NEW YORK CITY — The Shah Family, founders of Hersha Hotels and Resorts and HHM Hotels, was awarded the Hotel News Now Stephen W. Brener Silver Plate award at the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, operated by Questex (parent company of Hotel Management Magazine) in partnership with the NYU School of Professional Studies and its Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality.
STR President Amanda Hite and Stephanie Ricca, editorial director of Hotel News Now, presented the Shah Family with the award.
Hersha Hotels and Resorts owns and operates luxury and lifestyle hotels in coastal gateway and resort markets. The company’s 25 hotels—totaling 3,811 rooms—are in New York; Washington, D.C.; Boston; Philadelphia; South Florida; and California. HHM Hotels is a manager and an investor with a national portfolio of 240 hotels.
Presented to a family for the first time, the award honors the work of Hasu and Hersha Shah in building the early architecture of the Hersha companies, and the work of their sons Jay and Neil. Last year, affiliates of KSL Capital Partners, an investor in travel and leisure businesses, acquired all outstanding common shares of Hersha in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.4 billion, taking the company private. The award honors the value of the family’s efforts.
This lifetime achievement award has been presented since 1959 to honor an executive or company that shows exemplary commitment to and support of the hotel and tourism industries. The award was renamed in 1994 to the Stephen W. Brener Silver Plate Award to honor Brener, a noted New York-based hotel consultant and broker (and World War II veteran) who died in 1994.
Previous award winners include the late Arne Sorensen of Marriott International, Christopher Nassetta of Hilton, Mark Hoplamazian of Hyatt and Geoff Ballotti of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
“The Shah Family built their hospitality companies from the ground up, and they continue to evolve the business in ways that benefit the industry and their stakeholders. We are happy to present this year’s Stephen W. Brener Silver Plate Award to this legendary family,” Ricca said in a statement.