Laura N Kalcevic

Laura Kalcevic is a seasoned real estate executive with more than twenty years of experience in global development, acquisitions, and strategic advisory work. Specializing in hotels, mixeduse assets, and masterplanned resortresidential communities, she has built a career defined by international reach, technical expertise, and a deep understanding of the economic, cultural, and environmental forces that shape the built environment. Her work has taken her across 44 U.S. states and 18 countries throughout North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, earning her recognition as a global leader in hotel real estate finance.

Laura’s career began in Australia, where she received training from the United Nations World Tourism Organization with a focus on sustainable development—an early foundation that shaped her approach to responsible growth and longterm value creation. She then relocated to Boston to join HVS. Over the following years, she served in HVS offices in Boston, Mexico City, Nassau, and New York, completing highimpact assignments ranging from resort development in New England to largescale masterplanning initiatives for the Government of Mexico. Her work in the Riviera Maya included structuring financing pipelines for major resort projects and contributing to the region’s transformation into a global tourism hub.

Laura has held executive roles at several Fortune 500 real estate firms, including CBRE, JLL, and STR (Costar), where she contributed to major development, investment, and advisory initiatives. Since 2018, she has taught executive education at Cornell University and previously taught at New York University from 2010 to 2013, solidifying her reputation as a leading educator in real estate finance and development. Her contributions to the industry earned her recognition as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Miami in both 2023 and 2024, during a period when she worked on highprofile projects.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Laura is an avid boater, poet, and lover of dance. A longtime admirer of Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Frost, she finds creative expression through poetry and draws inspiration from the places and stories that shaped these writers. With her unique perspective as an adoptee, she often jokes that she “didn’t get the memo,” embracing a worldview shaped by resilience, curiosity, and a willingness to take the road less traveled.

Publications

• Vol. 42.2 By Journal of Travel Research (Jan 01 2004)