About Richard

Richard is a hospitality veteran who has owned or operated many of the world’s great hotels, including the Raleigh Hotel in Miami, St. Regis, Palace, and Waldorf Astoria in New York, The Bel Air and Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles; launched the St. Regis Brand Worldwide; and opened The Wynn Las Vegas. Mr. Cotter has opened, rebranded, renovated, and repositioned over 25 Hotels. 

Co-founding Tridge Partners, his roles include hospitality advisory, investment acquisition, capital raise, structure, and asset management. As a hospitality advisor, he’s opened hotels in Las Vegas and Naperville, raised an investment fund in Columbia, and worked in-house to become COO of a portfolio of nine hotels. He currently advises Hotel owners and raises debt and equity capital for off-market projects.

Richard has lectured at Cornell, Howard, and NYU on hospitality and spoken at CHRIS, BLLA, and Cornell Panel presentations in NY. He has been honored with the Distinguished Citizen Award of Beverly Hills and the Corporate Citizen Award from the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce. He served as Vice President of the Hotel Association of New York and a Board Member of NYC & Co. He launched the Hospitality Research Center at Cornell University. He was an advisor at Howard University’s Hotel program and the Tisch Hospitality program at NYU.