CEO of Executive Hotels & Resorts: Salim Sayani

Executive Hotels & Resorts is a four-star chain of full-service hotels and restaurants operating in gateway cities across North America. The chain commenced operations in 1986 with one property in Vancouver and has been consistently growing its operations with the addition of new properties per year. The chain’s head office is in Vancouver and the company is headed by Salim Sayani who acts as President and major shareholder.

There are currently over 3000 rooms within the Executive Hotels & Resorts chain and chain-wide revenues total approximately $250 million annually. The individual hotels as well as the chain have won many awards including Fastest Growing Hotel Chain from Hospitality and Foodservice Magazine and Best Customer Service Award for a mid-scale hotel chain from Market Metrix.

Executive has a long history of developing hotels and has actively been doing so in Canada and the US since 1986. The chain has established a strong recognition for its Executive Hotels & Resorts brand name.

Executive is considered unique as a hotel management company because it manages the majority of its properties under its own Executive Hotels & Resorts brand. To support its brand initiatives and in addition to customary hotel management services, Executive provides all the services of a full scale hotel franchise company. Executive provides its hotel worldwide connectivity via its own EXECUDEX central reservations system, it provides centralized brand marketing, advertising, collateral design, trade show representation, purchasing programs and the Executive Rewards Club airline point and merchandise guest loyalty program. By providing its own brand and central reservations, Executive is able to avoid dependence or the fee burden of third-party franchisors.

To provide its commercial and residential real estate management, development and construction services, Executive employs a corporate office team at its downtown Vancouver offices and in two regional offices.

Salim Sayani

CEO of Executive Hotels & Resorts and
Executive Group Development
Head office: Vancouver, BC

Salim started his career at age 14 working housekeeping at the family-operated Granada Motor Inn motel at Vancouver Airport. That experience lead to working in almost every position in the hotel industry and several positions in construction labouring over the next ten years as Salim developed a passion for hospitality and real estate. Immediately after graduating college in 1994, Salim partnered with his father’s construction experience to take advantage of a rapidly developing market for Vancouver high-rise condominiums.

The residential condominium market had begun to emerge as a major force in the Greater Vancouver economy and in 1996 Salim helped pioneer and construct Vancouver’s first mixed-use residential /hotel strata titled tower called the Executive Airport Plaza.

It was an ambitious project of over 500k square feet which upon becoming successful, lead to a series of mixed-use hotel/ residential strata titled developments constructed across Greater Vancouver. In the late 1990s Salim trademarked the Executive Group name and has focused on the construction and development of a variety of commercial and residential projects across Canada and the USA with millions of square feet constructed over the past 25 years. A strong team of dedicated real estate professionals now leads the way with Salim continuing on as CEO of Executive Group.

Concurrently in 1998 as the Executive Group expanded its construction and development footprint, Salim continued his focus on the hospitality industry and in 1998 founded the Executive Hotels & Resorts franchise and management company and served as its CEO as the company went public on the Toronto Venture Exchange. After several years of successful hotel development and expansion as a public entity and with a chain of 18 well-positioned hotels in major corporate and leisure centres across the US and Canada, Salim privatized the company in 2007 and today continues to own the Executive Hotels & Resorts company with his wife Farah.

Today Executive Group and Executive Hotels and Resorts continue to operate as a combined diversified real estate construction, development and hospitality management business with a dynamic management team focused on driving the Executive brand forward. The Executive Table restaurant group has recently emerged as a strong growth driver for the company operating its food and beverage operations under high-quality and unique restaurant brands. High-quality management has been the true foundation for delivering exceptional construction, development and hospitality experiences to Executive’s customers. From a single motel in Richmond, BC to now numerous luxury hotel and commercial developments across North America from New York to San Francisco and Toronto to Vancouver, Executive is well positioned to capitalize on its strong business experience and grow well into the future.