Why Aperture?

As CEO of Aperture Hotels, Mr. Oswald leads the vision, strategy and operational execution of this leading hotel management company. Aperture Hotels operates award-winning premium select-service, extended stay, and lifestyle hotels throughout the United States with a focus on customer delivery, providing turnkey solutions to owners, and producing outsized returns on invested capital for our clients and shareholders.

Mr. Oswald’s past experiences include investment, development, management, or consulting for Hotel & Resort, Restaurant, Charter Yacht, Fuel Station, Agriculture, Retail, Land, Golf, Senior Living, and Office Condo businesses. His extensive hotel & resort experience spans 37,000+ rooms among 250+ hotels, across 27 states and the Caribbean, ranging from 60 room limited service to 1,000+ room convention hotels & resorts.

Most recently, Mr. Oswald was Founder & CEO of Merit Point Capital during which time he invested, managed or consulted in Hotel & Resort, Charter Yacht, Senior Living, Office, Fuel Stations, Agriculture, and retail during the period immediately preceding and throughout the global pandemic. Previously, he was CEO of HP Hotels where he restructured the company and led HP to rank among the Top 25 among largest hotel management companies in the U.S. in 2019. HP’s portfolio included 47 hotels with 6,472 rooms, comprised of Hilton, Marriott, Intercontinental, Choice, Independent, and Lifestyle full-service and select-service hotels. Past roles include VP of Operations with Noble Investment Group (having completed $4B in hospitality investments) and Interstate Hotels & Resorts (world’s largest hotel & resort management company), where he successfully transitioned through Noble Management’s 2011 merger into Interstate.

Mr. Oswald progressed through the ranks of operations with Noble, Winegardner & Hammons, and Hyatt, while earning numerous performance accolades, including "Hotel of the Year".

Mr. Oswald’s thought leadership is evident through his contributions to various industry journals and Hilton’s Full-Service Operations Council, the Lodging Industry Investment Council (LIIC), AT&T/DirecTV’s Hospitality Technology Advisory Board, Chairman for an independent CRE investment group, and panelist for Barclays Bank, GE National Middle Market Summit, BITAC, and The Ohio State University, et al.

Patrick Short brings over 30 years of diverse hospitality experience to his role as Chief Operating Officer at Aperture Hotels. In this position, he provides cross-disciplinary leadership and directs operational execution and commercial strategy for Aperture's expanding portfolio of managed hotels.

Patrick’s extensive background includes managing a wide range of properties, from small boutique hotels to large convention and resort destinations. His experience spans more than 25 brands, including independent, premium, dual-branded, and lifestyle hotels. He has operational expertise across various hospitality sectors, including Full Service, Select Service, Extended Stay and more, with experience in over 30 states.

Before joining Aperture Hotels, Patrick held senior leadership roles at Wischermann Partners, TPG Hotels and Resorts, and Peachtree Group. As President of Peachtree Hospitality Management, he propelled the company into the top 15 largest hotel management firms, expanding the portfolio from 27 to 100 hotels and over 10,000 rooms including almost 3,000 Team Members. Under his leadership, the company achieved significant improvements and growth in RevPar Index, Gross Operating Profit, Guest Service Scores, and Team Member Satisfaction, earning accolades from Hilton, Marriott, and IHG, and being named a Best Place to Work by USA Today and Inc. Magazine.  

Patrick’s leadership approach emphasizes Culture & Accountability, with a strong focus on Servant Leadership. He prioritizes enhancing day-to-day operations and fostering a supportive environment for team members across the nation.

He holds a degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from The University of Wisconsin-Stout and an MBA in Finance from Argosy University – Twin Cities. Patrick is a Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) from the American Hotel and Motel Association and holds a Food Safety Certification.

