www.negociosnow.com
32 March 2022
Hospitality Hospitality
leader leader
Juan Leyva
WORDS OF WISDOM:
"N
o Matter your background
or where you come from,
self-belief and hard work will
always earn you success."
Age: 35
Title: General Manager
Name of Organization: Lon-
donHouse Chicago
Juan Leyva serves as the
general manager of London-
House Chicago, managing a
team of more than 300 em-
ployees and overseeing day-
to-day operations at the 452-
room luxury lifestyle hotel in
downtown Chicago. He also
serves as vice president of
operations of the central
region for Oxford Hotels
& Resorts LLC, overseeing
more than 1,200 rooms and
over $100 million in annual
revenue.
With more than a de
-
cade of experience working
in hospitality, Leyva was re-
cently named Hotelier of the
Year by the Illinois Hotel and
Lodging Association in De-
cember 2021 for his exem-
plary achievements, contri-
butions, and leadership. The
award, presented by DePaul
University's School of Hos-
pitality Leadership at the
annual Stars of the Industry
Awards Ceremony, is the
highest honor given to a ho-
tel general manager or area
director based on profes-
sionalism and service to the
property, their employees,
guests, and the community.
Before entering the hospi-
tality industry, Leyva was an
undocumented immigrant
working at a factory and
moonlighting as an aspiring
musician. Knowing this was
not something he wanted to
do, he took the opportunity
to interview with a hotel front
desk manager. During the
interview, the front desk ma-
nager, said: "All I have is a par-
king attendant position from
10 p.m. to 4 a.m., three days a
week." Leyva accepted.
His leadership philosophy
comes down to two ideas:
always be a cultural ambas-
sador and always be a high
performer. With this philoso-
phy he has become the youn-
gest general manager in the
company's history, as well as
its first Mexican hotel leader.
Leyva said the most
rewarding part of his job is
developing future leaders
in the industry.
When he is not at the
hotel, you'll most likely find
him working out through a
game of basketball, or wat
-
ching movies with his wife
and two sons.
