Appointed as President and Managing Director during the resort’s development in 2009, Daniel A. Hostettler has been instrumental in the development, growth and management of the Ocean House and its sister property, the Weekapaug Inn—as well as service delivery within. Hostettler’s responsibilities include overseeing day-to-day operations as well as the long-term strategic vision for the properties.
A hospitality executive with 20 years of award-winning luxury hotel and restaurant industry experience, Hostettler’s distinguished career includes the development and management of hotels, restaurants, residential components and private clubs, overseeing leading landmark hotel and resort properties across the United States and Europe.
Career Highlights
- President and Managing Director of Lajitas: The Ultimate Hideout, an independently owned, Mobil Four Star, AAA Four Diamond, Leading Hotel of the World and Preferred Hotel of the World property in Texas. At Lajitas, he oversaw development and implementation of architecture, interior design, construction and branding of the property, including its championship golf course and country club, world-class spa, and residential community, as well as its equestrian, shooting and hunting facilities. During Hostettler's tenure, Lajitas' annual revenues and occupancy grew by more than 20% annually.
- Managing Director at La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Summer Lodge Hotel and Spa in Dorset, England, luxury resorts and members of Preferred Hotels and Resorts and Relais et Chateaux.
- Previously, held a variety of positions with Meadowood in Napa Valley and was part of the opening team of The Peninsula in Beverly Hills, a Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond property.
- Education: dual bachelor's degrees in Business Administration—Hotel & Restaurant Management and in Finance from University of Denver, 1990; post-graduate education in professional development from Cornell University, 2011; Certified Hotel Administrator from the American Hotel/Motel Association.
Community Involvement/Associations
- Member, Cornell Hotel Society
- Board Member, Rhode Island Hospitality Association
- Fellow, Gerson Lehrman Group - Leisure & Lodging Council
- Member, Urban Land Institute
- Member, Resort Managers of America
- Member, American Hotel and Lodging Association
Publications/Teaching & Lecturing
- "Strategic Positioning of a Luxury Hotel Product," chapter in textbook Hotel Investments: Issues and Perspectives, 5th Edition.
- Chapter and case study in Managing Guest Services in Hospitality, 1st Edition.
- Visiting Professor, Johnson & Wales University.
- Visiting Lecturer, Boston University, School of Hotel & Restaurant Administration.
Personal Insights
- Grew up and was educated in Europe and is fluent in Swiss German and conversational in French and Spanish, in addition to English.
- Resides in Westerly, RI, with his wife and two young children.