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Leanne Lloyd, SHRM-SCP, SPHR serves as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources and has 18+ years of human resource experience. Responsible for employee relations and corporate policy, Leanne focuses on people development and playing an integral role in fostering healthy and productive work environments, while ensuring regulatory compliance. Leanne began her management and HR career in the retail sector before moving to the healthcare industry where she spent 9 years as the Director of Human Resources for a non-profit behavioral healthcare facility. She facilitates training sessions for management teams and HR professionals, alike. Her expertise in the field has led her to speaking engagements on topics such as compliance with labor law, leadership training, recruitment and retention, and other human resource related issues.
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With extensive understanding of the entire life cycle of the employee experience, Leanne applies her human resource practical knowledge toward recruitment and onboarding, compensation and benefits coordination, risk management and liability evaluation, employee development and training facilitation, policy development and procedure enforcement, employee relations and investigations, collaboration of cross-functional teams, strategic planning and organizational growth, and productivity evaluation and optimization.
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Leanne is certified by both the Society of Human Resource Management as a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and the HR Certification Institute as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). Leanne graduated from Northwest Florida State College with a degree in Business Administration and earned her BS degree in Business & Human Resource Management from Western Governor’s University. She has served as President for the Emerald Coast chapter of Society for Human Resources (SHRM), and as a member of the HR Florida State Council. Leanne also spent several years on the Board of Directors for Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers, as Loaned Executive for United Way, and served on the executive board of Walton County Habitat for Humanity.

Joanna Lewellen serves as Senior Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis. Joanna has 25+ years of hospitality experience and first joined the company in the role of General Manager before being quickly promoted to Director of Operations, and then to Vice President. She has held Executive roles in operations, asset management, and presently in financial planning for the corporate team.
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Throughout her career, Joanna has worked with national hotel companies including Hilton, IHG, Marriott, and Choice Hotels in a variety of areas to include food and beverage management at the property level, as well as Sales Manager, Operations Manager, and General Manager. Additionally, she worked in limited service, full service, and condo hotels before moving to her above property role.  As Senior Vice President of Operations, Joanna was responsible for overseeing the full operations of 22 hotels. Throughout her experience, Joanna developed strong skills in revenue management, new hotel openings, hotel conversions, renovations, and property operations, and enjoys mentoring team members to assist them in goal attainment and professional growth and development.
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A graduate of Kansas State University, Joanna earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Early in her career, she was awarded the Spirit of Hampton Award during her time at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Nashville, TN. Joanna supports the 15/10 Foundation providing aid to senior animals and is a poll center volunteer for her local county.

Sarah Garcia serves as Senior Vice President of Commercial Strategy and is an accomplished sales and revenue specialist with proven success driving topline results. She has extensive experience with full, select, extended-stay, branded and independent properties, overseeing teams and portfolios of up to 200 hotels. Her strategic vision, vast experience and hands-on approach enables a street corner analysis while using all data available to craft and achieve a profitable topline revenue plan. She works alongside the regional and property teams to quickly attain the desired results.

Sarah places a focus on training and accountability while drawing on her considerable experience working with major brands such as Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Hyatt, Choice, Wyndham, and Best Western along with independent, specialty, and boutique hotels. She has held all sales/catering positions on-property and above. Her past roles include Chief Sales Officer with Terrapin Hospitality, which was sold to Aimbridge Hotels in December 2022, Corporate Vice President Sales, Interstate Hotels & Resorts, Vice President Sales, Shamin Hospitality, and Regional Director of Sales with Noble Investment Group. Sarah has led on and above property teams including revenue strategy and eCommerce leaders while overseeing owner and investor relationships.

Sarah holds a BS degree in Business from Argosy University as well as CHBA certification from HSMAI. She is a member of Soroptimist International to improve the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment.

Andrew Reichert serves as Senior Vice President of Hotel Accounting and has over 20 years of hospitality accounting experience with select service, full-service, resorts with country club membership, property owners’ associations, branded, and independent hotels.  He has worked at Starwood and Omni branded resorts with both spa and country club membership components.  Most recently, while serving in corporate level accounting leadership, he rebuilt the accounting team serving hotel properties after it had been relocated cross-country.  During his tenure, he also oversaw the increased utilization of business process outsourcing and established relationships which allowed the team to achieve high survey satisfaction scores among internal customers.
 
Throughout his career, Andrew has worked in each accounting discipline at the property level, including IT support and systems administration.  This experience has given him an understanding and a respect for the processes and controls needed at the property.  His growth into a more strategic role at the corporate level provided him with a broader knowledge of the challenges faced by organizations as they work to balance proper controls with scalability.  He has built a team of 25 associates, led efficiency task forces, worked with new system rollouts (both ERP and reconciliation software), and has managed the gradual transition to a stronger outsourcing model.
 
