Raul Leal

Starwood Capital Group, a global private investment firm focused on real estate and energy infrastructure, has appointed Raul Leal as CEO, SH Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary company that oversees brands such as 1 Hotels and Homes, Treehouse Hotels and Baccarat Hotels. He will begin his new role on Aug. 19.

Leal is a longtime veteran of the hotel industry with extensive experience building brands, having most recently served as the president/CEO, Virgin Hotels for 10 years, where he oversaw the launch of five Virgin-branded hotels and the development of another 10 in its pipeline. Previously, he was president/partner at Tecton Hospitality, an independent management company, which owned and operated a diverse portfolio of 35 branded hotels and boutique hotels. In 2002, anticipating the growth of boutique hotels, he launched Desires Hotels, a division of Tecton Hospitality and one of the first management companies focused on the growing lifestyle hotel segment and one of the first to use CRM technology to understand consumer preferences. Under his leadership, Desires Hotels had 20 boutique hotels located in U.S. and global urban and resort locations. Prior to those positions, he held general management positions for Interstate Hotels, Lane Hotels and The Continental Companies.

SH Brands expects to establish its headquarters office in Miami, while maintaining New York and Los Angeles satellite venues. Leal will succeed Arash Azarbarzin, who will be leaving SH Hotels & Resorts to pursue a new opportunity.

Leal joins SH Hotels & Resorts as it is positioned for explosive growth, according to the company. Today, 1 Hotels has properties operating in South Beach (Miami); Manhattan; Brooklyn; Los Angeles; and Haitang Bay, China, and will open in Toronto this August. The brand also has projects under development in London; Paris; San Francisco; Nashville; Kauai, Hawaii; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Melbourne, Australia; and another 15 in its active pipeline. The Treehouse brand debuted in London and is under development in Sunnyvale, CA; Copenhagen; Manchester, U.K.; and Miami. Baccarat Hotels and Residences has a property open in New York City with projects under development in Bordeaux, France; Miami; Florence, Italy; and Macau, China.