Tarun Kapoor

CEO / Managing Director

Tarun Kapoor is the CEO & Managing Director of Kapoor & Kapoor Hospitality a full service hospitality consulting and investment firm representing a wide range of local, national and international clients in the lodging, private club, and restaurant industries.

In 2006 Tarun retired as a Professor at the Collins School of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona. He holds an M.B.A. from Michigan State University, a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin Stout and has earned his Certified Hotel Administrator and Certified Hospitality Educator from the American Hotel & Motel Association. Prior to joining the Collins School, Tarun held senior management positions in both American and international hospitality organizations, and was Managing Partner of Ascension Hotels a hotel ownership and management company and was the owner/operator of two critically acclaimed restaurants, a gourmet deli, and a catering business.

Tarun’s industry experience and business ownership have gained him much respect as an expert and enabled him to help over 50 AAHOA members form multi-unit management companies including NewcrestImage, Witness Hospitality, Zenique hotels, Platinum Hospitality, Concept hotels, Fine Hospitality, DKN, Lotus Hospitality, Paragon Hotels, HIG to name a few. Kapoor & Kapoor Hospitality Consultants, Inc. clients have included such lodging companies as Choice Hotels International, Trump Taj Mahal, La Quinta Hotels, Travelodge, Guest House International, Intercontinental Hotels, Vagabond; restaurant companies as TGI Fridays, Lawry’s, In N’ Out, Wienerschnitzel and Mi Piace Restaurants, leading private clubs as the Bel Air Country Club, Kensington Golf & Country Club, Hacienda Golf Club and The Athenaeum; and other organizations like The World ResidenSea, The Club Foundation, American Hotel & Lodging Association, Asian American Hotel Owners Association, The National Restaurant Association and The Club Managers Association of America.

Tarun is recognized internationally as a lecturer, provocateur and workshop facilitator who brings “real world” perspective to the challenges hospitality leaders are facing in reinventing their work places, managing in a strategic environment, and effectively leading service organizations.  He has served as a featured speaker for such diverse associations as the British Columbia and Yukon Hotel Association, International Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Show, National Restaurant Association, PGA Asia, Club Managers Association of America, The Golf Course Superintendents of America, American Society of Association Executives, and Pacific Area Travel Association. 

Additionally, Tarun is sought after as an expert witness of hospitality related cases, and is frequently quoted in various hospitality publications such as: National Public Radio, Fortune, Los Angeles Times, Hotel Motel Management, Nations Restaurant News, Club Management and Boardroom. He is very active in the industry and was an active volunteer/member of American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Multicultural and Diversity Advisory Council, Experience Lodging Taskforce and Human Resources Committee; California Hotel & Lodging Association’s Board of Directors and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association’s Institute of Management.