Mike Patel-Principal and COO
Mike Patel, Principal and Chief Operations Officer, moved to the U.S. in 1982, and grew up in his parents’ motel business. He also had experience in franchised hotels and independent hotels. He learned the business from the bottom up and worked in every department. He was able to grow his skills in maintenance and renovation, as well as new development construction and design.
Mike graduated from the University of Missouri with a Computer Science and Finance Degree. After graduating, he handled the finances and day to day requirements of his parents’ motel. In 2005, Mike decided to pursue his hotel business full time. He was excited to partner with brother-in-law Nav in 2012, to grow the business and form Marquee Hospitality in the Kansas City area.
Mike is closely involved in the day to day on site operations of the company. He works directly with site selection and designer development. He brings 25 years of development and construction experience. Mike was the general contractor for one hotel, and he has been the construction manager for all other hotels.
Mike also thrives on building close relationships with franchise representatives and financial institutions and making an impact in the industry. He was a founding member and has served on the board for the Missouri Kansas Hotel Owners Association for 5 years. He has been on the board of directors for Hotel Lodging Association of Kansas City for 3 years. He has been an Ambassador for the Intercontinental Hotels Group Owners Association for 6 years and the Ambassador for AAHOA Central Midwest region for 4 years. He has also served on the Commerce Bank Advisory Board for 3 years.
In his free time Mike enjoys socializing with friends and family. His favorite activities are traveling, attending Chiefs and Royals games, and concerts with his children. Mike is a self proclaimed foodie, and he loves experimenting with different culinary flavors as well as indulging in delicious desserts.
Nav Patel – RPh, CHO, Principal and CFO
Nav Patel, Principal and Chief Financial Officer, moved to the U.S. at the age of 10 and grew up in the hotel business, helping his parents with just about every aspect of the business at the independent hotel they lived in and operated in Waynesboro, Virginia. In college, he studied pharmacy at VCU/MCV in Richmond, Virginia, and returned home during summers to help out with the business. Nav learned a lot of values working at the independent hotel, including the hard work and commitment needed to operate a hotel.
Two years after graduating, with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, he became more involved in the hotel business. He eventually helped design, manage the construction, and plan the grand opening of a Holiday Inn Express in Waynesboro, VA. This hotel enjoyed much success and was the winner of three Torchbearer awards.
Nav’s main passion and focus today is managing the hotel business. In 2012, he partnered with Mike, to develop and manage hotels in the Kansas City metro area along with new projects in Virginia and Kansas. Nav oversees all the finances and revenue management, creates budgets and projections, and manages the site selection for potential new projects for the company. He also oversees all day to day operations for the business and continues to practice pharmacy part-time.
Nav especially enjoys building relationships and being actively involved in both the hotel industry and the community. He has been an AAHOA Ambassador since 2014, and on the AAHOA Membership Committee since 2016. He is a member of the VRLTA Government Affairs Committee, a Board Member of the Bull Run Chapter VRLTA, and a member of the IHG Owners Association. He also values making a difference as the Co-Chair for Explorer Post 1882, a STEM Group for Middle and High Schoolers.
Eric Hevi-Doglan-Director of Revenue
Eric is our Director of Revenue Management. He has been on our team for the last 5 plus years and has been a great asset in managing and maximizing revenue at the hotels. He moved to the U.S. in 2000 with a degree in mathematics. His work experience includes records management at Commercial Federal Bank, Bilingual sales representative (French-English); Sales coordinator, e-consultant, and revenue consultant at Carlson Hospitality Worldwide.
Tera Wood Director of Sales and Marketing
Tera Wood, Director of Sales, currently resides and grew up in the Kansas City, Missouri area. She has cultivated the business through hands-on experience throughout the years.
Tera graduated in 1991 and gained her start in the hospitality industry managing dining establishments. In this position, she also served as an event director, giving Tera the opportunity to engineer relationships with large corporations like AMC Theater, AT&T and more. After 10 years, Tera left the food and beverage industry to pursue a career in franchised and independently own hotels.
Tera has evolved 7 years of sales management experience into her great strengths of creativity, drive and leadership. Trail blazing as an operations manager, she soon discovered great pleasure in the many facets of sales. She thrives on challenges, particularly those that expand the company’s reach. She also enjoys building close relationships with her clients and is actively involved in the community.
Deena Havlat -Director of Human Resources and Accounting