Forty Under 40: Robert Kisabeth

Robert Kisabeth wanted to be a chef. Although he still loves cooking Italian food, he found his real talent in managing hotels.nA native of Plymouth, Mich., Kisabeth graduated from Michigan State University in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in business and hotel/restaurant management. nHe became the youngest general manager in one of John Q. Hammons’ subsidiaries in 1992 at the Rancho Cordova, Calif., Day’s Inn. He followed that as GM of the Quality Suites in Santa Anna, Calif. and held the same post at the Rochester, N.Y., Residence Inn.nKisabeth then converted to Embassy Suites properties, where he was GM at two stops before helping open the Embassy Suites Convention Center Hotel in Charleston, S.C. That proved a strong audition for Kisabeth by the time Hammons opened a showplace facility in Rogers in 2003.nDuring Kisabeth’s tenure in Charleston, that property was rated No. 1 in the Embassy chain for service two years in-a-row. Although most hotels don’t show a positive cash flow until after their first year, the Rogers facility did it in three months.nKisabeth is on the board for the Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce and the Rogers A&P Commission. nn