Hospitality Expert Witness

Keywords

Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hotel, Restaurant, Hotel Restaurant, Premises Security, Premises Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Safety, Fire Safety, Fire Prevention, Hotel Operations, Hotel Front Desk Management, Human Resources, Liquor Liability, Food Merchantability, Franchise Agrreement, Bed Bug, Cimicidae, Hotel Swimming Pool, Swimming Pool Safety, Hospitality Hotel Restaurant Standards of Care, Hospitality Law, Beverage Bar Operations, Restaurant Liquor Liability, Hotel Liquor Liability, Dram Shop, Hotel Management Contracts, Restaurant Management Contracts, Hotel Food Service, Restaurant Service, Food Service Sanitation, Hospitality Industry Income Statement Analysis, Hospitality Accounting Methodology, Hospitality Marketing, Hotel Management Firm Selection, Restaurant Management Firm Selection, Franchise License Agreements, Franchise Management Agreements Hospitality Employment Issues, Hospitality Labor Issues,

Expert Witness No.3169

Illinois

Education

MBA, Illinois State University: 1994

B. A. in Economics, University of Illinois: 1957

Educational Institute, American Hotel & Lodging Association: Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA): 1981
Educational Foundation, National Restaurant Association: Food Management Professional (FMP): 1994
(above two certifications are currently valid)
National Restaurant Association: Applied Foodservice Sanitation Certificate: 1976 – 2000
Illinois Restaurant Association: Training for Intervention Procedures by Servers of Alcohol (TIPS): 1985

Experience

Private Hotel Consultant Company [Sole Proprietor]: 2001 – Present
Consultant to attorneys on variety of hospitality issues, from personal assault to “assault” by bedbugs. Worked successfully with defense in hotel bedbug case, with defense of restaurant in slip and fall case; also helped reach successful settlement on behalf of plaintiff in legitimate slip and fall cases, as well as in hotel assault cases, both in-room and function-related. Consultant to hotel and restaurant developers, operators, creditors. Clients include private developers, as well as University for hotel facility.

Parkland Community College, Champaign, IL [10,000+students]: 1993-2000
Program Director, Associate Professor of Hospitality Management.
Oversaw existing restaurant curriculum and created hotel curriculum.
Taught 15-18 hours per semester, including Hospitality Law and Foodservice Sanitation. Conducted management seminars for the Champaign-Urbana Hotel & Motel Association in human resources, front desk, and security management. Also taught business marketing. During tenure as Program Director, achieved program accreditation from Commission on Accreditation of Hospitality Management Programs (CAHM), an independent arm of the Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education. Parkland’s program remains one of only ten two‑year programs to hold this accreditation.

Parkland Community College: 1982-1993
Taught part-time at Parkland continuously from 1982 to 1993.

AmeriSuites Hotel, Champaign: 1990-1991
General Manager. Chosen to manage Champaign’s first all-suites hotel.

State Street Associates (hotel developers): 1987-1989
Executive Vice President, State Street Management. Oversaw operations of two hotels, consulted on development of a new all‑suites hotel.

Writer, Researcher: 1981-1987
Stepped away from business management to research the hotel industry and write a novel set in international hotel management. Through the personal intercession of the president of Hilton Hotels, spent days behind the scenes of Hilton and Hilton International hotels in Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York, Paris, Barcelona, Athens, and Cyprus.

Restaurant Concepts, Inc.: 1970-1981
President. Firm involved in development, operation, and licensing of college-oriented clubs and restaurants in four Illinois cities.

Best Western Paradise Inn Motel & Restaurant: 1956-1981
Involved in the design, construction, and subsequent operation of this family-owned business. General manager from 1964, with hands-on management of restaurant and motel.

Awards/ Achievements

Available Upon Request

Publications