Independent Director, Apple Hospitality Reit
Search every verified Kristian Gathright interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Kristian "Krissy" Gathright, an independent director at Apple Hospitality REIT, has discussed her career trajectory and views on leadership in interviews. She described starting her career as an auditor at EY before moving into real estate and eventually becoming the first employee of what became Apple Suites, which later evolved into a publicly traded hospitality REIT. Gathright has emphasized the importance of passion, mentorship, and taking ownership of one's career path, stating that "mentors and champions are of critical importance" and that individuals should "take your path into your own hands." She has also spoken about risk management, noting that "being able to assess risk and think big picture" is important, and that diversification across brands and operators reduces risk. In earlier appearances, Gathright discussed Apple Hospitality REIT's operations and strategy. In a 2017 CNBC interview, then-CEO Justin Knight described the company as "broadly diversified" with low leverage and a focus on Hilton and Marriott brands. Gathright has also commented on specific projects, including a combined Residence Inn/Courtyard development in downtown Richmond and a partnership with Marriott, WorkSpring, and Steelcase to create flexible meeting spaces. She has addressed the impact of the 2008 recession on the Richmond Marriott and the company's efforts to stimulate local economic activity through conventions and events like the 2015 world championship bicycle road race.
“Originally I didn't start out wanting to be in hospitality ... I majored in accounting and soon after college I went to work for EY as an auditor and my clients just happened to be real estate and insurance clients. I really gravitated towards real estate and one of the clients offered me a job and I went to work with...”
“I took the risk and decided to go ahead and sign up and became the first employee of what back then was known as Apple Suites and eight different hospitality REITs later that we ended up creating ... one that we ended up listing on the New York Stock Exchange, which is the largest select-service and extended-stay hospi...”
“Being able to assess risk and think big picture and always be looking around the corner is one of the things I've always felt was important. The first thing I try to do is educate myself on what does success mean, what does the company need to do to be successful and long‑term sustainable, and keep an eye on potential...”
“If you take on more leverage that's inevitably more risky; if you invest your funds in a more narrow pool of assets versus a broader, more diversified pool of assets that's more risky; if you rely on just one operator or one brand that's more risky than spreading relationships among strong high‑quality operators and br...”
“We didn't always make or execute or plan every decision perfectly, but when we continued to grow as a company and as a leader within the industry we learned from missteps — that's the most important thing you can do.”
“Public speaking is incredibly important — it started on a smaller scale for me: get comfortable talking to people at all different levels, have one‑on‑one conversations, and then progressively take on bigger forums.”
“Mentors and champions are of critical importance — they can be men or women, superiors or peers, people in the industry, philanthropic roles, everyday life or family; a champion goes a step above and beyond to create opportunity and be your advocate.”
“A champion is someone who really goes a step above and beyond ... a brand advocate might say 'we think you would be wonderful to be the first woman president' — that opened doors for me, such as serving as president of the Courtyard Franchise Advisory Council which I served proudly for ten years.”
“I never really liked the work‑life balance paradigm — I always see it as a work‑life continuum. You have to prioritize the critical things, accept you'll make sacrifices, and lean on a support system so you're not trying to do everything by yourself.”
“Take your path into your own hands: be passionate about what you do, lead with passion because it inspires others, make a positive impact on people, and seek help from others — you don't have to do it by yourself.”
“Apple RE Companies we've been in business since 1999; we are real estate with a mix of operations because we're in hospitality and we operate hotels that are all Hilton and Marriott — we're franchisees and we pay fees to Hilton and Marriott and then pay management companies to run the hotels for us.”
“When we took over the Richmond Marriott it was around the beginning of 2008 — occupancy in 2007 was in the upper 60s around 69% and the rate was close to $130, but like the rest of the economy we suffered through the recession so occupancy dropped and we had to put money back into renovating the hotel to reposition it.”
“We work with the management company and the individual markets to try to find ways to stimulate the economy — with the City of Richmond we want to work to make it an attractive destination for businesses and to attract larger conventions citywide so our occupancy increases and then we can grow rate.”
“We're going to develop the first extended-stay hotel downtown — a combo Residence Inn/Courtyard where you'll share meeting space and fitness facilities which yields savings and should open by the end of 2014 ahead of Richmond 2015.”
“The Richmond 2015 world championship bicycle road race is a huge event — private-public partnerships came together, over 26 countries and an expected 450,000 people will come into the city and it's about putting Richmond on a better platform to stimulate economic opportunity.”
Krissy shares her journey into hospitality, culminating in the c-suite as well as public company board seats. She talks about how to ...
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Krissy Gathright tells Renee Fisher why managing successful hotels in the current economic climate is SUPER EASY. April Fools!
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