David Roedel was destined for his work developing hotels

By NANCY FOSTER
New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent
Monday, Jan. 26, 2009

WILTON – THOUGH HE MAY not have known it at the time, David Roedel spent part of his childhood training to work in an industry that would be an integral part of his future.

Roedel, 37, is a partner at Roedel Companies, LLC., which he founded with his brother, Fred Roedel III. The Wilton-based company develops and operates hotels up and down the Atlantic seaboard. Roedel's job is to find properties that would make good hotels and do the work necessary to get the project off the ground and ready for the construction phase.

Roedel knew the hotel industry well. His father, Fred Roedel II, who also works for Roedel Companies, helped create Chalet Susse International, which owned the Susse Chalet hotel chain for decades.

"I grew up in the hotel business," said Roedel, who lives in Manchester with his wife, Mary Lynn, and their two daughters.

"Our summer jobs were in the hotel business, working on landscaping crews or doing other things," he said.

After heading to school at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., Roedel came back to New Hampshire and decided to learn more about the business he was raised in.

Roedel worked in marketing while learning the ropes of the real estate business from his father.

"My dad trained me in hotel development," he said.

Then in 2000, Roedel and his brother, Fred, with help from their father and their sister, launched Roedel Companies and began developing hotel properties.

Roedel has taken on the development side of the business, traveling around the country searching for properties, working with municipalities to navigate the permitting process, finding hotel chains that might be interested in investing in the locations he discovers.

"Taking a project from a bare piece of ground to a hotel that opens and does well really excites me," Roedel said.

Beyond the office, however, Roedel also gets involved in his community, serving as chairman for the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, working with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of Manchester, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Nashua and a variety of other organizations.

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David Roedel

Age: 37

Home: Manchester

Birthplace: Lowell, Mass.

Family: Wife, Mary Lynn Roedel; daughters, Reilly Roedel, 3, and Lindsay Roedel, 1

High school: Bishop Guertin High School, Nashua

College: Hamilton College, B.A. in history, Clinton, N.Y.

Current job: Partner, Roedel Companies, LLC; www.roedelcompanies.com

Key past positions held: Director of real estate development, Chalet Susse, Int.

Volunteer activities: Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, board of directors, infrastructure committee chair; Boys & Girls Club Manchester, board of directors; Big Brothers Big Sisters Nashua, board of directors; New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Manchester Advisory Board; Manchester Historic Association board of trustees; New Hampshire Preservation Alliance budget committee member; Milford Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee; Bishop Guertin High School assistant varsity football coach, Hall of Fame committee

Most admired person: Pat Tillman – for having the courage to do what he thought was right instead of doing what was safe (He left the NFL, joined the Army and was killed in action.)

Key current professional challenge: The ability to expand our business in the current economic environment is challenging. Commercial real estate, including hotels, have suffered and will continue to suffer through 2009. Generating additional revenue while controlling costs in the current environment is challenging but not impossible. We expect to come out of the current bad cycle in a better position than when we entered it midway through 2008.

Last major achievement: The last really important thing I did was become a father for the second time. The first time was a blur and I don’t think I really appreciated how blessed we were to give birth to a happy, healthy little girl. I learned a lot the first time around and I feel I am a much better father (and husband) today than I was three years ago.

Two peers who know you well: My father (Fred B. Roedel) and wife (Mary Lynn Roedel)

Biggest problem facing New Hampshire: Educating, recruiting and maintaining a bright, energetic and creative workforce which helps diversify the state’s economy, increase revenue and employ its residents. We cannot continue to lose young people to neighboring states where job opportunities and the quality of life are perceived to be better. We need to define exactly what the “New Hampshire Advantage” means and use it to attract the best and brightest.

Favorite place in New Hampshire: At my home in Manchester with my wife and two daughters

What book are you reading now? “Soul of the Lion: A Biography of General Joshua L. Chamberlain”

How do you relax? I like to spend my free time exercising, playing with my two daughters and catching up with my wife. When time permits, I like to entertain friends and share stories about our children, jobs and life’s daily challenges. In the fall I like to watch football and watch or listen to nearly every Red Sox game.

What Web sites do you visit most often? Newspaper and financial sites including the Union Leader, Nashua Telegraph, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CNBC and Smart Money.

Favorite TV show, radio station or musical artist: “The Office”