Andrew believes perseverance and flexibility are key to achieving long-term goals.  Not only must we make incremental steps each day in the right direction, but we must also be adaptable to rapidly changing circumstances.  To achieve this, it is important to share the vision and then reinforce that vision with all stakeholders.
 
Andrew is currently working towards becoming a Chartered Global Management Accountant.

Jeff Ryan serves as Vice President of Operations and has over 30 years of experience in operations management in the hospitality industry. For Jeff, the hotel industry has been his life. He began his career as an assistant manager for a restaurant chain, then entered the hotel industry working in a full-service hotel and conference center assisting in rooms and food & beverage. Jeff served as an opening and training General Manager for several franchise Marriott and Hilton branded properties, in addition to holding a Dual General Manager position.  
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Jeff’s above property career began as he oversaw branded and independent properties. He held roles as Director of Purchasing, third party Consultant, and new acquisition representative. In his role as Vice President of Operations, he has led his team to deliver exceptional service and financial performance.
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With valuable experience in many different brands including Marriott, Hilton, InterContinental Hotels Group, Choice, and Best Western, Jeff and his team have earned several awards including Marriott Property of the Year and multiple Marriott Diamond General Manager awards. He has assisted on the planning committee with the annual Marriott Brand General Manager Conference along with serving on the Fairfield Blue Ribbon Council.  Jeff currently serves on the Madison College Hospitality Advisory Board and recently completed 10 years on the Greater Madison Hotel & Lodging Association Board.  
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Jeff holds a BS degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, as well as CHA certification from the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute. He has been an active supporter of Habitat of Humanity through several build projects as well as the Red Cross assisting in humanitarian aid.

Taylor Hall serves as Vice President of Operations. Taylor’s career in hospitality started as a recreation supervisor for Marriott International where she spent 8 years developing her skillset in room operations as well as food and beverage. Her growth led her to advancing to Director of Food and Beverage for a full-service resort in South Florida. From there, Taylor became General Manager of an award-winning opening hotel and continued to lead high performing teams for several Marriott properties.
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Taylor has successfully executed visions for new revenue centers for hotels under her leadership to include unique food and beverage outlets and entertainment spaces. She led her teams to dramatic increases in scores while exceeding revenue goals. Taylor’s leadership has been praised by both ownership and management groups for her ability to surpass expectations across the board, even when conducting a brand conversion.
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Taylor places a strong focus on building relationships with her teams while maintaining expectations and accountability. Her experience working in both limited and full-service hotels, ability to see the big picture, and hands on management style allows Taylor to drive results. Taylor holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from SUNY Geneseo. She is also a certified sommelier.

Christina Hollis serves as Regional Director of Operations and boasts an impressive 13-year tenure in hospitality leadership marked by roles with renowned brands such as Hilton, Marriott and IHG. She previously served as the General Manager at the Hampton Inn in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she oversaw operations, managed costs to maximize profit margins, exceeded guest expectations, and upheld the brand's standards of excellence.

In addition, Christina brings over 6 years of experience as a Director of Sales, where she excelled in driving revenue and forging lasting partnerships. Her strategic acumen and ability to navigate complex market landscapes have consistently contributed to the success of her teams and organizations.

With a wealth of experience, Christina has become a brand expert for Hilton, demonstrating her deep understanding of hospitality standards and guest relations. Educationally, she holds a bachelor’s degree in communications, providing her with a strong foundation in effective communication and public relations strategies. Building upon this, she pursued a master’s in business, enhancing her leadership and management capabilities.

Christina's dedication to excellence extends to her involvement in task force training within the hospitality sector. Through her participation, she leverages her expertise to address industry challenges, develop innovative solutions, and empower teams to deliver exceptional guest experiences.

In addition to her professional achievements, Christina is deeply engaged in her community and passionate about coaching college girls' bowling teams. Her commitment to mentorship and sportsmanship shines through in her coaching, instilling valuable skills and fostering teamwork among her players and employees.

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Joy Cosby is the Director of Hotel Accounting with over 13 years of experience in hospitality accounting, spanning select service, full-service, resorts, branded and independent hotels. She excels in driving financial performance through innovative process improvements and strategic system implementations. Joy's recent role as Operations Accounting Manager involved spearheading initiatives that significantly enhanced cost efficiency and productivity for hotel controllers and accounting analysts.

