Neel Shah
President
Neel S. Shah comes from a legacy of Hotel Owner/Operators and has worked in hospitality operations and development for almost 30 years. He is an approved developer for Hilton, Marriott, Starwood and InterContinental Hotel franchises.
Founded by Mr. Shah in 2006, Hotel Evolution LLC is consistently an award-winning 3rd-party management company for those major franchises, among others. He also serves as a 3rd-party developer for real estate development organizations needing hotel operations, construction management and contracting expertise.
Neel Shah has been awarded the “Developer of the Year” Award by Hilton Hotels Worldwide for the quality of his multiple hotel developments. Having served on advisory panels for various industries and companies, Mr. Shah was also just recently elected as a Board Member of Atlanta’s Airport West Community Improvement District, where he is constructing his newest Home2 Suites by Hilton.
Anil Patel
Director of Finance & Asset Management
Anil Patel has worked in the hospitality industry since 1991 with various known hospitality and diverse asset holding companies in Atlanta, Georgia. Over the years, Mr. Patel has worked in different roles, including General Manager, Regional Director of Operations, Financial Analyst, and Asset Manager. He has provided exceptional results in driving top-line revenues and maximizing flow-through, procured financing, re-financing and asset evaluation. In addition, Patel created investment financial models and forecasts, identified opportunities for improved performance, evaluated risk and rewards for several projects.
In Mr. Patel’s current role, he is responsible for each investment asset evaluation, which includes financial performance of assets, preparing operational budgets, financial statement analysis and disposition of assets. In addition, he is in charge of identifying promising new sites for hotel development, acquisition opportunities, site acquisition, franchise application and financing.
Anil Patel graduated from Long Island University, New York, with MBA in Finance and MS in Taxation, both with distinction.
Bharat (“Brad”) Desai
Director of Accounting
With 30 years of experience in hotel operations finance and accounting, Brad Desai has served as the Director of Accounting for Hotel Evolution, LLC since its beginnings.
Brad graduated from H.A. Commerce College in Ahmedabad, India. He moved to North Charleston, South Carolina in 1984 as the Operating Director of Host of America Motels. In 1986, Red Carpet Inns asked him to look after franchises in Columbia, SC. In 1988, an opportunity presented itself for Brad to join a Imperial Investments Group as an Operating Partner for the Days Inn in Monroe, NC; which he converted to the company’s first Holiday Inn Express product with the Holiday Inn Worldwide franchise (now InterContinental Hotels Group).
Brad moved to Atlanta as Controller of Imperial Investments in 1999. Combining his experience in finance and accounting, he assisted in forming Hotel Evolution, LLC in 2006 and has applied his expertise to successfully ensure the portfolios’ product quality and financial performance.
Kunal Patel
Director of Information Technology
Kunal Patel serves as the Director of Information Technology for Hotel Evolution and Imperial Investments Group. He has been working professionally in the Hospitality industry and the Computers and telecommunications industry for over fifteen years. During this time, he has worked with several different brands and products ranging from independent hotels to international franchises, including Wyndham, Hilton, IHG, Choice and Starwood.
During his career, Mr. Patel has held many positions including Front Desk agent, Night Auditor and Supervisor in the hotel space and Customer Resolutions Specialist for AirTran Airways and FedEx. Throughout his career though, his interest was always more focused on Information Technology and joining Imperial Investments Group and Hotel Evolution allowed him to pursue both customer service and IT.
He brings his depth of experience, technical skills and management capabilities to his current position where he supports the administration and management operations as well as both companies and their missions.
Diana Cole
Executive Administrative Assistant
Diana comes from an electric range of positions ranging from human resources, personal assistant, marketing, website management, social media management, and sales over two decades. Diana is an important part of the Hotel Evolution Management Team. She provides direct assistance and administrative support to executive and the senior management team, such as project management, coordination, and conference planning. Prior to her hire at Hotel Evolution, Diana served as a website, content, and community coordinator at a local newspaper.
Diana holds a bachelor’s degree in Family Resources with a concentration in Child Care and Child Development from West Virginia University. Diana and her husband are raising three teenagers along with their four rescued cats.