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A visionary and leading force in the hospitality industry, John Ceriale is the president of Prospect Advisors, the exclusive hotel advisor to Blackstone Real Estate Advisors (BREA). Since creating Prospect Advisors in 1998, Ceriale has been responsible for the management of BREA’s hotel investments, located across the U.S., Caribbean, and Europe.

In 1998, Ceriale was instrumental in Blackstone’s acquisition of four of London’s classic hotels, Claridge’s, The Savoy, The Berkeley, and The Connaught. Ceriale commissioned internationally acclaimed architects and designers – including Thierry Despont, David Collins, and Barbara Barry, to inject a new energy into these hotels, now among London’s hottest destinations.

Blackstone sold the Savoy Group in 2004; the same year the company acquired Boca Resorts, Inc., which included the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Resort and Bahia Mar Beach Resort & Yachting Center in Fort Lauderdale, and The Registry Resort & Club and Edgewater Beach Hotel & Club in Naples, Florida. New York’s Rihga Royal hotel was added to Boca Resorts in May 2005.

In August 2005, Ceriale was instrumental in Blackstone’s acquisition of Wyndham Hotels. He subsequently orchestrated the creation of LXR Luxury Resorts, which incorporated Wyndham, Boca Resorts, and other existing assets. LXR invested $1.2 billion into these properties, thereby ensuring their standing among America’s finest hotels in the luxury marketplace. He assembled a team of designers and chefs to lend their talents to the LXR properties – including David Collins, Alexandra Champalimaud, and David Rockwell. And on the culinary front, Chef Gordon Ramsay, Angela Hartnett, and Masaharu Morimoto.

In July 2007, Blackstone acquired Hilton Hotels. With the acquisition of Hilton, Blackstone brought its portfolio of hotel rooms worldwide to 600,000.

Before founding Prospect Advisors in 1998, Ceriale was the senior vice president of operations for Westin Hotels North America. Prior to Westin, he spent four years at Fairmont Hotels as executive vice president of operations.

Ceriale graduated from Loyola College in Baltimore with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and received a Bachelor of Science degree in hotel management from the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.