Alan Fuerstman

Alan Fuerstman
Born Alan J. Fuerstman
Education Bachelor of Arts
Alma mater Gettysburg College
Occupation Founder & CEO, Montage Hotels & Resorts
Spouse(s) Susan J. Fuerstman
Children 4
Website MontageHotels.com

Alan Fuerstman is an American entrepreneur and business executive. He is best known as the founder of Montage Hotels & Resorts where he serves as the company's CEO.[1][2] He is listed on the Haute 100 and has won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.[3][4]

Early life and education

Fuerstman grew up in New Jersey and began working in the hospitality industry when he was 17. While attending New Milford High School, he worked part-time as a bellman for a Marriott Hotel.[5][6] After high school, he attended Gettysburg College where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1978.[7] Fuerstman accepted a position with Marriott to join its management training program.[5]

Career

View of the pool at the Montage Hotel in Laguna Beach.

Fuerstman began his career with the hospitality conglomerate Marriott International, taking a position with the company after graduating from college.[6] He started as the bell captain at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort in Rancho Mirage, California, moving on to manage the front desk, housekeeping, and food and beverage.[5] Fuerstman became assistant general manager at one of Marriott's Long Island properties before then moving to Marriott's then flagship property, the Desert Springs in Palm Desert, California.[5] In addition to being on the opening team of Desert Springs, Fuerstman was responsible for opening several other Marriott properties during his tenure.

After leaving Marriott International, Fuerstman joined ITT Sheraton at the El Conquistador Resort and Country Club in Tucson, Arizona where he was the resort's general manager.[8] He moved on with ITT Sheraton where he was president and managing director of The Phoenician resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.[9] With ITT Sheraton, he was also responsible for its luxury collection properties that included St. Regis Aspen and St. Regis Houston, as well as all of its properties in the state of Arizona. He was named the company's General Manager of the Year in 1993, with The Phoenician being named the company's hotel of the year while under his direction.[8] In 1998, Fuerstman was recruited by Steve Wynn to open the Bellagio Casino & Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada as the hotel's vice president of hotel operations.[10] During his time at the Bellagio, it became the first in Las Vegas to receive AAA Auto Club's five diamond rating.[11]

Alan Fuerstman Speaking NYU.

Fuerstman left the Bellagio in 2000 and formed his own management company, Montage Hotels & Resorts, for the purpose of developing luxury hotels.[12][13] He described the company as an opportunity to break into the world of luxury hotels which was dominated by Ritz-Carlton and the Four Seasons.[14] This led to the opening of his first hotel, Montage in Laguna Beach in 2002.[13] The hotel was a development of Marriott International who sold its stake in the property to Fuerstman's company, the original developer of the 260-room hotel, for $190 million.[15] The price was the highest per-room price paid for a hotel in the United States that year and double the highest price paid in California for the previous year.[15] It is considered a Forbes 5 star hotel with a 5 star restaurant, as well as being the first to receive a Forbes 5 star spa rating.[16] Fuerstman has grown Montage Hotels into 5 properties as of 2014, including two in California, one in Utah, one in South Carolina, and one in Hawaii.[4][17][18][19]

Awards and recognition

He was awarded the 2007 Resort Executive of the Year, an award decided by leaders in the industry.[20] In addition to being named One to Watch by Virtuoso for their Best of the Best Hotel Awards, Fuerstman was listed on the Haute 100 list in 2011.[3] He received a Smart Business Award in the Real Estate & Hospitality category in 2013,[6] the same year that he received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.[21] In 2014 he was given the Mondavi Wine & Food Award.[16][22]

Personal life

Fuerstman is married to Susan J. Fuerstman and has four children.[8] He has been on the board of trustees of Gettysburgh College since 2006.[7] He also serves on the advisory board for the Northern Arizona University School of Hotel and Restaurant Management.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Garfinkel, Perry (23 August 2008). "Hotelier's secret: Grace, humility and training". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Scott, Mark. "Alan J. Fuerstman asked a lot of his team during the recession and got back even more at Montage Hotels & Resorts". Smart Business.
  3. 1 2 3 "HAUTE 100: Jennifer Aniston, Judd Apatow, Dan Bane, Steve Bing and more". 22 November 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  4. 1 2 Scott, Mark G. (31 March 2014). "Alan J. Fuerstman asked a lot of his team during the recession and got back even more at Montage Hotels & Resorts". Smart Business. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Newman, Richard (11 September 2009). "His experience as a youth opened doors to a career". The New Jersey Record. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 "How Alan J. Fuerstman put his heart and soul into Montage Hotels and filled a niche". 30 June 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Board of Trustees - 2013-2014 Academic Year". Gettysburg College. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 "Montage Hotels & Resorts, a Newly Formed Luxury Hotel Operating Company, Set to Open the Company's Namesake and Flagship". Hotel Online. 13 January 2003. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "Newsmakers - Corporate Meetings & Incentives". Meetings Net. 1 December 1997. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  10. ↑ Tetrault, Sharon (May 2013). "Montage Maestro". Orange Coast Magazine.
  11. ↑ Schelden, Peter (21 August 2013). "Laguna Beach's Montage plans $400M Utah resort". Orange County Register. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Diamond, Barbara (5 July 2002). "New resort owner shares thoughts on Laguna". Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  13. 1 2 Winnerman, Jim (20 April 2014). "Luxury hotelier Montage taps into individual locations". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  14. ↑ Drillinger, Meagan; Tandy, Katie; Fox, Jena Tesse; Eisen, David (22 November 2010). "Leaders in Luxury". Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  15. 1 2 Harris, Bonnie (22 June 2002). "Marriott Sells Stake in Laguna Project". The L.A. Times. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  16. 1 2 Regus, Elaine (Fall 2013). "Luxury Defined". Collins. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "Our Company - Corporate Fact Sheet". Montage Hotels. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  18. ↑ Shimogawa, Duane (31 May 2013). "Montage Hotels & Resorts to take over management of Maui resort units". Pacific Business News (Biz Journals). Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  19. ↑ Gorrell, Mike (8 December 2010). "Montage Deer Valley: Utah's newest elite hotel". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  20. ↑ "Alan J. Fuerstman - 2007 Resort Executive of the Year". Hotel Executive. 28 April 2008. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  21. ↑ "Montage Hotels & Resorts Founder / CEO is Honored As Entrepreneur of the Year 2013". Beverly Hills Times. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  22. ↑ "Alan Fuerstman's Mondavi Award Acceptance Speech". The Collins College of Hospitality Management. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.

Further reading

External links

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