The NHIF Spring 2026 Meeting
The Northwest Hotel Investment Forum is a place where:
- Stakeholders learn about trends affecting hotel investment, ownership and development.
- Equity, debt, management, brands, and developers find each other.
- Stakeholders learn about opportunities in the region and elsewhere.
- Investors, owners and developers who are new to hotels make industry connections.
THE NHIF SPRING 2026 MEETING
Thursday, May 14, 2026, 4:00-7:30 pm
The Hilton Garden Inn Seattle/Bellevue
10777 NE 10th Street, Bellevue, WA 98004
AGENDA:
3:45-4:00 pm – Registration and Check-in
4:00-4:55 pm – Opening Networking Reception
Refreshments and light appetizers
Reconnect with regional and national industry colleagues. Learn from each other about deal opportunities and projects in the pipeline. Whether you’re equity, debt, brand, management, development, or ownership, build the relationships that will help you achieve your objectives.
5:00-6:45 pm – Presentation and Panel Discussion
Short Program—Hotel Performance. This presentation will provide current information and data on hotel performance and transactions.
Presenters:
Michael Stathokostopoulos, Senior Director of Hospitality Analytics, CoStar Group (Los Angeles, CA). At CoStar, Michael identifies industry trends and develops market insights for several of the top 25 hotel markets on performance, pipeline, and transaction activity. Michael has over fifteen years of experience in real estate transaction advisory and valuation for financial reporting across all major asset types, with a particular focus on hotels, advising clients throughout the lifecycle of their real estate investments. CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP) is the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics, and online marketplaces. STR (acquired by Costar in October 2019) is the hospitality industry’s unparalleled information gatherer and supplier, providing global data benchmarking, analytics, and marketplace insights. www.costar.com; www.strglobal.com.
Mark Lukens, Managing Director, LWHA (Seattle, WA; San Diego, CA). Mark has over 25 years of experience in hospitality real estate and holds the MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute. LWHA provides advisory, valuation, feasibility, investment counseling, asset management, and transactional services focused exclusively on hotels, resorts, gaming properties, and conference center assets worldwide. www.lwhospitalityadvisors.com.
Centerpiece Program: “AI in the Hotel Industry, Today, in the Next Year, and in the Next Five Years”. Speakers at our industry conferences have talked to us about AI for at least 10 years. But over the last twelve months there has been a sea change. Virtually everyone we now speak with is using AI in some capacity, and we have all tasted firsthand what AI might be able to do. The time is right for us to dive into this new, evolving world and gain deeper perspective.
Moderator:
Irvin Sandman, Principal – Attorney, Sandman Savrann PLLC (Seattle, WA). With over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Irvin has served as lead counsel for hotel clients in thousands of hotel matters and transactions regionally, nationally and internationally, including hotel developments, acquisitions and dispositions, financial and entity structuring, management and franchise agreements, operational matters, dispute resolution, and workouts. He is the 2008 recipient of the Anthony Marshall Award for lasting contributions to hospitality law, is the editor-in-chief of the Washington State Hospitality Law Manual, Third Edition, and is recognized by Best Lawyers in America® in the category of Leisure and Hospitality Law. Sandman Savrann is a national law firm devoted to the hospitality industry. The Firm is recognized as a Tier 1 law firm by Best Law Firms® in the category of Leisure and Hospitality Law. Through its Associated Firms, which serve as Sandman Savrann’s departments, the Sandman Savrann team includes over 1,400 attorneys nationwide, delivering comprehensive, cost-effective counsel for regional, national, and international hotel companies and owners. www.sandmansavrann.com
Panelists:
Gilad Berenstein, Founder & Managing Partner, Brook Bay Capital (Seattle, WA). Gilad is an AI entrepreneur, venture capital investor, and board director focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence and the travel, hospitality, and lifestyle industries. As Founder and Managing Partner of Brook Bay Capital, Gilad leads the first venture firms dedicated to investing in AI-driven innovation across these sectors. Gilad previously founded Utrip, one of the world’s first AI trip planning companies, helping more than 200 million travelers explore the world through personalized technology and bringing AI into the digital experiences of many of the world’s leading hospitality brands. He currently serves on several boards and advises CEOs and investors across the travel, fintech, and consumer technology ecosystems, including companies such as Virtuoso, Faye, Mindtrip, and ResortPass. Gilad is a frequent global speaker and writer on artificial intelligence, innovation, and what he calls the “Great Commoditization” of technology, and is widely recognized as a leading voice on how AI is reshaping consumer industries and the future of travel.
