Kristi Allen, EVP of hotels at Ensemble, has been appointed chair of the California Hotel & Lodging Association for 2026. She will lead the organization’s 33-member board, which represents the state’s $18 billion hotel sector and its more than 235,000 employees. Allen will oversee CHLA’s statewide advocacy on issues affecting more than 6,000 lodging properties, including taxation, regulatory mandates and legal challenges facing hotel owners and operators.
“Predatory lawsuits, onerous taxes and unsustainable regulatory mandates do harm to our hotels, their employees and our future,” Allen said in a statement. “These pressures remind us why CHLA’s role as a unified, influential advocate for hospitality is essential and why engagement from every member matters.”
Michael Moskowitz, CEO and co-founder of Ensemble, noted the significance of Allen’s appointment for both her and the company. “Kristi’s appointment is a testament to her industry expertise and the respect she has earned across the hospitality community,” he said.
Allen oversees Ensemble’s hotel portfolio, which generates more than $200 million in annual revenue. Since launching the company’s hospitality management division in 2019, she has guided its growth from one property in Long Beach to 14 hotels across 12 markets in five states.
In addition, Allen is a past board member of the Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, past chair of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance and the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Board and a former member of the City of Long Beach Economic Development Commission.
Allen succeeds Cormac O’Modhrain of Sunstone Hotel Investors, who now serves as immediate past chair. She will be joined on the 2026 CHLA executive committee by Vice Chair Tom Patton of Ramada by Wyndham Santa Barbara and Secretary-Treasurer David Craig of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust.