, franchise development, Extended Stay America. “The addition of Mike and Terry will allow us to further grow our franchise system and deliver greater value to our franchise partners.”

Sanders is responsible for continuing the company’s franchise development throughout the Western U.S. Prior to joining Extended Stay America, he was EVP of Aimbridge Hospitality, where grew the company’s portfolio through mergers and acquisitions of new and existing hotel owners and private equity funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and asset managers. He has held senior development positions at several major hotel brands, including Radisson and Wyndham, as well as brokerage groups throughout his career.

McGaughey is responsible for continuing the company’s franchise development throughout the Midwestern U.S. Prior to joining the company, he was director of development for new construction at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. He has also held senior development positions with Choice Hotels International and Best Western.