Daniel Lesser

Daniel H. Lesser, Co-Founder, President, & CEO of LW Hospitality Advisors has more than forty-five 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 is also a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Lodging Analytics Research & Consulting (LARC), focusing on highly correlated predictive analytics for the lodging industry.

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 including: bankruptcy, solvency, valuation analysis, interest rate and plan confirmation feasibility, brand area of protection, condemnation, construction defect and/or delay damages, ground/property rent reset, management dispute, partnership/joint venture conflict, property tax certiorari, and lodging industry standards, and customs and practices to evaluate legal liability.

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, brand/management companies and municipalities, 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, including American University Washington College of Law, Boston University, Columbia University, Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Cornell University, New York University and Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Lesser insights and expertise have been featured across various media platforms, making him a recognized voice in the investment community. He is widely published and quoted in numerous news outlets, financial publications, business, real estate, and hospitality industry periodicals, and has or currently serves as a columnist for HotelNewsNow.com, HotelBusiness.com, GlobeSt.com, and Hotelsmag.com.

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, and the Board of Directors of the New York City Chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society.  He is a former Advisory Board member and member of the Fundraising Subcommittee for the New York University Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management.  Mr. Lesser serves as an advisory board member of Dart Interests.  He served as an advisory board member of Mosaic Real Estate Investors, LLC. Mr. Lesser is a member of The Penn State School of Hospitality Management Industry Advisory Board and served as the school’s Fall 2015 Walter J. Conti Visiting Professor. He is a founding member of the Lodging Industry Investment Council (LIIC), the hotel industry “think tank.”  Mr. Lesser is a member of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Panel of Neutrals. He is an advisory board member of the annual Radical Innovation Award. Mr. Lesser is a former advisory board member of 1st Service Solutions, Inc.  Mr. Lesser served as an Honorary Committee Member of the annual UJA-Federation New York Hotel & Hospitality Division Dinner and was a founding member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Real Estate Division. He has served on the fundraising committee for the Shatterproof Challenge at the 2016 through 2026 Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS). Mr. Lesser serves on the Board of Directors and as a Senior Advisor to the Founder and President of The MirYam Institute, a U.S. based, non-profit NGO with official 501(c)(3) status.

Connect on: LinkedIn