Principals

Darryl Lapointe is the founding

President and CEO of Highpointe Hotel Corporation, in Gulf Breeze, Florida.  Born in Vancouver, Canada, he has been involved in the hospitality industry virtually his entire life.  During his nearly 40 years of working in hotel operations and development, he has been associated with commercial and resort properties in California, Nevada, Colorado, Michigan, Iowa, Louisiana, Texas, Georgia and Florida, receiving numerous industry honors for his contributions and accomplishments.  Mr. Lapointe was awarded the Hampton Hotels – Outstanding Achievement Award recognizing his many contributions to the development of the brand.  Darryl is a past president of the International Association of Holiday Inns and is a current member of the Hampton Inn hotels Franchise Advisory Council.

His hotels have won the most prestigious awards available for their respective brands including the Torchbearers Award, the Wingardner Award, the Pinnacle Award of Excellence, the Marriott Gold Hotel Award, and the Lighthouse Award.  He has twice received “Development of the Year” awards given by national franchisors, as recognition for his introduction of innovative, challenging and exciting new projects to their brands.

Under his leadership this full-service management and development company has built a current portfolio of 14 hotels. Brands include Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Residence Inn by Marriott, and Courtyard by Marriott.

Bob Cleveland graduated from Florida State University with a B.S. Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Administration. He began his hospitality career with Holiday Inn hotels in 1976, excelling in the company’s Operations Management and Development Program, completing the Innkeeper course of study within the Hotel Management Program at Holiday Inn University. He then worked for Holiday Inns, Inc. in food and beverage, resident, and general management positions at Orlando-Airport, Disney Maingate-West, and Columbia, South Carolina.

Cleveland joined Highpointe at its inception and is responsible for all day-to-day operations and provides direction for general managers of the individual properties. He provides centralized purchasing, budgeting, and capital improvement plans and approvals to ensure that the profit levels of the hotels meet expectations. Cleveland also oversees all property-level management personnel decisions to ensure operating philosophies and policies are carried through to the guest.

Cleveland is a past member of the Hampton Inn Brand Operations Council, and is a board member of the Capital Trust Agency, a non-profit issuer of municipal bonds to commercial projects. Cleveland has also served his community as a City Councilman for the City of Gulf Breeze, and as Vice Chairman of Tourism for the Pensacola Area Chamber of Commerce.

Dave Cleveland received his Master of Business Administration Degree from the University of Texas, after graduating summa cum laude from Florida State University with a B.S. Degree in Marketing. His academic awards included: Top Business Student; Top Advertising Student’ Beta Gamma Sigma; Phi Kappa Phi; Phi Theta Kappa; Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence, and recognition as a University of Texas Sord Scholar. He began his hotel career in 1975, excelling in a variety of property-level operations and marketing positions, ranging from bellhop to manager. From this experience, he has acquired a genuine understanding of hotel management from the ground up that enhances his ability to analyze the feasibility of a project or the competitive situation of an existing property from an operator’s point of view.

As Senior Vice President of Marketing and Development, Cleveland coordinates all aspects of market research for the properties developed and managed by Highpointe Hotel Corporation. This includes lodging market assessments, hotel investment analyses, supervision of the hotels’ appraisal process, portfolio management, risk management, and placement of debt and equity. He also supervises the hotels’ marketing efforts, as administered by the Regional Directors of Sales and Marketing.

Cleveland has held several officer positions with the Pensacola Area Chamber of Commerce, is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Baptist Health Care, and serves on the Gulf Breeze Hospital Advisory Board. He is also a board member and past President of the University of West Florida Foundation, and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of West Florida.