DEVELOPMENT
PETRUS TAPPED TO GROW
LOTTE IN AMERICAS
by JEFF WEINSTEIN , EDITOR IN CHIEF
Lotte Hotels Corp . has hired industry veteran Jim Petrus as CEO of the Americas with a brief to put the South Korea-based owner-operator on the map in the Americas and a goal to reach about 25 hotels in the region within five years . Lotte currently has three hotels in the region – the iconic Lotte New York Palace , a new Lotte in Seattle and another hotel in Guam .
Petrus left Maui and an asset manager ’ s role with four Blackstone hotels in Hawaii to move back to New York , where he toiled for more than two decades with the likes of Starwood , Trump and Hyatt . Perhaps his biggest role was serving as global brand leader and senior vice president of operations for the St . Regis brand .
In an exclusive interview with HOTELS , Petrus said , “ The people at Lotte ( pronounced lo-tay ) are really focused on excellence . They run wonderful hotels . From the chairman on down , they are committed to a thread of excellence , balancing the need to support both people and profits . It ’ s a great opportunity for me to take a blank sheet of paper , do something creative and tap into all my skills … They have global aspirations and realize they must first have more of a presence in Americas .”
SOMETHING TO PROVE Lotte , Korea ’ s fifth biggest company with diverse holdings creating some US $ 110 billion in assets and employing 60,000 people around the world , currently has 34 properties totaling 11,200 rooms with an additional three properties in the pipeline . Its brands include ultra-luxury Signiel ; L7 , their lifestyle brand ; and Lotte Hotels , their signature brand . It has properties in Korea , Vietnam , Japan , Russia , Myanmar , Uzbekistan and the United States .
Growth in North America won ’ t come so much through individual acquisitions as it will by management contracts with perhaps small equity participation , franchises and maybe a joint venture deal , according to Petrus , who added that the L7 brand could be the
IT ’ S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO TAKE A BLANK SHEET OF PAPER , DO SOMETHING CREATIVE AND TAP INTO ALL MY SKILLS … THEY HAVE GLOBAL ASPIRATIONS AND REALIZE THEY MUST FIRST HAVE MORE OF A PRESENCE IN AMERICAS .
– JIM PETRUS
42 hotelsmag . com September / October 2021