Bob McDonald

Bob McDonald

Managing Director
Murphy Asset Management, LLC

Bob has had a passion for the service industry that was instilled at an early age. That passion grew as he sold all he had to go to school in Switzerland and study in the Burgundy wine villages of France. Over 30 years later, with stints from working in D.C. convention hotels, Aspen resorts, to small boutique guest ranches in Colorado. He has championed the message of having fun and the mantra of creating a memory for guests and more importantly for those that worked with him. By understanding both the operational and ownership levels, he can implement strategies to match the overall vision and goals of the asset, company, and investors. This is done with the experience working with private equity groups, developers, family asset investors, national brands, and local municipalities.

As Vice President with Marshall/TPG Hotels and Resorts, Parks Hospitality, and Chesterfield Hotels, he was able to help grow, enhance, and develop strategies toward profitability and reputation recognition for the company and the owners of the assets. His hotels have garnered many accolades ranging from top 1% of the brand in operations and guest recognition, to his independent hotels being recognized in publications as the best of the best for hotels or food and beverage operations in the country. The growing trend of merging management companies has now led Bob to a glaring need for owners. The timing was right for him to move into helping fill that need for individual owners in having a resident expert to watch over their interests and help them with their development goals. This assures owners that their investments have individual focus and that clear communications are facilitated between the operator and owner. The current hospitality canvas creates a time that the slightest deviation from the asset focus can cause reprehensible damage to profits and reputation to the hotel or restaurant. Bob is now setting up owners with successful strategies to protect, and grow their investments through asset managing their hospitality and non-hospitality holdings. His independent asset work has now been combined with adding the successful hospitality and real estate team at Murphy Asset Management.

Prior to Murphy and his operational V.P. roles, Bob worked for as a award winning full service and boutique General Manager. Bob has dual degrees in hospitality from both Virginia Tech and Caesar Ritz College in Le Bouveret, Switzerland. He currently serves as Chairman for the Virginia Tech Pamplin Business College’s Hospitality and Tourism Management school advisory board.