NEW YORK— Vijay Dandapani, COO of Apple Core Hotels, has been appointed chairman of the Hotel Association of New York City (HANYC), succeeding Chester Deptula, general manager of The Surrey hotel, here. An industry veteran and tagged “One Of The Ones To Watch” by HOTEL BUSINESS® in December 2002, Dandapani has been instrumental in the growth and development of Apple Core Hotels, including acquisitions, six hotel renovations and the implementation of state-of-the art computer systems. Prior to Apple Core Hotels, Dandapani was vp/operations for Chatwal Hotels and was responsible for supervising a portfolio of six mid-price hotels. His job duties included operational planning, project development and financial restructuring for the company. From 1988 to 1992 he was vp/Polystar Corp., a North Carolina-based company with over a dozen hotels carrying flags such as Hilton Hotels, Holiday Inns and Days Inns. He was responsible for strategic planning, financial restructuring and business development. Before that, Dandapani was operations analyst for Grand Champions Resorts Corp. in Palm Springs, Calif., a $120-million, luxury tennis resort. His responsibilities included pre-opening planning, operational review and internal controls.
