Corporate Staff
The real strength of Premier Hospitality Management lies in the experience and knowledge of its management team. These Executives possess over 100 years of combined experience in the hospitality industry.
Raj Patel, CHA
President and Chief Executive Officer
Raj Patel is a 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year finalist. Raj and his family moved from England to Durant, Oklahoma, in 1979, where they owned and operated a small hotel. He graduated from Durant High School in 1981 and went on to attend the University of Oklahoma through academic scholarships, majoring in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry. In 1992, he made the conscious decision to invest and make hotel management a full time profession. As President and Chief Executive Officer of Premier Hospitality Management, Inc., Raj Patel is directly responsible for the acquisition and development of the current properties in Premier's portfolio. He has developed business relationships to assist Premier in reaching its strategic growth goals. His ownership attitude and responsibility of the bottom line has been instrumental in the development of the corporate philosophy, direction and vision of Premier's nineteen properties. He is responsible for leading and managing the ambitious goals of his executive team, driving and facilitating infrastructure improvements and ultimately balancing the company's desire to grow with adherence to its basic quality foundation.
David Snyder
Vice President of Development & Interim
David originally joined Premier in February 1997. He has been a General Manager, VP of Operations and he was involved in the construction of all PHMI new hotels since 2004. In January 2009, he rejoined PHMI as VP of Development. His is directly responsible for the evolution of all new construction hotels from construction to opening. He oversees all capital renovations for the PHMI hotel portfolio as well as supervising the preventative maintenance program and he directs the Regional Maintenance Supervisor. Dave brings over 20 years experience in hospitality and restaurant & bar business.
Nila Patel
Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Nila Patel's function is to ensure top line revenue budgets are achieved for all properties under the Premier umbrella. She is the direct liaison between the hotels and each of the franchise sales and marketing support departments. Her primary responsibilities include recruiting, hiring and training all sales and marketing personnel as well as keeping each of them focused and motivated toward achieving their goals. Additionally she manages the Request For Pricing (RFP) process annually, contract negotiations for all Locally Negotiated Rates (LNR), administration of rooms' inventory for all distribution channels and the management of our marketing budgets. In addition, she visits all properties on a monthly basis, not only to support the staff by accompanying them on appointments to existing and potential clients, but to be involved in each community. Nila visits with the local Chambers of Commerce, Convention and Visitor's Bureau and Economic Development offices. Nila began with Premier in 1995 as General Manager and Director of Sales for two limited service properties and spent eight years in operation and sales for the Sherman region. In December of 2003 she was promoted to Corporate Sales and Marketing Director. She graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelors Degree in Management Information Systems.
Mina Patel
Executive Vice President
Mina Patel supervises loan administration, tax filing, property insurance and worker's comp for all twelve properties and the corporate office. She verifies the proper recording and filing of all corporate records, assists with capital improvement planning and developing property-reporting standards and the administrative organization and operational structures of the corporate office and other policies and procedures applicable to Premier.
Laura Voorhies
Executive Administrator
Laura Voorhies maintains relations with hotel franchisers, industry leaders, contractors and consultants, legal and banking associations. She coordinates the review and timely handling of confidential legal documents, franchise agreements and renewal of contracts and agreements. She also works closely with architects, designers and engineers as each project dictates. Other responsibilities include supervision of office support personnel in prioritizing objectives and serving as a liaison between corporate executives. Laura graduated from Southeastern Oklahoma State University with a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration.
Donovan Wadding
Regional Engineering Supervisor
Donovan started his career with Premier in 2001 as Maintenance for one of our hotels. He has continually proven himself each year and was promoted to his new position in April 2008. He works directly with the Regional Chief Engineer, supervises the activities of the hotel maintenance personnel as well as engages in maintaining and repairing certain aspects of the hotel as needed.
