Brian Quinn did not step into the hospitality business with a grand plan. Like many who discover a lifelong passion in hotels, his journey began with a simple frontline job—a van driver and bellman position at a Holiday Inn near Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York. He was 17, the youngest of six children in what he describes as a “very large Irish Catholic family,” where everyone was expected to pitch in. His mother worked at the airport, and through what he calls “a series of happy coincidences,” secured an entry‑level hotel job.
What started as a way to help out set off a 30‑year trajectory across some of the world’s most recognizable hotel companies, ultimately leading to C‑suite leadership roles, franchise and development influence across global brands, a seat on the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory’s public board and now a strategic advisory position with the rapidly growing Equinox Hospitality and Equinox Hotels .
Quinn discovered the hotel industry demanded a unique mix of discipline, heart and people skills. “Coming from a large family, the sense of community that hotel operations provided was incredible,” he said. He grabbed every opportunity to learn from the front lines and, later, learned the intricacies of food and beverage operations.
Early Days
Hospitality’s frontline is where many leaders find out whether this business is truly for them. For Quinn, the rhythms of hotel life clicked almost immediately.
“Hotel operation roles are very demanding type of job—they are people‑oriented, service‑oriented,” he said. “You need a combination of discipline and heart. And I fell in love with it.”
He credits his extroverted nature and the community dynamic of hotel operations for pulling him in. But he noted that luck—and mentorship—played equally important roles. Referencing Holiday Inn founder Kemmons Wilson’s observation that success is “half luck and half brains,” Quinn said his early years were full of both.
A key figure in Quinn’s early beginnings was the hotel’s food-and-beverage director Neil Martin. In the days before cell phones or digital scheduling, Quinn spent long stretches of downtime waiting for incoming flights. That F&B director used the downtime to pull Quinn behind the scenes, providing an education into food cost, liquor inventory, kitchen operations, nightclub operations—far more than a teenager in a bellman’s uniform would typically see. “Say 'yes' when someone gives you an opportunity,” Quinn advised when recalling his hands-on education.
That early exposure became a through line in Quinn’s career. “If I hadn’t built that rapport, if I hadn’t said yes at 16 or 17, I wouldn’t have been exposed to F&B, which got me into the next program, which got me into revenue management, which exposed me to the franchise side, which led me to development,” he said. “It’s incredible how it all fits together.”
Operational Credibility
While attending the University of South Florida, Quinn continued working in hotels, again finding himself identified for leadership potential. At what would become IHG, he entered the company's accelerated management trainee program. The year‑long rotation took him through every operational department in multiple hotels—airport and leisure, large and small.
“You did every role from the bottom up,” he said of the program. Tasks included changing out air conditioners, ordering chemicals, going on sales calls and checking people in. “It was game‑changing.”
That operational grounding, he believes, has been essential to every leadership role he’s held since. “It gives you credibility—with employees, owners, operators, developers, investors, lenders,” he said. “They know you came up through it.”
Quinn would go on to hold senior positions at IHG Hotels & Resorts, Hilton, Choice Hotels International and ultimately Sonesta, where he was chief development officer for nearly five years and helped reshape the company after its acquisition of Red Lion Hotel Corp. and its 13 brands across all chain-scale segments.
Those roles taught him the “business of the business”—the idea that real hospitality is about people taking care of people. “How you treat your employees is how they will treat your guests,” he said, noting that consistency in guest experience depends on clear standards, strong leadership and a genuine service commitment.
Across these roles, Quinn learned how brand standards can translate into real operational execution. He can speak with as much fluency about the economics of extended‑stay as he can about the human touchpoints required in luxury lifestyle hospitality.
Quinn also witnessed the rise of the extended-stay model, a segment he describes as a “juggernaut”—one where guests’ clear expectations, operational efficiency and “the right services” converge to benefit everyone: the customer, employee and the owner. “The extended-stay model delivers outsized returns for owners and when those things line up…you do well,” he explained.
He is keenly aware, however, that even as the industry changes, some items are table stakes for the guest—cleanliness, strong Wi-Fi, a good cup of coffee—remain non-negotiable.
Lifestyle luxury works for a different but equally compelling reason: “At that level, people want to be greeted at the door,” he said. “It’s a human manifestation of a service commitment.”
He believes what attracts guess in this space is the personal service and the consumer valuing art, design, wellness, food & beverage and experiential travel allow owners in this space to drive margins as well.
Embracing New Challenges
Late last year, Quinn transitioned to a strategic advisory role with Equinox Hospitality and Equinox Hotels. Here, he advises on growth opportunities, surfacing deals, assessing strategic alignment and offering guidance informed by decades inside major brand systems.
“It’s a family office that has been scaling incredibly well,” he said. “They’re disciplined, they’re deliberate, and they take their obligations to their investors and the brands very seriously.”
Equinox was founded in 1994 by Abdul Suleman with Adam Suleman leading the company’s investment strategy and Sam Suleman driving the renovations, projects, design and information technology. The company’s principles drive the business, according to Quinn: Timing being everything in life; making business decisions based on logic, not emotion; taking calculated risks; good accounting sustains good partnerships; document everything; get involved in the community and truly be a part of it. All principles that tightly align with Quinn’s own personal beliefs and life choices.
This new role allows him to blend his operator’s heart, an owner’s lens, franchisor’s discipline and developer’s strategic view—all while staying engaged in broader industry issues. He will remain active within the American Hotel Lodging Association and its Foundation as well.
Quinn sees his new role as a chance to both draw upon and share the myriad lessons he’s learned inside the industry’s largest brands and management platforms. “Scale is a critical strategic factor as these ownership platforms expand,” he observes, excited by the challenge of leveraging size and relationships to optimize returns for Equinox and its partners.
He also hinted—without details quite yet—at a few international initiatives requiring his input.
“I’ve had a unique set of experiences,” he said. “If I can leverage that to help them accelerate their goals, that’s exciting to me.”
What Comes Next
Quinn is clear that he’s not done aiming big. “I’m still in the market to do something significant,” he said. At the same time, he plans to continue advising Equinox no matter where his next chapter leads.
And he sees plenty of those ahead.
Cost pressures on the hotel P&L are real—insurance, wages, operations—continue to mount, and Quinn believes the industry will need structural innovation to remain attractive to owners and investors. He also emphasizes the importance of international travel, which fuels higher rates and longer stays.
Ultimately the throughline of his story remains unchanged since his days as a teenage bellman.
“Hospitality is people taking care of people,” he said. “How you treat your employees is how they’ll treat your guests. That’s the business of the business.”
For Quinn, that business—built on heart, opportunity and the power of saying yes—he still feels as energizing today as it did at age 17 in Long Island, N.Y.