For Teague Hunter, president and CEO of Hunter Hotel Advisors, buying and selling hotels is a family tradition. He shared that lifetime of experience with
Asian Hospitality in the second installment of our Leadership Series interviews with top voices in the industry.
Hunter leads the Atlanta-based hotel brokerage founded in 1978 by his father Bob Hunter with his brother Lee Hunter as chief operating officer. Last year, Hunter
had its most successful year to date after closing nearly $2.5 billion in sales. In March it will host its 35th Hunter Hotel Conference, which has rebounded to
full attendance three years after the COVID-19 pandemic. Teague Hunter also is the host of Teague Talks, a twice weekly series of podcasts offering advice and
interviews with other industry heads.
In his interview with Asian Hospitality, Hunter discussed his early days in the industry, current trends in the hotel market and the future of his company and its
namesake conference. The video of the full interview is now available on our website, and the following includes excerpts from the interview with additional
information.
Rise up early in the morning
Hunter said his first hotel job was as a bellhop in the morning shift at the old Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Powers Ferry in Marietta, Georgia. It was quiet, but
instructive.
“I ran around and helped everybody with everything and learned the business,” he said.
His experience in hospitality, however, began at a much earlier age. He was 5 years old when Bob Hunter started his business. Teague Hunter recalled stories of
childhood trips to the beach, during which he would tour hotels with his father along the way. After graduating college, Hunter worked as a financial advisor for
Merrill Lynch and held a position with IBM before he realized that was not what he wanted to do with his life.