Kaunteya Chitnis

Kaunteya Chitnis is Managing Director and Head of Hospitality at Portman, where he leads the firm’s hotel investment strategy and oversees a portfolio of nine hotels with approximately 5,000 rooms and $2 billion in assets under management across five U.S. markets. He is responsible for all aspects of the platform, including sourcing, executing, and capitalizing acquisitions and development projects, structuring dispositions and refinancings, and driving asset value through active asset management and operational strategy.

Previously, Kaunteya spent a decade at MCR, one of the largest hotel owner-operators in the United States, most recently as Senior Vice President, leading acquisitions, dispositions, development, and capital markets. He executed more than $3 billion in hotel transactions and development, including the 512-room TWA Hotel at JFK International Airport. Earlier, he was a Senior Associate in Ernst & Young’s Transaction Real Estate Group and began his career in Citi’s Institutional Clients Group.

Kaunteya serves on the Westin Owner Advisory Council. He received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.