Robert A Rauch, CHA
President, R.A. Rauch & Associates, Inc.
11025 Vista Sorrento Parkway, San Diego, CA 92130

Phone: (858) 523-0500
Email: rauch@hotelguru.com

Mr. Rauch serves as President of R. A. Rauch & Associates, Inc. He is a nationally recognized, hotelier serving clients in all facets of the industry. Rauch has over 35 years of hospitality-related management experience.

Mr. Rauch also served as General Manager of full-service four Diamond hotels for Hilton and Embassy Suites. His education qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in Hotel Administration from Western International University and a master’s degree in Tourism Administration from Arizona State University. He is a Certified Hotel Administrator and has served as chairman of numerous tourism organizations nationally and in the western U.S.

Mr. Rauch currently serves on numerous Boards of Directors. He has been directly involved in developing several hotels including the Del Mar Marriott, Hilton Hotel Gaslamp Plaza, Hilton Garden Inn Carlsbad, Hilton Hotel Santa Clara and several Marriott resort hotels.

R. A. Rauch & Associates, Inc. is currently operating the Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn San Diego/Del Mar as well as the Quality Inn & Suites Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. Rauch is also assisting with the development, marketing and management of numerous hotels in the United States at the present time. His firm developed the web site www.hotelguru.com and publishes Hospitality Innsights, an electronic newsletter.

Jerry W. Brooks
Currently Mr. Brooks is serving as an operations executive for all R. A. Rauch & Associates, Inc. managed properties. He was instrumental in the development and construction phases for the Homewood Suites and Hilton Garden Inn San Diego/ Del Mar camus. Having moved to San Diego in 1998 for involvement with ownership changes at the Grande Colonial in La Jolla, he has continued to take on projects that require mature, conscientious management skills. He has the experience to lead, having served in executive positions in the tourism industry for over twenty-five years. These positions include General Manager with Hilton Inns, Inc. and Food and Beverage management and director positions with Hyatt, Radisson and Hilton. Mr. Brooks has owned his own restaurant and bar and has served as Director and active member of numerous industry associates. His recent San Diego clients have included the Hotel Parisi, La Jolla and the Lake San Marcos Resort as well as numerous mid-market hotels.

Linda Rauch
Linda Rauch has been developing the new real estate division of R. A. Rauch & Associates, Inc. and is a licensed agent in the State of California. Her most recent experience was Director of Reservations and Revenue Manager at the award-winning Ocean Inn Encinitas. She is Director of Marketing of the Homewood Suites by Hilton Del Mar.

With a Bachelor’s Degree in education and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Connecticut, Mrs. Rauch serves a dual role with R. A. Rauch & Associates, Inc. She has extensive experience with financial planning, marketing and sales.

In addition to this experience, she brings a wealth of training and development knowledge to the company and has specific expertise in the area of employee benefits and finance.

Martin Malk, Outsource Financial Manager
Martin Malk has 32 years of financial management experience in the lodging industry, working in market segments from luxury resorts to limited service properties. He has been a member of the finance committee of the American Hotel and Lodging Association and was part of the task force to publish the 9^th edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for Hotels and Motels. He has been a speaker on financial management at various hotel conventions, published articles in hotel publications, and has conducted seminars for various hotel companies. He has also been a guest speaker at Cornell, Michigan State University, and San Diego State University hotel schools.

He worked for Stanford Hotel Corp. for five years as Corporate Controller, having responsibility for thirteen branded hotels including Hilton, Starwood and Marriott brands. Prior to joining Stanford he worked on his own as an outsource financial manager. He did work for a major hotel chain and small and medium size hotel companies. He has worked and consulted in over thirty hotels throughout the United Sates and Caribbean.

He also worked for eighteen years at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. He served as the Controller for ten years and Chief Financial Officer for eight years.

While at Stanford Hotels, in preparation for the economic downturn, he played a major role in implementing cost reductions in payroll and other expenses through implementation of contingency plans, staffing guides, centralizing and combining certain job functions.

When he worked on his own he was able to quickly ramp up the financial management of a property in a disintegrating situation and return the property to profitability.

