Industry
Joseph E. Lavin
President
Harborstone Hospitality
Joseph Lavin recently established HarborStone Hospitality, an entrepreneurial venture to develop and own hotels and provide general consulting in the hospitality industry.
From 2002 through 2004, Lavin was Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Marriott International's Marriott ExecuStay, the company's corporate housing division. ExecuStay provides temporary apartment lodging throughout the United States with convenient service in some 45 major markets. During his tenure at ExecuStay, Lavin and his team successfully introduced the corporate housing industry's first franchise program. The program quickly evolved as ExecuStay's primary operating model and led to dramatic improvement in growth, customer satisfaction and financial performance. As a board member of the Corporate Housing Providers' Association (CHPA), Lavin was the primary catalyst in engaging Smith Travel Research (STR) to provide monthly performance tracking for this industry segment.
From 1997 through 2001, Lavin served as Senior Vice President, Franchising, for Marriott's five limited-service brands. Under his leadership, Marriott's franchising business achieved substantial growth and currently comprises 70 percent of Marriott's limited-service portfolio. In addition, Lavin spearheaded the creation of the company's newest lodging brand, SpringHill Suites, which has grown to nearly 200 hotels in only six years. He was instrumental in the development and roll-out of the Fairfield Inn "New Blue" revitalization strategy, including introduction of the Fairfield Inn & Suites prototype, which today comprises virtually all of the brand's development pipeline.
Lavin formerly served at Choice Hotels International in a number of roles from 1984 to 1997. Most recently, he established the Partner Services Group; consolidating Choice's centralized franchisee services and leading strategic partnership development. As Senior Vice President of New Products, he oversaw the creation and direction of Choice's new and emerging brands. Lavin also served as Senior Vice President of Development, where managing a franchise sales force of 40 people, he helped build Choice into one of the world's largest and fastest growing hotel systems.
Before joining Choice in 1984, Lavin was Director of Hotel Development Planning for Marriott Corporation. As part of his 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Lavin also served as an associate with Laventhol and Horwath Hospitality Consulting, and has held sales and operations positions with Westin Hotels in New York and San Francisco.
He holds a bachelor's degree in hotel administration from Cornell University. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Marriott Hospitality High School, is First Vice President of the Board of Trustees of the Cornell Hotel Society Foundation and is a past President of the Cornell Hotel Society.
Lavin lives with his wife, Jill, and their two children in Potomac, Maryland.
Contact Information:
The Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship
pihe@cornell.edu
Phone: 607-255-0179