Zabada N. Abouelhana

Senior Director, Leader, Phoenix & Salt Lake City Offices, Phoenix

Consulting Experience

As a Senior Director and Leader of HVS’s Mountain West region, Zabada oversees the firm’s Phoenix and Salt Lake City offices. Her consulting work is primarily focused on the Southwest and Mountain West regions. She has managed hundreds of assignments across a wide variety of asset types including limited- to full-service hotels, complex luxury resorts, historic properties, outdoor-oriented boutique resorts, branded resort-residential properties, and other mixed-use assets.

With her regional focus, Zabada offers local intelligence that national firms often miss. Her understanding of fast-growing secondary and tertiary markets, together with her forward-thinking approach, helps clients anticipate trends and plan ahead. Her national and international expertise, which spans multiple regions of the United States and four unique international markets, provides specialized solutions drawn from around the globe.

A trusted advisor and valued partner, Zabada combines broad experience with sharp analytical insight to deliver tailored, data-driven guidance across all types of hotel assets within a variety of market types, including rural, airport, suburban, downtown, ski resort, and national park-adjacent. Her work is consistently thorough, thoughtful, and immediately useful—whether for underwriting, acquisition, disposition, or strategic planning. She communicates with clarity and professionalism, making even technical discussions accessible to both internal teams and investors.

Zabada is known for her responsiveness, reliability, and collaborative approach. She listens closely, adapts to client needs, and delivers on time. She meets regularly with a variety of professionals in the Mountain West, including developers, owners, managers, lenders, and brokers, and frequently attends local, regional, and national conferences. This access to a wide range of regional market knowledge results in timely, relevant information for clients.

Zabada provides a wide range of solutions for her clients, including the following: 

  • Hotel, resort-residential, branded-residential, and short-term rental market and demand studies
  • “As is” and prospective USPAP-compliant valuations for proposed developments, existing hotels, resorts, and mixed-use assets
  • Hospitality product recommendations
    • key count
    • guestroom sizes and configurations
    • food and beverage outlets
    • meeting space
    • parking and resort fees
    • other facilities and amenities
A sample of Zabada’s consulting and appraisal experience in key categories is presented below. For confidentiality purposes, some of her experience with proposed assets has not been disclosed. A more refined list of market-specific experience can be provided upon request.
  • Arizona Biltmore (Phoenix, AZ)
  • JW Marriott Desert Ridge (Phoenix, AZ)
  • Scottsdale Plaza Resort (Paradise Valley, AZ)
  • Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch (Scottsdale, AZ)
  • JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa (Tucson, AZ)
  • Lowes Ventana Canyon Resort (Tucson, AZ)
  • Arizona Grand Resort (Phoenix, AZ)
  • Paséa Hotel & Spa (Huntington Beach, CA)
  • Hilton Torrey Pines (San Diego, CA)
  • Proposed SmokeTree Resort (Paradise Valley, AZ)
  • Proposed Sun Valley Hotel & Condos (Ketchum, ID)
  • Proposed Condominium Hotel (Mammoth Lakes, CA)
  • Proposed High Star Ranch Condo Hotel (Kamas, UT)
  • Proposed Resort Community (Brian Head, UT)
  • Proposed Camp Korongo (Kanab, UT)
  • Proposed Artistree Resort (Darby, MT)
During her tenure at HVS, Zabada has conducted hundreds of high-stakes hotel valuation and consulting projects across 28 states and several countries, demonstrating a unique ability to adapt to diverse market landscapes. In 2019, Zabada joined HVS in the St. Louis office, working across the Heartland region. In 2021, she relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, to lead that office and gained experience throughout the Southwest region. She spent half of 2022 working with HVS Dubai, where she performed complex hospitality assignments across the Middle East and Africa, including valuations, feasibility studies, and market studies on glamping resorts, integrated resorts, historic properties, and mixed-use assets, as well as an operator search and contract negotiation assignment. Her well-rounded, international perspective allows her to provide knowledgeable advice to clients across a wide range of markets.

A state-certified general appraiser in several states, Zabada has authored numerous publications on regional lodging and the hospitality markets. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration from Cornell University.

Connect with Zabada on LinkedIn.