As an internal auditor he was successful in turning an adversarial role into a collaborative effort with the management team. His audit recommendations have been well received resulting in the implementation of stronger internal controls at a property. He has performed internal audits in over twenty hotels ranging from 300 to 1,800 room hotels in major cities such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

His ten years of experience in public accounting gave him the background from a wide variety of industries to assess what type of accounting systems and controls would be the most practical and effective for a property.

He was a business owner for twenty years which gave him the insight into the multiple challenges faced by hotel owners.

He has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He is both a Chartered Accountant and Certified Public Accountant. He is a Certified Hotel Administrator.

Richard A. Rauch, Ph.D.
Dr. Rauch, who heads up the New York office of R. A. Rauch & Associates, received his doctorate from New York University and is an experienced consultant with an extensive track record in strategic planning of communications and marketing channels. Dr. Rauch served as dean of a growth-oriented school of business and president of a highly profitable manufacturing organization.

Currently a Professor Emeritus of Marketing at Long Island University, his research has been published in journals, newspapers and magazines ranging from the New York Times and U.S.A. Today to Advertising Age and Newsday. Dr. Rauch adds considerable strategic consulting expertise for the firm.

Steven P. Rauch, Principal, Mountain Region
Mr. Steve Rauch’s educational qualifications include a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Indiana University. He has twenty years of management experience developing businesses and running the daily operations for them. He is an experienced asset manager and hotel owner who has been involved in successful hotel projects for many years. He has a wealth of knowledge in developing and marketing contract business. Mr. Rauch currently lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Tom Bell, CHA
Tom Bell is a seasoned management executive specializing in the administration of Planning, Development, Construction Management, Facility Engineering, and Project Management for the Hotel & Resort Industry. He has over 40 years of experience in all areas of facility development, construction, purchasing, renovation, and maintenance of 3-Star to 5-Star Hotels & Resorts, Restaurants, Department Stores, Supermarkets, and Mixed-Use projects.  Tom has hands-on industry experience and knowledge with exceptional interpersonal planning, organizational, and communication skills.  He is a creative researcher and versatile problem solver with an outstanding reputation and record of accomplishments in several industries.

Tom has provided Construction Management for such notable hotels as the 218 room Le Meridien Cancun Resort and Spa, 287 room Del Mar Marriott Hotel, 531 room/31 story San Diego Omni Ballpark Hotel and many more.

For the past 13 years Tom has successfully operated his own Hotel/Resort engineering consulting company, Facility Consultants Plus, started in 1996 when Forte Hotels London suffered a hostile take-over, causing the disposal of the North American operation and properties. Tom has a degree in Electronic Engineering and was a former chairman of the AH&LA Executive Engineers Committee.

Vikram Sood
Vikram Sood, whose career has taken him to some of the most renowned hotel properties in North America and Hawaii, brings 20 years of management success in luxury hospitality to the team. In addition to his experience with all facets of Hotel and Resort Operations, he has an extensive background in opening properties and developing luxury brands. He has been an integral part of the pre-opening management teams for some of the pre-eminent luxury hotels and resorts in the United States including The Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Four Seasons Resort Aviara, The Ritz-Carlton Central Park South, The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island, and most recently as the opening General Manager of San Diego’s first luxury destination; The Grand Del Mar.

With an impressive track record of success in both the management and development of properties and a passion for impeccable service, Sood is well suited to oversee any hospitality activities. Sood has spent the last five years in a General Manager role opening two independent luxury resorts which have garnered great accolades: The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island and The Grand Del Mar in San Diego. Under Sood’s leadership, The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island was awarded the AAA Five Diamond Award. The Grand Del Mar was voted to Conde Nast Travelers’ Hot List in 2007 and was ranked by the readers of Conde Nast as the #5 U.S. resort in the 2008. The resort was awarded the AAA Five Diamond award in November 2009. In addition, its signature restaurant, Addison, was awarded the AAA Five Diamond Award and the Mobil Five Star Award for 2009, a first for San Diego County.

