About me
Daniel H. Lesser, Co-Founder, President, & CEO of LW Hospitality Advisors has more than forty years of specialized experience worldwide in hospitality related: real estate appraisals, economic feasibility evaluations, investment counseling, asset management, receivership, and transactional services of hotels, resorts, conference centers, casinos, mixed use facilities, spa & wellness properties, and timeshare/fractional ownership properties.
Mr. Lesser offers a 360-degree, cross-functional and multi-disciplinary lodging industry perspective. Proffering innovation and strategy, Mr. Lesser serves as a third-party advisor and independent expert witness, neutral arbitrator, asset manager, property/business receiver, and as a principal investor, borrower, guarantor, and franchisee. Mr. Lesser provides services to corporate, institutional, municipalities, and individual clients on all facets of hospitality real estate including site evaluation, highest and best use analysis, appraisals for mortgage, acquisition, and portfolio management, workout strategies, operational analysis, property tax assessment appeal evaluations, economic impact studies, market and feasibility analysis, strategic planning, management and/or franchise company selection and contract negotiation, deal structuring, and fairness opinions. Mr. Lesser has served as a Court Appointed Receiver in connection with dozens of hotels throughout the U.S.
An international authority and thought leader with iron clad credibility on the topic of hotel feasibility and property valuation, Mr. Lesser has served as an expert witness under oath through depositions and testimony in court and arbitration hearings in U.S. federal and state courts, and domestic and international arbitrations in connection with a wide variety of matters.
Mr. Lesser always bases his opinion(s) and/or conclusion(s) on thorough research conducted with an objective perspective. Furthermore, rather than limiting his litigation related engagements to one type of stakeholder, he has been retained by counsel to hotel owners, lenders, investors, and brand/management companies, thus enhancing his credibility with finders of fact. Mr. Lesser has balanced his practice with service as a neutral panelist in commercial arbitration disputes.
Prior to his hospitality advisory experience, Mr. Lesser held operational and administrative positions with Hilton Hotels Corporation and Eurotels-Switzerland. He is highly sought after to speak at lodging and real estate events, as well as lectures at prestigious institutions of higher education. Mr. Lesser is widely published and quoted in major newspapers, internet, business, real estate, and hospitality industry periodicals.
Mr. Lesser earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University, and attended the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne Switzerland, and Baruch College - City University of New York. Mr. Lesser holds the following professional designations: MAI (Member of the Appraisal Institute), FRICS (Fellow of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), CRE (Counselor of Real Estate), and CHA (Certified Hotel Administrator). Mr. Lesser is a Certified Part 36 Judiciary Receiver in the State of New York.
Mr. Lesser is a member of and/or has served on numerous committees for the Counselors of Real Estate, the Appraisal Institute, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Cornell Hotel Society NYC Chapter, the NYU Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management Fundraising Subcommittee, the Lodging Industry Investment Council (LIIC), the Radical Innovation Award, the UJA-Federation NYC Hospitality Division Dinner, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Real Estate Division, the Shatterproof ‘Hospitality Heroes’ Reception, and the MirYam Institute. Mr. Lesser served as an advisory board member of Dart Interests, Mosaic Real Estate Investors, LLC and 1st Service Solutions, Inc., and PSU Hospitality Management.