Skip to Content
Bisnow’s Southern California Hospitality and Retail Summit
CGS3 Partner Dorothy Groza a Moderator at Commercial Real Estate Event
LOS ANGELES (March 6, 2026) – Southern California’s hospitality and retail leaders convened on February 26 at the Hilton Los Angeles Culver City for Bisnow’s Southern California Hospitality and Retail Commercial Real Estate Summit, where owners, developers, investors and operators gathered to assess market performance and chart strategies for the year ahead.
The half-day summit delivered insights into hotel occupancy trends, tourism recovery metrics, retail leasing momentum and the evolving investment landscape shaping 2026. Across three expert-led panels, speakers examined supply-and-demand dynamics, capital markets activity and the growing importance of adaptive reuse, experiential design, sustainability and technology in enhancing asset value and guest experience. The discussion also explored how major global events coming to Los Angeles, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the LA28 Olympic Games, are impacting and driving investor sentiment and hospitality development and renovations.
CGS3 Law partner Dorothy Groza moderated the opening panel, “Hospitality and Hotel Market Outlook: Investment, Development, Innovation, Competitive Positioning and Guest Experience.” Panelists David Kuperberg of Majestic Hospitality, Dustin Peterson of The Athens Group, Javier Cano of The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles and JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE, Rachael Sery of George Smith Partners, Ana Almada of DKN Hotels, Mary Jreisat of Shawmut Design and Construction and Krystle Fader of Dyelot shared perspectives on investment appetite development, competitive brand positioning, industry innovations and the guest experience and operational efficiencies.
The second panel, “Retail Real Estate Reinvented: Consumer Demand, Asset Optimization and Strategies for Investment, Development and Leasing,” highlighted how retail landlords are adapting to shifting consumer expectations. Jim Dillavou of Paragon Commercial Real Estate, Bastian Peters of Stockdale Capital Partners, Ray Kayacan of Regency Centers and Jason Wilson of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, moderated by John Jackson of JRM Construction, discussed the strength of necessity-based retail, entertainment-driven concepts and experiential tenants in driving foot traffic and leasing activity.
The final discussion, “Placemaking and Experience Driven Real Estate: Driving Value Through Lifestyle, Community and Culture,” focused on long-term value creation through mixed-use environments and culturally relevant programming. Nicholas Zaharov of DWS Group, Jeff Kreshek of Federal Realty Investment Trust, Lemore Czeisler of Pacific Retail Capital Partners and Derek Heeb of RDC, moderated by Craig Coan of Greenberg Glusker, emphasized the importance of driving value through lifestyle, community and culture.
Attendees learned how global events, evolving consumer expectations, and mixed-use reinvention are accelerating demand for innovative hotel, retail, and experiential spaces across Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and beyond – gaining actionable insights into where investment dollars are flowing, how assets are being repositioned, and how to capture the next wave of opportunity.
About Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP (CGS3)
CGS3 is a recognized leader among a new generation of commercial real estate law firms with practice areas covering the entire commercial real estate life cycle, including finance, acquisition/disposition, entity formation, tax, construction & development, land use, leasing, distressed asset workouts and dispute resolution. Earning a reputation as one of California’s leading commercial real estate law firms, CGS3 recruits some of the state’s top real estate attorneys from both large corporate firms and senior in-house positions. For more information, visit http://www.cgs3.com.