Sam Barnwell

President

Recognized by Hotel Management Magazines inaugural list of top 40 over 40, Sam Barnwell joined the HIS team in 2020 as Area Director of Operations and was promoted to Chief Development Officer in April 2023 and then as President in 2026. Sam grew up in Northern Michigan and lived on Mackinac Island year-round for 20 years. He currently lives in Traverse City, Michigan with his wife and two dogs. Sam joined the HIS Team via the purchase of his family owned and operated Hotel Iroquois by a long-time client of HIS. Sam has a degree in Culinary Arts, Emergency Management and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) with a major in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management from the University of Denver.

Sam started his career as a teenage dishwasher at the Pier Restaurant in Harbor Springs Michigan and lead the acquisition of the property in 2023 for an HIS client bringing his early days in a kitchen full circle. Sam is an active member of the community as a paramedic, Treasurer of the Mackinac Arts Council and Treasurer of the Mackinac Island Transportation Authority. Sam is passionate about hospitality and has grown up in the owner operator environment of a Conde Naste and Travel and Leasure award winning hotel, which allows him to ensure that our guests have a memorable experience, and properties are managed from an ownership perspective. Sam enjoys the outdoors and spending time with his wife, Lisa and their two dogs Duck(a fiesty Corgie) and Goose (the perfect yellow lab).

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