The Ceremony
The Story
Dick Holtzman has enjoyed a career in hospitality spanning over five decades. His career has taken him on an interesting and diverse path, from Manhattan to the Island of Kauai in Hawaii, ranging from the traditional hotel and resort business to real estate development. Dick grew up in the hotel business, as his father, Richard E. Holtzman ’41, was a highly respected hotelier managing The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, The Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Hawaii (as president of Sheraton Hawaii), and later joined Lawrence Rockefeller in founding Rockresorts, the premier resort management company of its time.
The Holtzman family departing Hawaii in 1967 for Connecticut, as Holtzman senior headed to NYC to join Lawrence Rockefeller to found and lead Rockresorts.
Holtzman entered Cornell in the fall of 1972 and quickly found himself immersed in balancing his studies, playing varsity football for the Big Red, and working on campus at The Statler Inn. Dick was fortunate to secure summer internships at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at The Greenbrier, and at The Plaza in New York City. Each of these experiences proved to be influential in his career.
Graduation day from Cornell in 1976, with Dean Beck and his wife, Jan,
at a Hotel School reception.
Following graduation from Cornell, Dick spent eight formative years with Westin Hotels with most of that time at The Plaza in New York and at The Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, Arizona.
Three-piece suits were the order of the day at The Plaza Hotel;
with colleague C.V. Healy.
“Welcoming President Reagan to The Arizona Biltmore was an honor and a privilege. He was very engaging and charismatic. He and his wife Nancy visited several times as her parents lived on the grounds
of The Arizona Biltmore at the time.”
He made the difficult decision to leave The Arizona Biltmore and Westin Hotels in 1984 to open the newest Rockresort, The Boulders, in Carefree, Arizona, as general manager. The development and management of The Boulders was a high point in Dick’s career. With The Boulders as part of the Rockresort portfolio, Dick had the opportunity to work directly with his father during a period when The Boulders immediately and consistently ranked among the very best resorts in the United States.
The Boulders under development in 1984.
In 1991, Dick faced an interesting crossroad. The principal owner of The Boulders, Rusty Lyon, decided not to renew the management contract with Rockresorts. Instead, he chose to self-manage the resort and envisioned a new, innovative, luxury resort management company in its future. Lyon then partnered with Dick, to not only continue to manage The Boulders Resort, but to develop a business plan and management team to expand The Boulders Resort concept of master-planned resort communities on a national scale. Early acquisitions like Carmel Valley Ranch, The Peaks at Telluride, and Ventana Canyon joined The Boulders as part of the newly established company, Carefree Resorts.
“Two of the strongest influences on my career. My father, Richard E. Holtzman ‘41 (right) and Rusty Lyon, a highly respected real estate developer and the visionary behind The Boulders and later, Carefree Resorts, where we were business partners. The two men partnered to develop and manage The Boulders in Arizona.”
“My Cornell Hotel School classmate and roommate was Bill Nassikas. Years later, Bill joined our group at The Boulders, later became General Manager, and then led operations for Carefree Resorts. We have remained close friends and see each other regularly living in Scottsdale, Arizona.”
Industry and consumer recognition came quickly, supporting the growth of this fresh, dynamic, new management company. In 1995, the firm Yesawich, Pepperdine, and Brown recognized Dick with the annual “Resort Executive of the Year” award. That same year, Dick was voted “Independent Hotelier of the World” by the readers of HOTELS Magazine in recognition of his leadership of Carefree Resorts. He remains the youngest recipient to date to receive this prestigious annual award.
In the mid-1990s, Wall Street began to aggressively focus on the hospitality sector. Carefree Resorts was immediately seen as an attractive acquisition target and was the first of nine hotel companies acquired by newcomer industry giant Patriot American Hospitality, all in 1997. One of the nine acquired companies was Wyndham Hotels. Patriot American Hospitality soon evolved into Wyndham International, consisting of over 200 hotels. Grand Bay Hotels was established as the luxury division of Wyndham International and Dick served as division president.
In 2002, Holtzman made a significant career shift, exiting the traditional hotel business and entering the real estate development field as president of Kukui’ula Development Company in Hawaii. Kukui’ula www.kukuiula.com is a 1300-acre private luxury resort community on the Island of Kauai. Features include a members’ clubhouse, spa, 18-hole championship golf course, beach club and water sports, farm, tennis, and more. These luxury amenities supported the sale of premium, resort lifestyle real estate. Dick fully embraced this new business environment, leveraging his experience of monetizing resort related real estate at premium levels and his expertise in hospitality, enabling Kukui’ula to successfully meet the elevated expectations of the most discerning property owners and club members in Hawaii.
Sheila and Dick on Waikiki. Hawaii was a special place for the Holtzman family,
living on Oahu, Kauai, and Maui over the years.
After eight years developing real estate in Hawaii, Dick had a desire to return to the traditional hotel business, joining Pyramid Hotel Group to manage their resort portfolio. The experience of third-party management in intensely competitive environments and markets was most valuable as Holtzman refocused his attention on the finer points of successful resort management.
Then, in 2014, Dick joined Montage International to open Montage Kapalua Bay as vice president and managing director. The Montage Kapalua Bay is located on the former site of the iconic Kapalua Bay Hotel. With this premiere site, an extraordinary luxury brand in Montage, and Holtzman’s leadership, Montage Kapalua Bay immediately became one of the premiere resorts and addresses in all of Hawaii. This was a very gratifying experience for Holtzman, given the fiercely competitive environment of the Hawaii market and his ties to Hawaii.
Dick recalls, “Opening Montage Kapalua Bay in 2014 was a very rewarding experience. The resort was very well received and quickly moved to the short list of top luxury resorts in Hawaii. In its second year of operation, Montage Kapalua Bay earned the coveted Forbes Five Star designation.” Holtzman is pictured with then Forbes Travel CEO, Jerry Inzerillo, and Forbes colleague, Jennifer Lodge.
Six years later, Dick assumed a corporate role with Montage International focused on senior leadership development to support the planned growth and elevated standards of the Montage International brand.
In early 2024 Dick joined The Athens Group as a principal and vice president of hospitality. The Athens Group in Phoenix, Arizona is the premier developer of luxury resorts and hotels over the last 30 years. Current projects underway include the Asher Adams, a Marriott Autograph Hotel in Salt Lake City opening in October of 2024 and The Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort and Residential experience opening in the fall of 2025.
Dick and his wife Sheila live in Scottsdale, Arizona. They have three adult children, Jennifer, Whitney, and Kevin. Cornell has had a significant influence on Dick’s career and life. As a student at Cornell, he met his wife, Sheila, who was his Economics teaching assistant while she earned her MBA. Their son, Kevin, graduated from The Hotel School in 2011. Holtzman is a past president of the Arizona Chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society and has been a frequent lecturer on campus. He remains active in national industry affairs as an executive committee member for The American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Resort Committee and previously served as its chairman.
Three generations of Holtzman Hotel School graduates:
Richard E. Holtzman ’41, Richard A. Holtzman ’76, and Kevin Holtzman ’11.
The Holtzmans are the first father and son to be inducted together into the Cornell Hotel Society Hall of Fame. Congratulations to the Holtzman families as Richard E. Holtzman ’41 and Richard A. Holtzman ’76 are among the 2024 Hall of Fame honorees.
