Ayo Akinsete has joined Birch as Managing Director
Ayo Akinsete has joined as Managing Director having spent the last 14 years overseeing the openings and operations for top hospitality brands from New York to Miami and Los Angeles to more recently in London, where as Area Managing Director for SH Hotels & Resorts, he oversaw the role out of Treehouse Hotels and 1 Hotel brands in Europe.
Ayo Akinsete has spent the last 14 years overseeing the openings and operations of numerous properties for top global hospitality brands. Ayo's professional career began in his teenage years, playing for West Ham United Football Club. As that career and chapter came to a close, Ayo was given a full Sports scholarship to play Division I Football in America at The University of South Carolina, where he studied Hospitality and Sports Management and subsequently completed a Master's of Science program in Hotel Management at The University of Las Vegas Nevada. After meeting the founder of Gansevoort Hotel Group, Ayo moved to New York City to open the Gansevoort Park Avenue. This experience ignited his fire and passion for the industry.
Since that time, he has opened six hotels such as Dream Downtown & SLS Miami across the US in major markets including New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and Nashville. In 2018, he was appointed Vice President of Operations for Dream Hotel Group, where he oversaw operations for the group's east and west coast assets.
In 2019, Ayo relocated back to the UK to launch his 7th property, the premiere property of Hospitality legend Barry Sternlicht's new Treehouse Hotel brand in London. As Area Managing Director of UK and Europe for SH Hotels & Resorts, overseeing the region's roll out of the Treehouse and 1 Hotel brands, Ayo has worked on the development of 1 Hotel Mayfair and Treehouse Manchester, scheduled to open early 2023, and oversaw the transition of the Skt Petri Hotel Copenhagen.
Ayo Akinsete is an alumnus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) – Class of 2010.