Call it a talent coup north of the border for the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm. Bill Stone, an icon in the Canadian hotel industry and former executive managing director of the hospitality group for Colliers International, has joined CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) as executive vice president to lead its Canadian hotel practice.
"Bill is an industry leader whose experience and success in the sale and financing of hotel and resort properties will benefit our hotel clients from coast to coast," remarked John O'Bryan, vice chairman of Los Angeles-based CBRE, in a May 17 press release.
Stone, who is based in Toronto, has been involved in more than 250 Canadian hotel transactions valued in excess of $4.5 billion. Those deals have included single-asset and portfolio sales, as well as independent and branded hotels ranging from two to five stars. At CBRE, Stone will be responsible for driving production and will take on a leadership role in further developing the company’s hotel platform across Canada.
Prior to his 22 years at Colliers, Stone served as a hotel consultant with Laventhol & Horwath. He is a former president and board member of the International Association of Hospitality Accountants. Joining Stone at CBRE are two of his former colleagues at Colliers, Deborah Borotsik and Mark Sparrow.
Borotsik, associate vice president, brings 12 years of sales, marketing and due diligence experience in the hospitality sector to CBRE Hotels. She will work with owners to complete property and market due diligence and financial underwriting, property valuations and strategic disposition strategies. Her experience extends across all asset classes throughout Canada.
Sparrow joins CBRE Hotels as a sales associate and will be responsible for executing disposition strategies, sourcing buyers, providing due diligence assistance and analyzing Canadian investment trends. Sparrow will be actively involved in assessing values for a variety of hotel and resort asset types, and will work closely with owners to develop tailored marketing programs.
“Adding professionals with the stature of Bill, Deborah and Mark to our CBRE Hotels platform will deliver real benefit for CBRE, our professionals and our clients,” stated O'Bryan. "With over $300 million in listings already in their pipeline, this team has hit the ground running.”