Cayuga’s Development Consulting Group is a full service international development consultancy offering an extraordinary variety of services to hotel, resort, club, casino, conference center, spa, golf club and restaurant owners, developers and operators as well as to communities in both the public and private sectors. Our goal is to assist our clients in achieving their stated development goals on time, within budget and with the agreed upon level of quality.

Cayuga’s Development Consulting Group is comprised solely of senior level executives; there are no juniors to be trained on client assignments nor any need to “make work” for a firm’s several layers of staff. Clients receive the benefits of many years of successful experience with each consultant working on an assignment.


Additionally, clients may take advantage of Cayuga’s other resources including Tourism Consulting Services, Casino Gaming Services and Food & Beverage Advisory Services, among others.

Cayuga’s Development Consulting Services include: Market analyses and feasibility studies Market positioning and marketing planning Franchise/management agreement counsel and negotiations Financial operating projections Conceptual design Project programming Critical path planning Interior design Food facilities design Laundry design Value engineering FF&E specifications and budgets OS&E specifications and budgets Licensing and permits Purchasing Installation Technology/systems/ telecommunications Executive search/staffing Pre-opening budgets Expert witness and litigation support services Tourism planning for local, regional and state organizations

Advisory Members

The following members are available through Cayuga Hospitality Advisors to provide a full range of consulting services:

Dick Barger  (Boston, MA)
Chairman of The Barger Companies, with wide international and domestic development experience specializing in resorts, executive conference centers and golf resort projects. Providing complete development management including technical assistance, project design team, and identification of potential development team members.

John Berndt  (Las Vegas, NV)
Offering 35 years of leadership experience in the hospitality/tourism industry growing luxury brands globally, having held senior positions with: Cipriani; Ritz-Carlton; Hyatt; Westin Hotels and Resort Groups; Harrah’s Entertainment; Sung Hung Kai, Hong Kong’s largest mixed-use developer; and, Wharf/Wheelock’s, China’s largest landlord. John has extensive experience in all aspects of developing, opening and operating high-end mixed-use centers partnering with the best brands offering today’s lifestyle luxury products, services and amenities. 

Eric Bettelheim  (Las Vegas, NV)
President of The Ascona Group, with more than 30 years of worldwide operations and consulting experience, primarily deluxe category hotels and resorts. Specializing in project consulting, development, condominium hotel/resort development, pre-opening project management, executive search, operator selection, management contract negotiation, operations analysis, and asset and interim management of hotels and resorts in the US and abroad.

Bill Callnin  (Virginia Beach, VA)
Cayuga Chairman and Managing Director, with over 25 years experience consulting with casino developers and operators in the U.S., the Caribbean, Europe and Australia. Opened Bally’s Park Place Casino Hotel as Vice President of Operations. Developed casinos in Westin, Wyndham, Four Seasons and Fairmont Resorts, each a first-time casino within the client company.

Sean Callnin  (Denver, CO)
Principal with Ricca Newmark Design, an international hospitality design and consulting firm providing services in: hospitality, food facilities and laundry programming and design; interior design; market research; operations analysis; master planning; RFP development; and contract negotiation.

Bill Caruso  (Denver, CO)
President of William Caruso Associates, offering food facilities planning and design; master planning, operational/design space planning and programming; development and negotiation of catering contracts; and market and economic feasibility analyses.

Michael Chiu  (San Francisco, CA)
President and Owner of Prima Donna Development Corporation, offering large-scale mixed-use developments including infra-structure, hotels, restaurants, retail centers, office buildings, subdivisions and apartment buildings. Extensive international experience in development, construction and management of upscale hotels in Malaysia, Fiji, Singapore and the U.S.

Stefan Diederichs  (Brussels, Belgium)
Managing Director of Othello Hotel Projects BVBA, specializing in procurement of furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) and project management for hotel openings in Europe and the Middle East. Fifteen years of experience with European and American construction companies, interior designers, owners and operators.

Leif Evensen  (Oslo, Norway)
Cayuga Managing Director, offering feasibility studies, project planning and development services, as well as operational analysis and trouble-shooting for hotel, restaurant and cruise-line owners and operators in Europe and the Middle East. Fluent in: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, English, French and German.

Gary Henkin  (Rockville, MD)
President of WTS International, one of the world's leading leisure consulting and management firms providing conceptual planning, feasibility studies, design consultation, pre-opening preparation and daily operations/management services for spas, fitness centers, athletic facilities and leisure complexes around the world. Currently working with over 100 properties worldwide.

John Hurley  (Memphis, TN)
President of John A. Hurley & Associates, specializing in feasibility studies and concept development for small luxury hotels, boutique properties and country inns. Also offering extensive experience in hotel development, franchising and brand creation, as well as multi-unit hotel ownership and management.

Joe Lavin  (Washington, DC)
President of HarborStone Hospitality, an entrepreneurial venture to develop and own hotels while providing general consulting in the hospitality industry. Career focus has been hotel development, franchising and brand creation through the initiation and management of change.

Rudy Muenster  (Berlin, Germany)
Managing Partner of RWM Hotel Consult GmbH, founded in 1980 and active in 45 countries on four continents. Services include: feasibility studies; privatization efforts; and, hotel development, executive search and asset management for hotel owners and real estate companies. Fluent in German, English, French, Spanish, Italian and Indonesian.

Mac Noden  (Amelia Island, FL)
The former Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Information Systems, Strategy and Tourism at Cornell’s Hotel School and a well-known expert in the areas of tourism policy, promotion and development. A Managing Director of Cayuga and leader of its Tourism Consulting Services Group.

Michael Sansbury  (Orlando, FL)
Group Leader for Cayuga's Development Consulting Group.  Extraordinary experience with development, operations and strategic planning for upscale resorts, resort casinos and high-end hotels, including executive positions with Baha Mar Resorts, Loews Hotels, Mirage Resorts and Westin Hotels & Resorts.

Jules Sieburgh  (Bethesda, MD)
Visionary of creative technology applications for the hospitality industry. Served as senior information technology executive for Sonesta Hotels, InterContinental Hotels, Host Marriott Corporation and Kerzner International. Jules’ responsibilities for these international chains covered all aspects of technology as it relates to the hospitality industry. In addition Jules spend a couple of years with priceline.com expanding their hotel product line. Jules is a member of the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professional’s International Hall of Fame.

Chuck Sipperley  (Fort Meyers, FL)
Professional Engineer with over 20 years experience in hotel, resort and club development and expansion from concept planning to full responsibility for construction and preparation for opening. Services provided to hotel, resort, club and restaurant Engineering Departments include: conducting performance audits, budgeting, project planning and other engineering reviews; incorporating standards to meet green building codes; management and staff training; and, interim management (“Instant Director of Engineering”). Extensive experience in Caribbean.

David Southworth  (Boston, MA)
President and CEO of Southworth Development LLC, specializing in the development of residential resort and hospitality branded real estate communities. Extensive and unique experience in hospitality development: over $1 billion in golf and hospitality projects; served as manager, consultant or construction manager to 43 golf properties in the last 13 years.

Thomas K. Tritschler – Munich, Germany
Managing Director, Tritschler Associates, Munich, Germany. With a network of some of the industry’s most noted and experienced luxury hotel executives, Tritschler Associates offers unparalleled and personalized capacity for developing, planning, managing and marketing fine independent hotels and resorts worldwide. Twenty years experience in successfully managing international luxury hotels and resorts with some of the most acclaimed hotels and hotel companies in the world. Fleunt in English and German, proficient in French.