Arlington Hospitality Prepares For Changes, Belmonte Eyeing Top Spot

CHICAGO— Following his election to the board of directors at Arlington Hospitality, Steven Belmonte, former Ramada CEO, has set his sights on filling the company’s president/CEO seat left vacant by the recent resignation of Michael Holtz, who spent 17 years with the company. The proxy battle that elected Belmonte to the board was initiated by the “Committee to Enhance Shareholder Value,” which also nominated Ken Fell, president of KF, Inc., a financial derivatives trading corporation. The two men, who according to Belmonte barely know each other, are expected to lead serious changes at Arlington Hospitality, addressing: the company’s poor stock performance, failure to maximize shareholder value, perceived poor corporate governance, and other apparent deficiencies in Arlington’s structure and performance. Fell and Belmonte were elected by approximately 82% of the voting stockholders. However, according to Belmonte, Holtz did not see their appointment as a welcomed change. When asked if Holtz’ resignation, which immediately preceded the recent board election, was a direct result of the new appointments, Belmonte said, “His resignation was definitely connected to the board elections from a timing standpoint.” In a recent interview with HOTEL BUSINESS®, a spokesperson for Arlington Hospitality did admit that Holtz’ exit from the company was a “surprise,” but Holtz, himself, explained it just simply “was time to move on.” Belmonte stated that he and Fell shared a major conflicting viewpoint with Holtz in regards to Arlington’s corporate structure. “We believe strongly that one of the primary functions of a corporation’s board of directors is to set the company strategy and hold management accountable,” he said, adding that this “was inhibited at Arlington because its chairman of the board of directors, Mike Holtz, was also the president and CEO of the company.” He is recommending that the two positions, chairman and CEO, be separated. Belmonte is obviously campaigning to take the reigns as Arlington’s next president/CEO and in a written statement even said he “would be honored to take the helm of a company that has such tremendous upside.” He also expressed desire to move back to his hometown of Chicago, where Arlington is based and where both he and his wife’s families currently live. Despite apparent synergies, like Belmonte’s 10-year tenure at Cendant and Arlington’s asset agreement with Cendant’s AmeriHost brand, Belmonte’s CEO appointment is far from a done deal. In fact, Arlington’s has created a search committee to find the most qualified person for the job. The committee will then meet with the board of directors to make its recommendation, which will be put up to a vote. “I don’t want to do anything to interfere with the search process,” he said. Per his contract, Holtz was required to give six months notice before his resignation, which gives the committee plenty of time to conduct a thorough search. In a previous interview, Holtz noted he expects the position to be filled within the next three months, and that Arlington is looking “at few people within the company, as well as people outside the company.” Belmonte said, “If I were to take the reins at the company it would be prior to the end of the year,” adding he would expect it to be “sooner rather than later.” Should he win Arlington’s top post, Belmonte would then “close shop” at his existing venture, Hospitality Solutions, where he currently serves as president and CEO. He added that his existing consulting relationships with clients would then be “turned over” to Lee Dushoff, hotel industry consultant and managing partner of Hotel Partners. His expert witness work with clients, like U.S. Franchise Systems, will all be concluded prior to Belmontes departure.