Steven Belmonte

Since becoming the youngest general manager in the history of Holiday Inn at the age of 18 and later operating the hotel he started at, to holding the title of longest standing President and CEO of a national franchised hotel chain while at the helm of the Ramada hotel chain, Steven J. Belmonte brings new meaning to the phrase “from the mailroom to the Boardroom.”

In 2011, Belmonte launched Vimana Franchise Systems, a hotel franchising company with the brands Centerstone Inns, Hotels and Plaza Hotels and Key West Inns, Hotels and Resorts. Each brand offers three tiers ranging from two diamond to four diamond. Belmonte, who is Vimana’s co-founder and CEO wanted to create a fair franchising model with both brands offering one of the lowest fee structures in the industry, short-term agreements and more.

In 2002, Belmonte returned to his entrepreneurial roots and launched Hospitality Solutions LLC, a full-service, nationwide consultation firm specializing in lodging industry issues at the hotel and corporate level. Drawing on over 35 years of experience and key contacts both inside and outside of the industry, Hospitality Solutions was specifically designed to assist hotel owners in negotiating a fair franchise agreement with all major hotel franchise companies. In addition, Hospitality Solutions negotiates the reduction of “liquidated damages” (termination fees) for hotel owners who have been terminated or desire to cancel their existing franchise agreement.

Belmonte was a member of the Board of Directors of Arlington Hospitality (NASDAQ/NM: HOST), and served as Chairman of the Compensation Committee. In addition to his positions with Arlington Hospitality, Mr. Belmonte served on the Board of Industry Relationships for the Asian American Hotel Owner’s Association, is an Adjunct Faculty Member of the Round Table Group and is a member of the Franchise Panel for the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution.

Prior to Hospitality Solutions, for nearly 11 years Belmonte was President and CEO of the Ramada hotel chain, which had over 1,000 hotels and nearly 135,000 hotel rooms throughout the United States. He also served as Executive Vice President of the Cendant Hotel Division. Major accomplishments included more than doubling the size of the chain, adding the Ramada Limited and Ramada Plaza Hotel tiers, and launching the bold "Ramada's In/Holiday's Out" advertising campaign. As part of his plan to solidly position the Ramada chain in the upper-mid-tier segment, Belmonte also masterminded the revolutionary customer service initiative, Personal Best Hospitality, which offered tuition reimbursement and a variety of other incentives to foster a career path in the hotel industry.





Belmonte’s commitment to give back to the industry where he made his career is also reflected by the positions he held: Chairman of the American Hotel Foundation (AHF) and Vice Chairman of the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation (AH&LEF). Indeed, his dedication to tomorrow’s hospitality leaders is underscored by his work at the AH&LEF where, as past Chairman of its Fund Development Committee, Belmonte led the “Annual Hospitality Fund” for two years raising record amounts of funds to support the development of lodging operations programs in high schools, resources for research projects and scholarship programs. Most recently, Belmonte chaired the AHF's ambitious "New Century Fund Campaign" in which a record $9.2 million was raised.

As former Chairman of the Honorary Board with Plan International (formerly Foster Parents Plan) and recipient of its prestigious Humanitas Award, Belmonte’s passion for helping others has left a well-traveled path dotted with monuments of goodwill. In Africa, Belmonte spearheaded the construction of two medical facilities, a Food and Science Laboratory, a Youth Center in Cairo, and The New Belmonte Library for the Hotel and Tourism Institute in Zambia, Africa complete with an internet connection to encourage the training of aspiring hotel industry leaders. In recognition of his unwavering dedication, the Hotel and Catering International Management Association (H.C.I.M.A.) named Belmonte an Honorary Fellow for his support of the Hotel and Tourism Training Institute Trust in Lusaka, Zambia.

Belmonte was also at the forefront of a $100,000 donation to rebuild a school in the Dominican Republic destroyed by a hurricane. While there, Belmonte personally funded the construction of a massive playground and filmed fundraising commercials for Plan International. Acting as both Plan International sponsor and President of the Ramada Hotel Chain in the TV commercials, over $1.2 million in new sponsorships for the organization was raised in less than a year. Belmonte continued as Plan International’s national television spokesperson until 2003. Further underscoring Belmonte’s propensity to give, the American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat-al-Salam, a community of Jews and Arabs coexisting in peace in Israel, presented Belmonte with its first ever Ambassador of Peace Humanitarian award for his charitable endeavors in the area.

For a combination of historic charitable and business accomplishments, Belmonte was also the recipient of the prestigious 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed by Roosevelt University in Chicago. Belmonte recently donated funds to the AH&LEF, which was used to establish the “Steven J. Belmonte Scholarship Fund for Roosevelt University in Chicago”.

Prior to his position at Ramada, Belmonte was the President and CEO of Equity Hotel Corporation, a hotel management and development firm that he co-founded in 1984 and nurtured to become one of the top ten management companies in the industry. A variety of hotel brands made up the 40 property Equity portfolio, which in addition to his diverse experiences as a franchisee and general manager, equipped Belmonte with a broad range of expertise in the franchised hotel industry and is also a trained mediation specialist through the International School of Conflict Resolution in New York City.