Atul Patel
President, CEO and Chief Door Opener
With 25+ years of hotel management experience, Atul Patel, president of Open Door Hospitality, is responsible for the operational, developmental and strategic growth of the company. He strives to ensure each hotel within his portfolio provides superior guest and associate services and the very best hotel experience overall.
Atul served in various senior leadership and ownership roles for individual hotels and regional hotel groups before developing his Open Door Hospitality brand. He built his reputation among brands such as Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Wyndham, Choice, Northcott Hospitality and Best Western through continued hotel management success. Atul has dedicated his entire professional career to the lodging industry and intimately understands every facet of the hospitality management.
Atul serves on the board of directors for several local and national hospitality associations. Being heavily invested in the Cedar Valley and positioned to grow within the Midwest is what makes Atul a pillar of the community. Outside of his professional duties, he loves to be outdoors, enjoying adventurous hobbies such as skydiving, motorcycle riding and playing tennis.
Reena Patel
Creative Director
Reena Patel, Creative Director, of Open Door Hospitality has been in the hospitality industry since her infancy. With a vast understanding of what it takes to make a successful and profitable business through hard work and always going the extra mile; Reena has always achieved whatever goal was in front of her. Reena oversees the accounting department, regional operations, as well as the regional sales team.
With Reena’s passion and the vision of what a successful property should look like, she has been able to turn the vision into reality. Purchasing hotels with brands such as Americinn, Best Western, Carlson, Choice, Marriott, and Wyndham and then adding that magic touch to turn the hotels into beautiful, award winning, revenue generating properties is what Reena does best.
Reena’s hobbies are cooking and traveling. Reena values time spent with her family and friends, and truly enjoys being a part of the Cedar Valley community.
Sandy Thomas
Director of Sales
Sandy Thomas is Director of Sales at Open Door Hospitality. Responsibilities include selling and marketing the multiple hotels and brands within the company portfolio while directing each hotel to meet revenue goals, hiring sales staff and organizing sales efforts. She works with city Convention and Tourism Bureaus and sits on various boards to help represent the hotels within their community. Sandy considers networking and building lasting relationships as one of her most valuable skills which enables her to provide personal and individualized service to each company she works with.
Sandy has spent the past 7 years opening new (Hilton) Hotels which included hiring staff, developing and training sales teams. Sandy brings 28 years of hotel knowledge with experience in catering sales, event coordinating, food & beverage, revenue management as well as overseeing and making decisions for all revenues brought into the hotels through sales efforts, as the Director of Sales. Sandy has experience working at large Resorts, Convention Centers with up to 40 plus SF of convention & meeting space, including multiple hotel brands and new hotel openings.
In addition to the many years of hotel experience in several different capacities Sandy won numerous awards including the prestigious Presidents Award and Director of Sales of the Year awards.
Sandy has returned “home” to join Open Door Hospitality and looks forward to settling back into a welcoming community. Sandy’s hobbies include gardening, traveling anywhere with a beach and an ocean, and spending time with family.
Anna Showers
Sales Manager
Anna Showers is a Sales Manager at Open Door Hospitality with a track record of promoting and selling hotel rooms through its services and guest experiences. After spending two decades working in the hotel business, Anna knows what it takes to maximize revenue and achieve sales in the toughest of markets. She does this by creating an environment where her colleagues are motivated and encouraged to promote sales. Over the course of her hotel tenure, Anna has been presented numerous awards and recognitions by the community and by the franchise dedicated to her hard work and strong performance. She is an expert in handling difficult situations and is extremely knowledgeable in analyzing reports, using computer databases, negotiating with clients, and much more.
When she is not at work, she is actively engaged with the community whether it be volunteering with various organizations or promoting the entire Cedar Valley as a whole. Anna also loves to spend time with her family and friends whenever time permitted.
Saagar Patel
Business Developer Senior Consultant
Saagar has over 5 years of broad hotel management experience. He is responsible for the oversight of hotel level operations and performance. Saagar specializes in the opening of new hotels and turn-around projects, and he prides himself on providing valuable leadership in the essential areas of a successful hotel.
When Saagar is not working, his hobbies include sports, traveling and spending time with family and friends.
Kishan Patel
VP of Development
With a career spanning over 5 years in the hospitality industry, Kishan has vast experience and knowledge in all aspects of hotel operations and hospitality technology. His extensive pre-opening and procurement experience has helped him become a leader in the hospitality industry.
Kishan enjoys being outdoors, sports and traveling in his spare time.