Brenna Halliday, Founder, B Plum Advisory (Los Angeles, CA). As Founder of B Plum Advisory, Brenna partners with hospitality and real estate investors, operators, and executives to support strategic decision-making, investment strategy, and capital allocation. She specializes in translating complex trends, data, and technology advancements into actionable insights for executive and board-level audiences. Brenna brings over two decades of experience in hospitality and real estate analytics. Previously, she led Strategic Insight at Host Hotels & Resorts, where she spearheaded the development of Host’s predictive market analytics platform and led a 50-person organizational initiative exploring corporate and property-level applications for artificial intelligence. Earlier in her career, Brenna worked in feasibility and investment analysis roles at both Host and Hilton Hotels. She has conducted due diligence in 40 cities across the Americas and Europe, and underwritten billions of dollars in real estate transactions. B Plum Advisory’s wheelhouse includes market and industry strategy, portfolio analysis, investment underwriting, thought leadership, and advisory services to hospitality technology startups, with a focus on data-driven insights. www.bplumadvisory.com.
Greg Jones, Industry Advisor, Retail & Consumer Goods, Microsoft (Redmond, WA). Greg is an Industry Advisor within Microsoft’s global Retail & Consumer Goods organization, where he works with hospitality and retail leaders to drive meaningful industry transformation across people, service, and physical environments. His focus is on helping organizations modernize operations, empower frontline teams, and elevate guest and associate experiences through cloud, data, and AI, bridging long term strategy with real world execution. Greg brings more than 25 years of global experience across hospitality, travel, and retail. He has held senior leadership roles at Microsoft, including leading global Hospitality & Travel initiatives and worldwide partner engagements supporting major operators and investors. Before rejoining Microsoft, Greg served as CEO of tutch.ai, an AI powered hospitality and retail technology company focused on connected, in venue customer experiences, and previously held senior industry leadership roles at Avanade, a global consulting company, supporting complex, global transformation programs for consumer facing organizations worldwide scale. www.microsoft.com; https://www.linkedin.com/in/grjones/
Doug Rigoni, President & Chief Executive Officer, West Coast Hospitality (Seattle, WA). As President and CEO of West Coast Hospitality, Doug leads the company’s strategic direction, operational performance, and long-term growth, overseeing a portfolio of 11 hotels and a convention center across the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii and California while guiding investment strategy, development initiatives, and brand and ownership partnerships. Doug brings more than four decades of hospitality industry experience. He began his career with leading hotel brands including DoubleTree, Sheraton, and Westin Hotels, and joined West Coast Hospitality in 1992, where he managed properties across several Pacific Coast markets. Since 1998, Doug has served in executive leadership roles focused on business development and strategic growth, helping guide the company’s evolution into one of the region’s respected hospitality organizations. West Coast Hospitality’s wheelhouse includes hotel ownership, management, asset management, and development, with a strong emphasis on operational excellence, guest experience, and long-term asset value across its portfolio. www.wchospitalityllc.com.
Additional Program Element—Shark Basin (not “Shark Tank”—that’s a registered trademark 😊). Five- minute power point presentation(s) by hot, startup, AI offerings to the industry, followed by some “grilling” by the panelists:
Jim Harding, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Otonoma (Issaquah, WA). As CEO of Otonoma, Jim leads the company’s mission to evolve human-machine collaboration through the intelligence age. Otonoma’s intelligent network is designed for complex industries including travel and hospitality. He is a recognized cross-industry innovator with experience spanning ecommerce, early AI, databases, and operating systems. Among Jim’s many other accomplishments, he is one of the original co-creators of DOS and following operating systems, and, at Jeff Bezos’s request, he developed the Amazon Marketplace, completing Bezos’s vision of the “Everything Store”. Otonoma’s Paranet gives operators unified visibility and adaptive coordination across every layer of their stack, enabling a new era of intelligent, self-optimizing operations. Otonoma’s promise is a hotel that thinks: more efficient operations, faster service, and guest experience that feels effortless. https://www.otonoma.com/solutions#travel.
6:45-7:30 pm – Post-Presentation Networking and Cocktail Reception
Cocktails and appetizers
Pick up your discussions and connections from earlier in the evening. Meet those still on your list. Make plans
for follow-up meetings or visits to northwest sites, hotels, or markets.
7:30 pm – Adjournment
REGISTRATION AND NHIF MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION:
Registration is open only to Members of NHIF and to NHIF’s invited guests. Early registration (through Friday,
April 17, 2026) is $275; later registration is $300. Early registration is recommended. To register, please go to
the link shown in the email notifications you’ve received about the meeting.
RESERVATIONS AT THE HOST HOTEL:
The Hilton Garden Inn Seattle/Bellevue will again be providing a limited block at the favorable rate of $189 for
NHIF attendees. The room block will end on end on Monday, April 13, 2026, or when the group block is sold
out, whichever comes first. To make a reservation under the room block, please follow the instructions in the
email notifications you have received about the meeting.
NHIF STEERING MEMBERS:
Irvin W. Sandman, Sandman Savrann PLLC ~ Mark Lukens, LWHA
