Center for Real Estate Finance Welcomes Abacus Lodging Investors, LLC, as an Industry Fellow

Abacus Lodging Investors, LLC, a private equity firm focused on investments in the hospitality industry, has become an Industry Fellow of the Center for Real Estate Finance (CREF) at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. Barry Bloom, principal at Abacus, will represent the Chicago-based company at meetings of the CREF Industry Fellows.

"We're excited to welcome Abacus as a charter member of the CREF Industry Fellows program," said Jan deRoos, the HVS International Professor of Finance and Real Estate and executive director of CREF. "Barry Bloom has years of experience in the lodging investment industry, and I am looking forward to developing a synergistic relationship grounded in the real estate industry and academia."

Bloom and Andrew Strasser founded Abacus Lodging Investors in 2008 in order to pursue lodging investments throughout the United States.

"For us, the Center for Real Estate Finance will be a tremendous source of research findings and industry connections," said Bloom. "We are also looking forward to opportunities to mentor and support the future generation of real estate and finance professionals."

The Industry Fellows program is the cornerstone of CREF's outreach efforts. The program helps fund the annual Cornell Real Estate Case Competition, seminars on current industry topics, student travel to real estate investment conferences, as well as faculty research. The first meeting of the Industry Fellows was held in January during the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in San Diego.