Robert Glinka, MBA

Experience and knowledge to lead to your success in the hospitality industry

Robert S. Glinka, MBA leads Resort Investment Advisors with the support of over 30 years experience working with both domestic and international hospitality and leisure based real estate companies such as Disney, Fairfield Resorts, Cendant and Sol Melia and he has served in a variety of Executive and Senior Executive roles during his career. These career opportunities have afforded him a broad background in Executive Management, Business Development, Acquisitions, Project Development, Strategic Business Planning, Operations, Finance, Funding and Administration.

Mr. Glinka is involved in a variety of consulting opportunities including Senior Living, Sports Venues, Mixed Use Developments and operational process improvement projects. Mr. Glinka has been involved in the development and operation of small and large scale publicly and privately held companies with focus on hotels, vacation ownership, mixed use developments, theme parks and sports venues. Most recently, Mr. Glinka served as Chief Operating Officer with Ultimate Escapes, where he was responsible for areas such as Member Service, Field Operations, Finance, Property Strategy and Administration.

Immediately prior to joining Ultimate Escapes, Mr. Glinka served as CEO of Areus Holdings, LLC a startup privately held business whose concentration was in the hotel segment of the hospitality industry. While in this role, Mr. Glinka developed the business plan for the Company and identified and pursued acquisition opportunities in the targeted niche of the industry. Mr. Glinka’s work included a review of several hundred companies for organizational alignment and he developed business valuations and negotiation strategies for targeted opportunities.

From 2005 thru 2008, Mr. Glinka served in a variety of capacities with Celebrity Resorts, a privately held vacation ownership company. Mr. Glinka’s roles during this time ranged from Executive Director of Acquisitions & Development to Chief Development Officer. Mr. Glinka’s efforts included development of business plans, maintaining lender relationships, review and analysis of operations, sales and marketing programs and directing targeted acquisitions through the due diligence and integration processes.

From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Glinka served as both a consultant and Vice President of Development for The Sol Melia Vacation Club and was a member of the startup team for this international venture. During his tenure, Mr. Glinka assisted in the development and rollout of operational, sales & marketing, development and management strategies of the Vacation Club. In addition, he guided repositioning of several projects as well as development new properties in countries such as Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

From 1998 to 2003, Mr. Glinka served in several capacities with Fairfield Resorts and with the Cendant Corporation following the 2001 acquisition of Fairfield by Cendant. During this time, Mr. Glinka served as Vice President of Planning, Senior Vice President of Planning & Development and as Executive Vice President of Business Development for both domestic and international platforms. While with Fairfield and Cendant, Mr. Glinka implemented a structured planning and analysis organization, drove the corporate strategic planning process, directed development and opening of over twenty new resort properties, successfully directed the acquisition and integration of several acquisitions and supported development of several key strategic alliances with companies such as Harrah’s Casinos and Outrigger Resorts.

Prior to his joining Fairfield Resorts in 1998, Mr. Glinka had a successful career with The Walt Disney Company serving in a variety of staff and executive capacities within functional areas such as Accounting, Financial Planning, Business Development and Operations Planning. During his tenure at Disney, Mr. Glinka was involved in the opening and operation of several theme parks, resort properties and sports facilities.

Mr. Glinka holds a BSBA from Western New England College in Springfield, Massachusetts and an MBA from the Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business located in Winter Park, Florida, where he graduated number one in his class and earned the Corporate Council Award for Distinguished Scholastic Achievement. Mr. Glinka is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the prestigious international honor society which recognizes business excellence.