HONG KONG—CBRE Hotels has appointed Akshay Kulkarni as director, CBRE Hotels Asia. Kulkarni’s appointment will enhance CBRE Hotels’ service capability in terms of hospitality operations, consulting and brokerage across Asia, according to the company.
According to Robert McIntosh, executive director, CBRE Hotels Asia-Pacific, Kulkarni “fills a very important role in providing greater depth in consulting, advising investors and potential owners on hospitality concept development, market feasibility, hotel operator selection, asset management and transaction advisory across a wide range of asset types, including hotels, resorts, serviced apartments, branded residences and lifestyle products.”
Kulkarni held a senior role in Cushman & Wakefield’s hospitality team for the past eight years prior to recently joining CBRE. Based in Singapore, Kulkarni will report to McIntosh.
With Kulkarni having represented owners, brands and institutional investors over the last 20 years across Asia, Europe and parts of Africa, CBRE noted it plans to leverage Kulkarni’s experience, particularly in South and Southeast Asia, where he spent a large part of his career directly involved in managing various operational and strategic aspects of hospitality ownership, operation, development and education.
The outlook for the hospitality sector in Asia remains bright, albeit patchy, according to the company. Despite the slowdown in tourists from China, CBRE expects intra-regional tourism to maintain at a steady pace. The strong momentum in hotel investments in 2015 should carry through in the first half of 2016.