Oak Brook Hills Resort recently announced the appointment of Stefan Mühle as general manager after 12 years with various Portfolio Hotels & Resorts.
Mühle will oversee all operations of the IACC Certified Convention Resort with the support of his 25 years of hospitality experience. The 386-guestroom resort will become a member of the Hilton brand this summer. Oak Brook Hills Resort features 38 suites among the 386 guestrooms, 42,500 square feet of meetings space and an award-winning Willow Crest Golf Club, a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, preserving and enhancing wildlife habitat and protecting resources.
“Seasoned leaders such as Stefan have the ability to bring heart and soul into both boutique and large-scale hotel properties,” said Graham Hersham, chief operating officer of Portfolio Hotels & Resorts. “We’re delighted to utilize his expertise toward reinventing Oak Brook Hills Resort as a leader in both business and leisure travel, and we’re confident he will bring growth to this property.”
Mühle has emphasized establishing green, on-trend facilities, socially responsible operations and high guest and employee retention through more than a decade of leadership experience throughout several high-end boutique hotels, including the Drake Hotel in Chicago. Mühle also works by a unique hospitality philosophy involving forging mutually beneficial alliances with local vendors, city officials, community development groups and more in benefiting Oak Brook Hills Resort.
With Bachelor of Arts degrees in both hotel and restaurant management and business administration, Mühle graduated from Washington State University before starting on a management track at Drake Hotel in Chicago, until he left after achieving the title of director of catering sales. He has spent time at the Orchard and Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco, the Harvest Inn in Napa Valley from 2001 to 2011 and Casa Madrona Hotel and Spa in Sausalito, California in 2011.
During his time with Portfolio Hotels & Resorts properties, Mühle became food and beverage director at the Bishop’s Lodge Ranch Resort & Spa in 2001. In 2011, he established San Francisco’s first Green Seal and LEED-certified hotel as the general manager of Orchard Hotel. Mühle was the opening general manager of the sister Orchard Garden Hotel in 2006, where he replicated management success before becoming the regional director of Portfolio Hotels & Resorts three Bay Area properties, including the four-diamond rated Harvest Inn in Napa Valley in 2008.
Mühle is consistently a leader in green initiatives as he co-founded and chaired the Sustainability Committee for the Hotel Council of San Francisco. He also works closely with many other green associations.
