|
Craig Cobler oversees the design and construction of new hotels for Lodging Hospitality Management. In this position he has successfully managed more than $40 million in new construction, including the 100-room Hilton Garden Inn in Chesterfield, Missouri; the 120-room Fountains Four Points Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center in Fairview Heights, Illinois; the 122-room Hilton Garden Inn WingHaven in O'Fallon, Missouri; a 15,000 square foot ballroom addition to the Sheraton Westport Hotel and the 12,000 square foot Westport Conference Center in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition, Cobler supervises the capital improvements of LHM properties, managing over $25 million in renovations. He has also supervised the management of more than 40 hotels including franchises and independent properties. Responsible for the analysis of acquisitions for LHM, he has developed the business theory for the purchase of a myriad of hotels under the banner of Hilton, Sheraton, Best Western and Holiday Inn. In 1997, Cobler initiated a statewide movement in Missouri to form a self-funded worker's compensation trust for hotel proprietors. He directed the activities of the trust for three years, after which the trust was profitably sold to persons in the private sector. Cobler has provided expert testimony in Federal Court for the Resolution Trust Corporation. As the court appointed receiver, he managed hotel assets of the RTC, while preparing properties for sale. For 20 years prior to joining LHM, he managed several hotels, all of which posted impressive increases in occupancy and 50 to 70 percent improvement in operating profits. | 