BENCHMARK® Names Patrick Berwald Vice President of Foodand Beverage

03/28/2018

The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, March 2018 … BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company, hasnamed Patrick Berwald vice president of food and beverage.  Greg Champion, president and COO ofBenchmark, made the announcement.

“It is such a pleasure to welcome Patrick to our company,” said Mr. Champion. “He brings immenseculinary talents, superb food & beverage managerial skills, and stellar academic credentials to his newposition with us. We look forward to his active contributions to and participation within our growingleadership team.”

Patrick Berwald comes to Benchmark with a distinguished two-decade career of food and beverageleadership. He was previously corporate director of food and beverage for New York-based LoewsHotels, where he was responsible for the overall food and beverage departmental strategy, financialperformance, operating inefficiencies, capital projects and concept development throughout the luxurybrand portfolio.

Mr. Berwald has collaborated with such brands as Thompson Hotels, Hilton and InterContinental Hotels& Resorts, including properties such as the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and the storied WillardHotel in Washington, DC. In Las Vegas he was part of the opening leadership team for the Paris Hotel &Casino and worked with MGM Resorts International as well as Caesar’s Entertainment.

Patrick Berwald received his formal culinary training at the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu in Paris,France. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality Administration at the University ofNevada, Las Vegas, and attended Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, focusing onHospitality Finance and Marketing.  Mr. Berwald is active within the American Hotel & RestaurantAssociation and the National Restaurant Association. He is relocating to The Woodlands with his wife,Stephanie, a professional chef, and their family.

About BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company.

BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company, is a trailblazer in the development, management,marketing and owner-advisory services of resorts, hotels, conference centers and exclusive private clubs.In addition to the company’s iconic Benchmark Resorts & Hotels portfolio, the Gemstone Collection is adistinctive luxury portfolio of independent hotels & resorts in highly preferred destinations. BENCHMARK’S distinguished and proven reputation is deeply-rooted in core values that are focusedand aligned with exceeding ownership and stakeholder performance expectations. The combinedportfolios feature nearly 70 unique and distinctive properties domestically and internationally. Thecompany leadership and valued employees are passionately committed to delivering the industry’s mostauthentic, enchanted, soulful, vibrant, unrivaled and memory-making experience.  BENCHMARK’Sprogressive “Be The Difference” culture and values are a cornerstone to the company’s nearly 40 years ofextraordinary achievement and prosperity. Many properties have been recognized with the Benchmark

Conference Centers® mark of meeting excellence.  BENCHMARK, a global hospitality company, isbased in The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, and has regional offices in Park City, Utah; Miami, Florida;New Brunswick, New Jersey; Seattle Washington; and Tokyo, Japan.  www.benchmarkglobalhospitality.com To become a fan on Facebook, visitwww.facebook.com/BenchmarkResortsandHotels,  www.facebook.com/GemstoneHotelCollection. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BenchmarkHotels, www.twitter.com/GemstoneHotels , onInstagram at www.instagram.com/benchmarkresortsandhotels, www.instagram.com/gemstonehotels, andon Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/benchmarkhotels/gemstone-hotels .  At LinkedIn, www.linkedin.com/company/benchmark-hospitality.

Contacts

Ken EllensKen Ellens Communications KenEllens@aol.com Phone: 281-758-2864