TKo Hospitality has been formed in Delaware. An affiliate of Harvey, Hanna & Associates, Inc. (HHA), TKo Hospitality specializes in hotel and restaurant operations, third party management, sales, marketing, food and beverage and franchise relationship management.
E.Thomas Harvey, III (Chairman), Kostas Kalogeropoulos (President/CEO) and Vince DiFonzo (COO) formed the new hotel company.
TKo currently operates and manages the Lighthouse Cove Resort in Dewey Beach. The property consists of a Hyatt Place Hotel, The Residences at Lighthouse Cove Condominiums, The Lighthouse Restaurant, Que Pasa Mexican Restaurant, Crabbers Cove Restaurant and an on-site large events venue, The Bay Center.
TKo has plans for growth with three new development projects in the pipeline and plans to acquire existing third party management contracts. “Our goal is to have 1,000 rooms in our portfolio within the next two years,” said Harvey.
TKo’s principals have brand management experience with Marriott Hotels, Hilton Hotels, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Choice International and other internationally known hotel brands. “We are a boutique hospitality management company that is very hands on, focused and will customize our services to the owner’s needs,” stated TKo CEO Kalogeropoulos.
Harvey also serves as president and owner of Harvey, Hanna & Associates, Inc. (HHA) and president of Dewey Beach Enterprises, Inc. (DBE). HHA manages and operates more than three million square feet of commercial real estate properties throughout Delaware.
DBE is the developer and owner of the Lighthouse Cove Redevelopment project in Dewey Beach. Prior to establishing HHA in 1998, Harvey built, owned and managed multiple waste management, recycling and transportation companies over 25 years.
Prior to joining TKo Hospitality as President and CEO Kalogeropoulos worked with Meyer Jabara Hotels for 35 years serving as Executive Vice President. Meyer Jabara is a regional hotel group that operates the Christiana Hilton in Delaware.
Kalogeropoulos played a key role in growing Meyer Jabara Hotels during his tenure. His hospitality career spans over 40 years, originating in Europe with Hilton International where he held several key positions in various European cities.
He developed his expertise in setting strategic partnerships that met long-range business goals, using work teams and achieving high levels of service.
Joining Harvey and Kalogeropoulos is Vince DiFonzo as TKo’s Chief Operating Officer. Prior to TKo, DiFonzo worked with Meyer Jabara Hotels for 23 years and most recently served as Vice President of Operations.
During his tenure at Meyer Jabara Hotels, DiFonzo served as General Manager of several award winning hotels, Regional Director of Operations and most recently, Vice President of Operations. DiFonzo has experience in operations, sales and marketing, union negotiations, property acquisitions, hotel openings, brand relationships and third party management.
“Between the business acumen and vast experience of our executive team, we will bring tremendous value to any hotel ownership group we partner with. We are small enough to offer personalized service which allows us to be engaged and individually focused in every property we manage while large enough to deliver strong results,” said DiFonzo, C.O.O./Partner for TKo.
TKo Hospitality is based in Newport with a southern office location in Dewey Beach.
TKo enters a hotel market that is seeing a continuing recovery from a period of expansion that was followed by the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009. Investment is pouring into the industry, with owners turning to hotel management companies to operate their properties.
For more information on TKo Hospitality, visit: www.TKoHospitalityMgt.com To learn more about the Lighthouse Cove Resort in Dewey Beach, visit: www.lighthousecovedewey.com
