Rutger Smits

After his graduation from the Institute for Hospitality Management in The Hague in 1985, Rutger Smits joined InterContinental Hotels in Frankfurt, advancing rapidly to Operations Analyst for Central Europe.

Following hotel management postings in London, the US, Germany and China, Rutger moved to the Middle East where he was instrumental in the development of the Ritz Carlton Jumeirah. He was then invited to join PKF in London, commencing his consulting career. When the PKF team moved to Arthur Andersen in 1996, he transferred back to the Middle East where he spent the next four years providing hotel development consultancy services.

In 2000 Mr Smits assumed the directorship of Andersen’s hotel consulting practice in Sydney. In 2002 Rutger launched the HVS International office in Sydney and in 2007 he sold this business to Cushman & Wakefield. Until late 2009 he held the position of Managing Director for Cushman & Wakefield Hospitality, Asia Pacific.

Rutger Smits has acquired an exceptionally broad hospitality background and profound understanding of hotel market dynamics, market feasibility, financial projections and hotel valuations. His consulting experience also exposed him to master-planned developments and the integration of hospitality and tourism components within mixed-use environments.

Rutger is a licensed real estate agent and a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC).