Amanda Hite, STR’s president since 2011, has been promoted to president and chief executive officer.
“Amanda’s contributions in further expanding STR’s reach around the globe have been invaluable,” said Randy Smith, who co-founded STR in 1985. “As we embark on our fourth decade of service to the hotel industry and expand our services to other sectors, Amanda is the ideal leader to continue our mission of providing our partners and clients with the hands-on and confidential approach that has become our calling card.
“Adding CEO to Amanda’s title is a testament to her hard work and dedication in providing STR’s employees with opportunities for advancement, and our partners and clients with the opportunity to benchmark and analyze their businesses with confidence.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity presented to me by the Smith family,” Hite said. “Their commitment to excellence, along with the hard work demonstrated by our incredible employees and the continued feedback and support of our partners and clients, has allowed us to grow into a global company. The experience and dedication of so many employees over the years combined with the addition of several dynamic senior executives during the first half of 2016 provides STR with the resources needed to continue its rapid growth trajectory while remaining focused on the needs of our clients and partners.”
Hite is in her 11th year with STR, and she served as president and COO for the last five. During the first quarter of 2016, Hite led the implementation of STR’s updated corporate brand, which unified the company’s global entities and aligned its expansion into additional market sectors.
STR’s data sample in the hotel industry has grown 185.5% during Hite’s tenure as president to more than 7.2 million hotel rooms in 53,000 hotels around the globe. The company also is expanding its data and analytics platform into the self storage and health club sectors.
As part of the company’s updated direction and international growth, several recent appointments have been made to STR’s senior team: Elizabeth Randall-Winkle (chief strategy officer), Robin Rossmann (managing director based at STR’s international headquarters in London), Scott Hendryx (chief information officer) and Jon Timmons (chief operations officer).
Smith will take a sabbatical from the business this year and remain involved with the long-term vision for STR as co-founder and owner.
Under Hite’s leadership, STR’s employee base has grown to 250 worldwide. In addition, a 35,000-square-foot expansion to the company’s North American headquarters is on track for a December 2016 completion.
