Leadership Biography: Kerry Ranson
 HP-Hotels, Inc.
Kerry Ranson, vice president of operations with HP-Hotels, has over 17 years of experience in the hospitality industry. His professional culture has been dominated by one basic philosophy: “Consistency developed through systems execution is the groundwork for any successful venture.” If a property has proper systems in place, the hotel can withstand any conditions.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Kerry obtained a degree in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Kerry’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident in high school, when he would clean his parents’ house weekly for an allowance; but in an effort to have the house cleaned faster Kerry contracted out labor; through his friends and he would reward those friends with rides out in his car, while still pocketing the allowance. This spirit has been evident in all of his endeavors; he was instrumental in the founding of HP Hotels in 2002 with six hotels, which has now grown to 30 hotels with six more in the construction phase of development.
Kerry began his hospitality career in the food and beverage arena with Ruby Tuesday’s, where he also held his first multi-unit role as a traveling training manager and later as a regional manager. He then entered the lodging side of hospitality, with Wilson Hotel Management Company. Kerry also spent time with Mirage hotels, opening the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi. In 1999, Kerry joined Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) as an area director, where he drove both occupancy and ADR by implementing structured revenue management systems at each of his 20 plus properties. Kerry was with IHG until he joined the start-up team of HP-Hotels in 2002. His experience with IHG has been invaluable to HP-Hotels, which currently manages six properties within the IHG family, including a new full service prototype in Birmingham, Alabama opening in fall 2007.
Kerry and wife, Elizabeth, reside in New Orleans.
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