I had the great pleasure of working with Michelle Hayes for over 15 years in a very large and diverse hotel environment.  During that time, I have found Michelle to be an excellent resource and partner in developing new business ventures, analyzing results and guiding our hotels to become more profitable operations.  Michelle is extremely knowledgeable, well organized and displays the sense of energy and focus that gets results.  I have also found Michelle to be very active in understanding the operations she oversees, including their local markets and competitors and she made frequent visits to the facilities to ensure she was up to date as possible. 

In addition to being an outstanding Hotelier and Asset Manager, Michelle is also an outstanding person who brings a human approach to her responsibilities  that is very well balanced with achieving he results needed from the operation.  As her main point of contact, Michelle and I had an excellent relationship that I value to this day, however, it didn’t stop there as Michelle also invested time in developing relationships with the key staff at our hotels, met with them on her visits, congratulated them on their successes and made the relationship with the ownership group a personal one for my hotel teams.

Michelle is truly a unique individual, has an excellent business mind and fully embraces the relationship between profits and customers.  I hope to have the opportunity to work with her again in the future.

–Bob Barenberg
Managing Director, Hilton Hotels

I worked with Michelle Hayes for more than a decade, during which she was charged with asset-managing as many as dozens of hotels at once.  While our interaction usually involved a single hotel with a legal problem of some sort, I came to appreciate that she was aware of what was going on at each of her hotels, in amazing detail.  My general recollection of entering Michelle’s office is of her with a phone in one ear and a plane ticket in one hand, holding up a “just a minute” finger and then proceeding to a quick but detailed description of whatever she wanted me to help with.  Her hotels’ issues and concerns got addressed quickly and sensibly, before they festered into something messier.  I would never want to own a hotel without Michelle, or someone very much like her, on my side.  And my experience from more than three decades in the industry has been that there aren’t a lot of people like her.

-Larry Mundy
FelCor Lodging Trust

Michelle joined our management team at the Sheraton Nashville after completing her Master’s degree.  She brought a sense of dedication and commitment in her first assignment and developed a level of professionalism that was recognized by the Sheraton Corporation.

Her abilities have reflected that professionalism and polish.  After a successful series of senior management assignments with Sheraton over 15 years; in some challenging locations, her career evolved as she spent more than 20 years with FelCor, which was one of the most effective REITS in the lodging industry.  As an Asset Manager and Vice President, she continued to expand her skills in communications, ownership relations, revenue growth and profitability at many different types and locations of property.  She is focused, attentive and is one that works well with others.

In this rapidly changing business environment, she understands the differences in brand management contrasted with independents and it has been a pleasure to note the continuing professional knowledge gained and advancement in her career.

-John Hogan
Principal, Hogan Hospitality

Michelle is an amazing hotelier, team leader, value creator and impact maker! Her care for others and true heart for service comes through in all she does.

-Marsha Bonner
Risk Management