SAI LLC, LED by president Rajesh “Raj” Bhagia, recently won the 2023 Hilton Americas Development Award for New Build – Tru by Hilton in Brooklyn, New York. The 101-room Tru by Hilton Brooklyn, which opened in March, marked the brand’s debut in New York city.
The Hilton Development team selected 52 winners based on criteria such as quality of hotels developed and in operation, commitment to quality of projects, impact on local community and early adoption of newer brands, Hilton said in a statement. Along with the Development Awards by Brand, categories included Lifetime Achievement Award, New Developer of the Year, Conversion Developer of the Year, Multi-Brand Developer of the Year, Multi-Brand Deal of the Year and Developer of the Year by Category.
“We are thrilled to celebrate our owner and development partners who are the recipients of the 2023 Americas Development Award,” said Danny Hughes, Hilton’s president for the Americas. “Over the last year, we’ve seen travel continue to grow across the Americas, creating even more opportunities for our partners to welcome guests to their hotels in exciting destinations across every corner of the region. From our legacy properties to our new developments, we are excited to see this continued growth and add even more exceptional hotels to our portfolio.”
Bhagia said he was grateful for the recognition.
"It's truly humbling to receive the Hilton Americas Developer's Award for New Builds,” said Bhagia. “It reflects the positive impact this project has had in shaping the future of hospitality development. It reinforces our commitment and fuels our passion to develop & build exceptional hotels. Throughout the development process, our team has learned invaluable lessons from observing Hilton's approach to development, design, and safety standards.”
“Hilton's relentless focus on the development process has inspired us to adopt a similar mindset in our own projects. I am also grateful to New York City for their support,” he added.
Peachtree Group recently won the 2023 Focused Service Developer of the Year by Hilton Americas Development Awards.
Rep. Aaron Bean delivers keynote addressPhoto credit: AAHOA
