- Patel named Select-Service GM of the Year.
- Eight winners chosen from 250-plus nominations.
- AHLA adds Rising Star, Community Ambassador awards.
Nilesh “Neil” Patel, general manager of the Best Western Opp Inn in Opp, Alabama, won the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s 2026 select-service General Manager of the Year award. The association recognized him and seven other hotel leaders Nov. 3 at The Hospitality Show in Miami Beach, Florida.
Patel was recognized for his hands-on leadership, guest service and mentoring of employees to support their professional growth, AHLA said in a statement. It also cited his longstanding involvement in industry advocacy and his work to strengthen the hospitality industry.
“Hospitality is an industry where talent and hard work can take you anywhere,” said Rosanna Maietta, AHLA president and CEO. “This year’s honorees are proof. They grew into leaders who develop their teams, drive results, and make their communities stronger.”
A panel of general managers and industry leaders selected this year’s winners from more than 250 nominations. The awards recognize general managers for guest service, employee engagement and community work.
AHLA said many general managers at the more than 64,000 U.S. hotels rise from entry-level positions. The select-service award is one of five GM of the Year categories based on property type, covering extended-stay, full-service, select-service, independent and resort hotels.
AHLA added two categories this year. The GM Rising Star Award honors a general manager within the first two years of a first GM role, and the GM Community Ambassador Award recognizes one whose property has become a cornerstone of its local community.
The association also presented the GM Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors a general manager whose impact as a mentor and role model extends beyond the property.
Seven more winners
Other winners include:
Greg Leonard, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center, received the GM Lifetime Achievement Award.
Marie Ciss, general manager of Extended Stay America Select Suites BWI Airport in Baltimore, won the extended-stay property award.
Sam Ioannidis, general manager of The Plaza Hotel in New York, won the full-service property award.
McClinton Heil, area managing director of Halcyon, a hotel in Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood, won the independent property award.
Greg Cook, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, in Florida, won the resort property award.
Chris Egbert, general manager of Holiday Inn Express & Suites New Buffalo in Michigan, received the Rising Star Award.
Brad Everett, general manager of Hilton Garden Inn & Manhattan Conference Center in Manhattan, Kansas, received the Community Ambassador Award.
AHLA named Pete Boyd, general manager of The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, the 2025 GM Lifetime Achievement Award recipient at The Hospitality Show in Denver.
