Paul Thomas

Vice President of Operations

Mr. Thomas entered the hospitality business as a busboy at the Railhead Restaurant in Dallas in 1979 while attending North Texas State University. He later was promoted to waiter and was able to put himself through college over the next four years. After college he was hired as a manager trainee with Cheddars Restaurants. There he received his basic food knowledge: a three-month, back of the house training program. His food career continued with ARA Services (now ARAMARK) at Baylor University. There he was responsible for the cash operations and catering at the Bill Daniel Student Center.

As fate would have it, an estate, which included a hotel, the Kilgore Community Inn, had been left to Baylor; the hotel was now hemorrhaging money. The University approached ARA and asked if they could send a manager up to babysit the hotel for 30-90 days while they decided to sell it or close it. The fortunes of the hotel quickly turned. Along the way Mr. Thomas was recognized as Businessman of the Year. He was active in the Chamber of Commerce and United Way serving as Vice President and President, respectively, prior to relocating. Five years later, after more than doubling the revenues, the hotel was sold - a sale that Mr. Thomas himself arranged in 1992.

Mr. Thomas then went to work for four years as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Longview, Texas based Lodging Host Hotel Corp. There he was responsible for 11 hotels and more than $11 Million in revenue. The hotels included brands such as Radisson, Holiday Inn, Clarion, Quality, and Comfort Inn. In 1997 he left Lodging Host and went to work for the Shaner Hotel Group as the Western Regional Director of Sales. For the next three years he directed the sales efforts at 26 hotels with more than $80 million in revenue. While the franchises included Radisson, Holiday Inn, Hampton, Hawthorn Suites, Embassy, Comfort, and Days Inn, he later became the Holiday Inn “specialist” being responsible for 14 HI branded hotels.

In late 1999, Mr. Thomas returned to Lodging Host as VP of Sales and Marketing, a position he held until 2004. He then transitioned to Regional Director of Operations. This position required him to be responsible as a General Manager of a hotel while also supervising other properties. Once again, Mr. Thomas became the "specialist" dealing with all of the company’s IHG branded hotels including:  Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood Suites, and Staybridge Suites. While based at the Holiday Inn Express in Lampasas, Texas, Paul and his team were recognized with the 2005 Torchbearer Award, which placed this hotel in the top 1% of all IHG hotels. He later served concurrently as the General Manager of the Candlewood Suites in Round Rock, Texas and Lodging Host's Regional Director of Operations.

Mr. Thomas served on the Board of Directors for Lodging Host throughout both of his tenures with the company. He was also selected to serve for three terms on the IAHI Candlewood Suites Brand Committee. This committee position served as a liaison to IHG by making recommendations concerning brand standards and operations. Paul holds the designations of Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) and Certified Hospitality Sales Professional (CHSP).

In late 2008, Mr. Thomas left Lodging Host Hotel Corp to join Rocky Reese and form Live Oak Hospitality Management. Paul lives in Harker Heights, Texas, with his 19-year-old son.