Senior Management Profiles

Tony Patel

Founder

For more than 40 years, Tony Patel has been an innovator in the hospitality industry. He is recognized for his astute market analysis and his fast pace development of hotels. Born in Panama City, Panama he earned his degree from Columbus University began his professional career as a civil engineer.

In 1974, he migrated to Calhoun Ga. and purchased his first hotel the Ramada Inn.

In 2002, with the assistance of Nim and Al Patel opened Horizon Hospitality Mgt. Inc . The company owns and/or operates properties under the flagships of Hilton, Marriott, Choice, IHG and Laquinta Hotels

Nim Patel

Chief Executive Officer

Nim developed the business plan that helped fuel HHMI’s growth from managing a single hotel brand to managing a diverse portfolio of hotel brands.

Nim’s background has served him well in his leadership role. He earned his undergraduate degree from Mercer University. After undergraduate school in 1997, Nim moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and joined Tricon as a District Manager operating 8 restaurants. In 2000, he joined Wendy’s International into a fast track program to a DAO position operating 90 restaurants. In 2000, he enrolled in the School of Business Administration at Ohio State University and obtained a Masters Degree. Upon graduation in 2002, he joined his family in Atlanta and became Chairman and CEO of Horizon Hospitality Mgt. Inc.

Xama Bhatt

Chief Financial Officer

Xama Bhatt is responsible for a full range of financial services at HHMI headquarters and managed properties. These services include centralized cash management, payroll, accounts payable, real estate and sales tax, financial reporting, construction accounting and management information systems. Xama and her staff lead efforts to be financially successful — both for HHMI and the company’s financial partners. To improve profitability, her and her team conduct periodic reviews and evaluations of operating and reporting systems. Her leadership has resulted in superior financial gains. In her role of Human Resources, Xama Bhatt is responsible for overall hotel operations and building and retaining a strong management team.

A native of India, Xama received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Ohio State University in 2001 and earned a master’s degree in business administration from Ohio State Unversity in 2003. She held positions in private business and public accounting with Lucas Sumitomo and SEI.

Al Patel

Chief Development Officer

Al Patel has more than 10 years of hotel development experience, he brings his expertise in strategic growth, new construction, and rapid development to Horizon Hospitality Mgt. Inc.

As one of the founders of Horizon Hospitality Mgt. Inc, Al helped develop Hilton, Marriott, and IHG brand hotels. He ensures the high quality development of HHMI hotels in the southeast.

Al is an Atlanta native who worked in various hotel positions as he was growing up. He started investing in hotels at a young age with the support of his family. Early in his career he was both an Assistant General Manager and General Manager. He helped develop and maintained the systems that allow HHMI to be successful.

Charis Bertrand

Senior VP of Sales and Marketing

Charis has served 18 years in the Hospitality Industry with full-service and limited service hotels. Her experience, ability and proven success has shown in all aspects of Sales & Marketing management, team leadership and maximizing profits with driving revenue YOY. Her extensive knowledge and experience brought her to Horizon Hospitality in 2019 as Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Within her role as Vice President of Sales & Marketing she focuses on the team synergy and discipline collaboration that is critical to the success of our revenue producing departments with oversight of leadership of the entire sales organization for our portfolio of Hotels.

Prior to joining Horizon, her previous experience and leadership positions held in sequence includes Human Resource Assistant Manager, General Manager for full-service Hilton, and Vice President of Sales and Marketing. With her well diverse portfolio of hotel brands including Hilton, Marriott and IHG, Charis has earned several awards for her accomplishments for over the years. She is very committed to expanding and developing her team’s knowledge through use of practical applications, creative competencies and education in revenue generating industry tools that focus on strategy, business development and total profitability. Her objective is to surpass sales and profitability expectations through her strong leadership and the development and implementation of winning strategies.

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ansumana Spataro

VP of Maintenance and Engineering

Ansu joined Horizon Hospitality Management Inc. Engineering department coming from working for over 15 years in full-size high-class properties. He oversees the company Engineering and maintenance department as well as assisting in hotel renovations and new construction to ensure seamless implementation of company standards and values for each property. While maintaining the high standards of HHMI and cost-conscious efforts, he is responsible for training, purchasing, vendor procurement and staffing. He is responsible for the company implementation of guest and personnel safety practices set by local and national standards. Ansumana comes to HHMI from many years of overseas experience, acquiring a degree in hospitality.

Monika Patel

Regional Operations Manager

Monika started with HHMI in 2019 as a general manager and then moved forward as a regional Operations Manager. Earlier in her career, she held hotel management roles at Marriott, IHG, Wyndham, and choice hotel properties in the USA. She has over 9 years of hotel experience. She had her property in the top 5 when she was a General Manager at Springhill suites Ringgold. She is a very goal-oriented person. Her skills and growth are awe-inspiring.

Sabrina Claiborne

Regional Sales Manager

Sabrina Claiborne possesses an extensive hospitality background of 22 years working with full and select service hotels such as: Doubletree by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton, LaQuinta Inn & Suites and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson. She began her career as a Front Office Associate, quickly advancing to Guest Services Manager, Assistant Manager, General Manager and Director of Sales. With her background in both Operations and Sales, she has succeeded in increasing top and bottom-line revenues through creative and effective sales and operations efforts.

