Case Studies Hospitality

After more than 25 years managing the finances for the Hualapai (hoo·aa·luh·pai) Tribe of northwestern Arizona, Wanda Easter was looking for a challenge. She wanted to take on new tasks, maybe even see some new places. But Rhode Island in January? That’s no knock on the Ocean State, but it is a world away from […]

Whether it’s the friendly folks behind Limani Hospitality Group who’ve welcomed him as one of their own, or his four kids, including one who followed in his footsteps, Russ Delisi is all about family. In fact, while his skills have grown considerably over his three-plus decades in the architecture world, that doesn’t mean his 30-year-old […]

Over the past 27 years, Edgar Choi has helped guide construction of some of the most ambitious projects in the industry, including the $2 billion Palazzo at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas that was completed in 2008. But after living in Las Vegas for 15 years, Choi returned to the East Coast in 2015 […]

Some people climb the ladder in their industry not by taking others down, but by becoming indispensable to everyone around them. Such was the case with Roger Beck, the global facility and real estate manager at IHG Hotels & Resorts, whose brands include InterContinental Hotels, Regent, Holiday Inn and Crown Plaza. As an example of […]

The Las Vegas Strip has more than two dozen multi-billion-dollar properties on a four-mile stretch. These behemoths, which have thousands of rooms, are huge compared to smaller casinos on tribal lands or in rural places. They also have over-the-top amenities that are hard to match. But, according to David Johns, it’s not impossible. “We’re trying […]

As he completes a second decade with the Hyatt Hotels Corp., it’s safe to say Miso Ivanisevic has found a place to stay. The director of engineer and facilities for the Hyatt Regency and the Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk in San Antonio, Texas, has risen through the company ranks for 18 years. He started […]

Jim Slagle has made a career out of helping to sustain quite the legacy. As vice president of facility asset management at Disneyland Resort, he feels like he is on hallowed ground. “Walt Disney’s legacy is visible throughout Disneyland park,” Slagle tells Blueprint in September 2021 from Anaheim, California, where he’s spent the second half […]

When the Las Vegas Strip reopened in June 2020 after a COVID-19 pause, celebrations were muted—at least for the first few weeks. Then, on a not-so-quite boulevard, Resorts World Las Vegas opened with a shower of fireworks and a traditional lion dance for luck and prosperity. According to Paul Gunderson, the resort’s vice president of […]

Located in Mahnomen County, White Earth Reservation is a rare and beautiful place. One of the biggest cattle-raising areas in northwestern Minnesota, it’s also famous for its annual harvest of wild rice, and it’s the only county in the state that’s entirely within tribal lands. There are few economic hubs in the region, though, save […]

Swing the doors open at Live! Casino and Hotel, and get ready for some serious sensory overload: multicolored lights flashing, music pumping from every direction, the animated whoops of casino-goers—all bathed in the glow of a 100-foot media wall live-streaming televised sporting events. The 200,000-square-foot casino space practically screams excitement—and that’s exactly the way that […]