# Michael Cahill

> Michael Cahill is the CEO and founder of HREC, a Colorado-based hospitality real estate advisory and investment banking firm. A Cornell Hotel School graduate and 1983 Academic All-America offensive tackle, he moved from Hyatt operations training into hotel valuation, helped create the Microtel concept, founded HREC in 1994 and has since built a career around explaining the peculiar economics of hotels to owners, lenders and investors.

- **Role:** CEO and Founder at HREC - Hospitality Real Estate Counselors
- **Organizations:** HREC - Hospitality Real Estate Counselors, HREC Investment Advisors, Lodging Industry Investment Council, Microtel Franchise & Development Corporation, Hudson Hotels Corporation, HVS International, HVS Executive Search, Hyatt Hotels
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, Cornell University School of Hotel Administration
- **Known for:** Founded HREC in 1994 and built it into a hospitality-specialist advisory and investment banking platform., Was an original co-founder of the Microtel hotel brand and concept., Earned the CRE, MAI, FRICS and CHA professional designations.

## Career timeline

- **1983** — Worked as a hotel management trainee at Hyatt Waikiki and was named an Academic All-America football player at Cornell, where he played offensive tackle.
- **1984-1994** — Worked at HVS International in Mineola, New York, rising to senior vice president.
- **1987-1999** — Served as a founder and board member of Microtel Franchise & Development Corporation/Hudson Hotels Corporation and was an original co-founder of the Microtel hotel concept.
- **1992-1994** — Co-founded HVS Executive Search, establishing its lodging and gaming executive-search division.
- **1994-present** — Founded and leads HREC - Hospitality Real Estate Counselors.
- **2000-present** — Serves as co-chairman of the Lodging Industry Investment Council.
- **2002-present** — Co-founded HREC Investment Advisors as a lodging-focused brokerage and investment banking firm.
- **2002-2015** — Co-founded HREC Development Resources, advising hotel investors and municipalities on development and tax-exempt bond financing.
- **2012** — Appeared as a casino expert on the History Channel program United Stats of America.
- **2026** — Moderated an LIIC roundtable at the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference on AI and hotel profitability.

## Achievements

- Founded HREC in 1994 and built it into a hospitality-specialist advisory and investment banking platform.
- Was an original co-founder of the Microtel hotel brand and concept.
- Earned the CRE, MAI, FRICS and CHA professional designations.
- Has served as co-chairman of the Lodging Industry Investment Council since 2000.
- HREC says its brokerage leaders have arranged more than 600 hotel sale and finance transactions valued above $9 billion.
- Was named an Academic All-America football player at Cornell in 1983.
- Has provided expert testimony and litigation support in hotel and casino matters in federal, state, tax and arbitration proceedings.
- Authored a substantial body of hotel valuation, feasibility and investment articles beginning in the 1980s.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Moderated an LIIC roundtable at the NYU hospitality investment conference on whether AI could fundamentally improve hotel operating profits.
- **2026-06** — Shared LIIC survey material on hotel acquisition capitalization-rate expectations and AI's potential effect on lodging margins.
- **2025-05** — Produced the 2025 LIIC Top Ten survey, which described hotel investors as cautiously optimistic while highlighting financing, acquisition, renovation and construction-cost pressures.
- **2024-12** — Told CoStar that HREC's closed deals had risen roughly 30 percent year over year and forecast gradual transaction growth, absent a major shock.

## Links

- Website: https://mikecahill.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-cahill-8690677

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/michael-cahill
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-25