In Memoriam: Bruce Baltin (1943-2023)

Hotel Industry Icon, Bruce Baltin, Passes Away

Hospitality consultant Bruce Baltin, an industry icon for more than five decades, passed away suddenly at age 79 on March 9, 2023. He is survived by his wife, Tammi Baltin, his sons, Steven Baltin and Brian Baltin.

A graduate of Cornell University, Baltin was corporate operations analyst for Sheraton Corporation of America prior to his long-time hospitality consulting career. He became a partner at Pannell Kerr Forster (PKF) in 1978 and a founding shareholder in the newly launched PKF Consulting practice in 1992. He served as Managing Director of the Los Angeles office until 2014, helping grow the consulting practice to 15 U.S. locations. In 2014, PKF Consulting sold to CBRE Hotels and Baltin continued as Managing Director in the Los Angeles office until 2020, when he created his own hospitality consulting practice. He then returned to PKF hospitality group as a Director in the U.S. Office in 2022.

Baltin worked on market demand studies, valuations, economic and operational assessments, and dealing with leases, franchises, and management companies. His industry experience included hotels, resorts, clubs, restaurants, theme parks, and national and state parks, and he often worked with governmental entities on tourism and hospitality real estate issues. He was quoted extensively in the national and local press and testified as an expert witness on various industry issues. Honoring his significant contributions to the hospitality industry, Baltin was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board at the Los Angeles Market Outlook Forum in 2019.

Baltin was committed to hospitality education throughout his career. He guest-lectured and taught undergraduate and graduate-level classes at Cal Poly Pomona, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; the University of Southern California; and the University of California, Los Angeles. He was also active on the Board of Advisors for Cal Poly Pomona’s Collins College of Hospitality Management, and he generously offered his time, expertise, and mentorship to the program's students and alumni. For 31 years, he partnered with The Collins College to host the Southern California Visitors Industry Outlook Conference where he annually released his sought-after Southern California Lodging Forecast used by hotel owners, developers, and others for planning and budgeting.

He was a member of numerous professional and community organizations including the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC), which he joined in 1989 as its eighteenth member.