Sabrina has held the “Train the Trainer” Certification for the Doubletree by Hilton Brand, recognized as “Spirit of Hampton” Award Winner and received “Best Guest Services Manager” Award.

As Regional Sales Manager for Horizon Hospitality Management, Sabrina oversees part of the North Atlanta Suburb Region hotels in Marietta and Acworth, GA, to include Hilton, Marriott and IHG mid-scale brand hotels. Utilizing her current skills and knowledge, she assists in the revenue growth and client retention of the portfolio by leveraging unique selling propositions via brand knowledge, revenue management analyses, and other unique marketing efforts.

Gustavo Gonzalez

Regional Maintenance Engineer

Gustavo has over 30 years of maintenance experience. He specializes in HVAC, Pools and Refrigeration. Gustavo has been with the company for a short time but enjoys working with all of his properties. Gustavo looks forward to seeing Horizon grow and being a part of the team.

Darla Langston

Regional Operations Manager

Darla has over 30 years of experience in the industry and has been with Horizon for seven years. Recently, Darla transitioned to Regional Manager in October 2022. She has a strong passion for helping lead others in being successful in the hospitality industry.

Chris McGee

Regional Ops

Chris is a graduate of the University of Georgia and has made his career in hospitality for the past 20 years. Chris is an experienced General Manager in Marriott Select Service Brands. He has opened both a Courtyard and a Fairfield and years of experience in operations. Chris has also spent time as a task force GM. He excels at building teams and driving guest satisfaction. Outside of his work in hospitality Chris is an avid cyclist and a volunteer coach for the Georgia High School Mountain Bike League.

Christopher Hill

Regional Operations Manager

Christopher Hill started with HHMI in 2022 as a General Manager before becoming a Regional Operations Manager overseeing Hilton Properties. Starting in 1994 as an Assistant Golf Professional at Spyglass Hill for Pebble Beach Resorts, Christopher realized he had a passion for Customer Service which led him to hotels beginning as a concierge in 1998 at Wyndham Resort’s Carmel Valley Ranch.

Since then, Christopher has worked a multitude of Operations positions with many major brands, Red Roof Inn, Best Western, Joi De Vivre, Sheraton and Hilton. Relocating from California to Georgia with his wife and children, Christopher is excited to bring his talents to HHMI and looking forward to growing with the company.

Jonathan Andrews

Regional Sales Manager

Jonathan (Jon) Andrews joined Horizon Hospitality Management in March of 2022 as a Regional Sales Manager. He handles group and event sales at several of our mid-scale Marriott, Hilton & IHG hotels in the North Georgia area. You can find Jon taking care of our clients from Cartersville north of Atlanta to Ringgold south of Chattanooga.

Jon started off his career in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. After graduating college with a bachelor’s in accounting and quickly realizing he was in the wrong profession, he returned to school and received another degree in Hospitality Management. His accounting background and love of taking care of people have served him well for over two decades. With drive, determination and embracing what comes natural to him, he quickly rose in the hospitality field in Asheville. And in 2015, he and his family moved to Atlanta for bigger and better opportunities.

Once in Atlanta, Jon brought his operational and sales experiences to both corporate operated and franchise-run properties. He called The Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Cumberland, the Marriott Perimeter Center in Sandy Springs, and the Hilton Marietta Hotel & Conference Center in Marietta home until he found a wonderful opportunity with Horizon Hospitality Management as a regional sales manager.

With his decades of experience and vibrant personality, Jon has a unique ability to connect to his clients and their guests on a personal and professional level while driving revenue and repeat business for the company.

Lisa Gordon

Regional Sales Manager

As a Regional Sales Manager for Horizon Hospitality Management Lisa oversees the Cartersville/ Adairsville area to Hilton Brand hotels. Lisa utilizes her current skills and knowledge, she assists in revenue growth and client retention of the portfolio by leveraging unique selling propositions via brand knowledge, revenue management analyses, and other unique marketing efforts.

Lajoya Ridley-Cochran

Regional Sales Manager

Lajoya has served 10+ years in the hospitality industry with full-service and limited-service hotels. She has been with Horizon for a little over two years and started out as a Regional Sales Coordinator. Lajoya is very committed to this company and its success and expanding my knowledge within the Sales department. Her objective is to surpass sales and profitability expectations.

Vince Locke

Regional Sales Manager

Vince has a long and accomplished background in the hotel industry of over 30 years. His first job was with Marriott Hotels in various Sales and Marketing positions over a 14-year time period. Vince joined Horizon Corp as Corporate Director of Sales and Marketing with responsibility for the development and implementation of all marketing, and public relations in his region. In 1996, he transitioned to operations as GM of the 400th Fairfield Inn Charlotte NC. In 2002 took over the world’s largest Holiday Inn Express in Tennessee and Holiday Inn Express O’Hare as Regional Director of Sales, while both hotels went through extensive renovations and Vince was able to lead his team to successfully maintain hotel operations standards and meet budget requirements. 2013 to 2019 Was a Task GM covering the Nation, and knowledge of 6 brands of hotels. Hard worker, very dedicated and loyal.

Antwan James

Regional Operations Manager

Antwan has served 14 years in the Hospitality Industry. He has experience with Full-service and limited-service hotels. He started working in the industry as a full-time night auditor while attending college and has progressed into the leadership role as Regional Operations Manager. With Antwan’s strong passion in hospitality, he has experience in several brands such as Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Choice. He is excited to be sharing his skills with our horizon family.