Pete Sams Named President of Hospitality Ventures Management Group

Hospitality Ventures Management Group, based in Atlanta, has named Sams president. The company operates 60 premium-branded full-service hotels, resorts and upscale select-service hotels.

Sams will oversee day-to-day business operations and be responsible for company performance. Robert Cole, HVMG’s founder and CEO, will step back from day-to-day operations to devote more time to strategy and building and strengthening relationships.

Sams joined HVMG from Highgate Hotels, where he most recently served as president.

Before Highgate, Sams held leadership positions within the KSL portfolio. He served for more than six years as chief operating officer of Peregrine Hospitality and Davidson Hospitality Group.

At Peregrine, Sams helped launch an in-house management platform for KSL Capital that operated more than 45 hotels, including destination resorts.

As chief operating officer of Davidson, Sams served during a period in which the company doubled in size. Davidson also received the J.D. Power Award for top guest satisfaction among third-party operators during his tenure.

Earlier in his career, Sams held corporate above-property leadership positions with Interstate Hotels & Resorts and White Lodging Services. He also spent more than a decade as a general manager with Omni Hotels & Resorts.

His Omni roles included work at the company’s 836-room flagship hotel in Washington, D.C. His career included 10 years in finance and accounting, a decade in property-level general manager roles and 12 years in senior above-property leadership overseeing full-service, multi-unit operations.

Sams served in the U.S. Army and earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.