Richard A Zurburg, CHA, CHRE
Rick Zurburg’s experience, knowledge and skills in the field of hospitality management, training and management development reflect his work in 18 countries and his relationship with many of the top hotel brands.  Opening over 30 hotels, he has served as a regional director of operations for 38 hotels, Director of Worldwide Training and Development for Holiday Inns, Vice President of Training Systems for the Educational Institute of AH&LA and the Interim Director, Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality at the University of Memphis.

Zurburg has worked on large projects including consulting on customized training for a 300-room Condo-Hotel complex with 7 restaurants and 35 retail outlets, to smaller projects including the Global Finance Conference for InterContinental Hotels Corporation.  His clients have included FedEx Corporation, Vantage Corporation, Hilton Hotels Corporation, U S Air Force, U S Navy, Choice Hotels, Best Western, University of Memphis, St. Leo University, and multiple hotel management companies.

Rick is a Certified Hotel Administrator and Certified Human Resource Executive with two degrees in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Paul Smiths College.

Lindsey Smith, Public Relations Director
Lindsey Smith has a strong and diverse background in communications, politics, and education. Mrs. Smith manages the public relations and social media marketing efforts for the Hilton Campus San Diego. Additionally, she works as an English and technology teacher at the Evans School in La Jolla, CA.

Previously, she worked as a TV news reporter for the ABC affiliate in Rochester, MN. In Minnesota, she covered the 2004 presidential election, as well as medical and technology advances at the Mayo Clinic and IBM. Mrs. Smith also worked as the Deputy Press Secretary and Legislative Correspondent to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in Washington, DC. As a member of Sen. Hatch’s staff, she handled Military, Foreign Affairs, Veteran and Economic policy. She also maintained and updated Sen. Hatch’s interactive website.

Mrs. Smith has a BA from Yale University in Political Science. She served a humanitarian service mission in Guatemala for 18 months, and is fluent in Spanish.

Matt Seamons, General Manager, Hilton Garden Inn, San Diego/ Del Mar
Matt Seamons is the newest member of the R. A. Rauch and Associates team, currently serving as the General Manager for the Hilton Garden Inn San Diego Del Mar Property. Mr. Seamons brings a wide array of skills and experience to the team.

After receiving his BA from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in 2003, Matt was recruited to San Diego to begin his hospitality career with Marriott. He started as the Restaurant Manager of the main restaurant at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina downtown. After two years of late nights and long weekends, he decided to shift gears and learn the finance side of the industry, becoming the Senior Assistant Controller for the property. He continued in this capacity for three years learning the intricacies of hotel finance and controls.

This combination of food and beverage, operations, and finance experience led Bob Rauch to recruit and hire Mr. Seamons as the Assistant General Manager for Hilton Garden Inn, San Diego/ Del Mar. Currently, Mr. Seamons oversees all day-to-day operations of the hotel, focusing primarily on finance, Food and Beverage, and overall productivity and profitability of the hotel.

Amy Buitenhek, Assistant General Manager and Human Resources Manager, Hilton Garden Inn, San Diego/ Del Mar
Amy Buitenhek brings impressive expertise and energy to the Hotels managed by R. A. Rauch and Associates. Buitenhek’s meteoric rise within the Hilton brand, proves she is a “go-to” person who “gets things done.”

Ms. Buitenhek has spent her entire career with Hilton Hotels. She started at the Homewood Suites by Hilton, San Diego/Del Mar as an intern, and was quickly promoted to Front Desk Agent. Soon thereafter, she was named Human Resources Coordinator. When the Hilton Garden Inn San Diego/Del Mar opened in April 2008, she was promoted to Human Resources Manager for both properties as well as the Operations Manager for the Hilton Garden Inn, San Diego/ Del Mar. Recently, Ms. Buitenhek was promoted to the position of Assistant General Manager of the Hilton Garden Inn, San Diego/Del Mar.

Ms. Buitenhek has a Bachelor of Sciences Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management with an emphasis in Hotel Operations and Management from San Diego State University. She serves on the board of directors for the Torrey Hills Community Planning Committee.