Throughout her career, most recently with Atrium Hospitality, Joy has worked in every department at the property level and understands what it takes to run a hotel.  Her growth into the accounting roles at the corporate level has provided her with a broader knowledge of the challenges faced by organizations as they work to balance proper controls with scalability.   This experience has given her a deep understanding of both property-level operations and corporate accounting enabling her to effectively balance robust controls with scalable solutions. Joy’s leadership extends to managing task force controllers, bridging gaps between corporate and property-level accounting teams, and overseeing successful system rollouts.

Joy is committed to fostering transparency and adaptability within her teams, believing that open communication and genuine rapport are key to achieving long-term goals. We must be able to "sniff out the cheese" while being transparent with the people around us.   

Joy is a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and she volunteers her time with Good People Global, dedicating her time to making a positive impact locally and globally.

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Chandi Saunders serves as Regional Director of Commercial Strategy and boasts a 25-year background in sales and marketing across various industries.  Her strategic acumen and leadership have been instrumental in driving revenue growth. Her 10-year tenure in hospitality leadership highlights her ability to leverage negotiated accounts and craft effective sales strategies.

Chandi's career trajectory, from a part-time role in Food & Beverage to Sales Manager and eventually Director of Sales, exemplifies her commitment and capability. Her contributions extend beyond her professional responsibilities, as she plays a vital role in mentoring Sales Leaders and General Managers, optimizing company processes, and disseminating her brand knowledge. Her expertise is not limited to the hospitality sector; it is enriched by a 12-year engagement in the food and beverage industry, which has honed her customer service skills

Chandi's academic credentials, including a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Troy University and multiple professional certifications, provide a theoretical underpinning that complements her practical experience. This combination has proven invaluable in her strategic business development and leadership roles.

Beyond her professional achievements, Chandi is deeply committed to her community, serving as an Ambassador for the Greater Chamber of Columbus GA and contributing to PSOA (Professionals Serving Older Adults) and volunteering with various other organizations.

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Melissa Brown serves as Regional Director of Commercial Strategy and has an impressive 35+ years in the hospitality industry. She prides herself on being a leader who guides by mentoring and sharing her wealth of knowledge with her sales teams.  

Melissa’s career in hospitality began at the front desk of a hotel and she spent 13 years in Operations before moving to sales and commercial strategy 23 years ago. She has worked extensively with both full and select service hotels as well as branded and independent properties. Melissa has broad experience with all brands – Marriott, IHG, Hilton, Hyatt, Wyndham – including independent brands at reputable management companies that include Terrapin Hospitality and Aimbridge. She has held a variety of positions on property before being promoted to above property regional leadership roles allowing her to develop well-rounded skillsets that are beneficial when working with multi-disciplinary teams.  

Melissa holds a BS Degree in Hospitality Management from Florida International University.

Reid Maynard serves as the Business Development & Operations Analyst at Aperture Hotels, leveraging over 6 years of real estate experience and more than 10 years in the hospitality sector. Reid is dedicated to significantly expanding our third-party management and investment portfolio by actively engaging clients and prospects, conducting comprehensive property assessments, and utilizing meticulous market research.
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With a diverse background in commercial real estate, Reid's prior roles have honed his ability to pursue the most promising investment opportunities, with a strong emphasis on value-added potential. Before joining Aperture Hotels, Reid played a pivotal role in acquiring single-family rental properties on behalf of esteemed institutional investors, deploying capital exceeding $25 million across 80+ assets. Additionally, his previous experience includes working in commercial brokerage for a boutique firm, where he played a vital role in sourcing, analyzing, and closing over 75 transactions, amounting to a total volume of more than $250 million.
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Reid embarked on his hospitality career at Darden Restaurants, Inc., dedicating five years to elevating his expertise before extending his knowledge to a broader spectrum of food and beverage establishments.
With a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Georgia Southern University, Reid boasts a profound understanding of corporate finance, accounting, and investment analysis. Beyond his professional pursuits, Reid is deeply committed to giving back to his community through his involvement with Overcomers House Incorporated and other charitable non-profit organizations.