When John Parker graduated from University of North Carolina, he went to work as a park ranger at Yosemite National Park. But after three months, he realized that his calling wasn’t that isolating job. “I went from the East Coast to the West Coast during the winter—it was very isolated and very cold—not the job for me,” he said.
So naturally he turned to hospitality. “I had a friend working for Stouffer’s Hotels and Resorts and at the time, they had an 18-month management training program,” he continued. “You rotated between the different departments—three months at the front desk, three months in engineering, three months in sales, three months in banquets. I fell in love with it and was hooked for life.”
“Hotels are living, breathing machines, operating 24/7 so every day brings a new challenge and new expectations of challenges. And I really thrive on that.”
After progressions though the hospitality world, Parker joined GF Hotels & Resorts early in his career. He was regional vice president of operations during the financial downturn from 2007 to 2012. “[GF Hotels & Resorts] CEO Ken Kochenour supported me and provided me with the tools and resources to learn so much on the financial and banking side of the business. I was fortunate to learn so much about the economic side of the business and how to stabilize a hotel during that time too,” he reminisced.
In his mid-30s, Parker decided he wanted to broaden his knowledge so he went to work for a start-up to get a different type of experience, operating hotels in major markets like New York City. He joined Real Hospitality Group as a regional director of operations and within six months, he was promoted to chief operating officer. Parker spent the next 12 years growing that company. “When I joined, we had eight hotels and when the company was sold to Stonebridge, we had about 90 hotels. We were the largest operator of hotels in New York City.”
After Real Hospitality was sold to Denver-based Stonebridge Companies/TowerBrook Capital Partners last year, Parker knew again he wanted to stay on the East Coast so reached out to his old boss Kochenour who warmly said, “we’d love to have you join my team again,” Parker recalled.
When Parker left GF Hotels, Kochenour had told him their paths would cross again. “Hence, back to my return to GF Hotels & Resorts was an easy decision. I had always had Kochenour as a sounding board for advice. Even after I left, we kept in contact and discussed business decisions, so I reached out to him. We met, and a light went off in my mind that said I’d prefer to work for an individual instead of a board of directors. When my company sold on a Friday, I started my return at GF Hotels & Resorts the next week.”
While at Real Hospitality Group, Parker oversaw assets worth $2 billion and a total top line of $600 million. He supervised a team of 4,500 associates. Under his leadership, the company grew from a start-up to acquiring more than 100 properties representing significant brands such as Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and IHG.
GF Hotels & Resorts
With more than 160 hospitality assets under management, including hotels, resorts, conference centers and golf courses, historically operating in 46 states, GF Hotels & Resorts specializes in third-party management, loan workout strategies, receiverships, asset management, and advisory services for a variety of individual, private, institutional and financial clients. Many of GF’s core hospitality assets within the portfolio are owned by its principals and provide the strength and balance of ownership and management.
GF Hotels stands out in the industry with a unique approach to hospitality management, Parker said. Unlike many competitors, it is led by a single CEO rather than a board of directors, allowing for agile decision-making and a clear vision. GF Hotels also specializes in receivership and REO (real estate-owned) properties, bringing extensive expertise in turning around distressed assets. “Additionally, as both a hotel owner and a third-party manager, GF Hotels understands the needs of property owners first-hand and offers top-tier resources to deliver industry-leading management solutions,” he continued.
As COO, Parker oversees day-to-day operations and works with the executive team, supporting all the departments in creating strategy and business decisions for the company. “My primary focus daily is making sure we are providing the best service, financial responsibility, and brand reputation for our owners and partners who have relied on GF Hotels & Resorts to run their investments. I was taught early in my career that I should never take for granted that an owner is turning over their keys to an asset that they have invested a lot of money into.
Parker prides himself on the fact that GF Hotels & Resorts can swiftly and effortlessly pivot as the industry changes. “We can make sure we are ahead of the curve, especially with artificial intelligence and other technology comes to the industry,” he continued.
The company has been an early adopter of technology and that is a large focus for the company moving forward this year. “Will need to be able to data analyze and do all of our data all in one place and be able to be able to look at everything strategically. We've put a lot of time and resources into our platforms, on our revenue management, sales and marketing side, especially with other technologies,” Parker said. “As a company, we are engaging a lot of technologies to make our jobs more efficient. And to be able to stay ahead of the curve.”
This article was originally published in the April edition of Hotel Management magazine. Subscribe here.