Our Team

Michelle Barnet is a graduate of the hospitality management program at UNLV. She started her career with Westin Hotels and its hands-on Manager Training program. After several corporate roles in Sales & Marketing, she moved into development and was responsible for feasibility studies, new construction and conversion projects. Michelle briefly left the hospitality industry to join her family’s real estate business, where she diversified the portfolio by adding hotels. In 2010 she created Staypineapple with the opening of her first hotel, The Maxwell Hotel, located in Seattle Center. Over the past 13 years, she has led the Staypineapple team to open and convert 10 total Staypineapple hotels nationwide, creating a brand of well-respected boutique hotels with an incredibly passionate and loyal following of experience-hunting travelers.

Dina Belon is a graduate of Florida State University. She has been making waves in the hospitality and tourism industry for more than 25 years by bucking the traditional and staying focused on creating unique, extraordinary and sustainable experiences. Dina began her career in design, transitioned into development, evolved into operations, and eventually pulled it all together to become a multidisciplinary hospitality leader focused on delivering thoughtful hotel experiences. She leads the executive board and guides the company's strategic direction while staying true to her personal mission to radically reorient the hospitality industry to the business value of the triple bottom line; People, Planet and Prosperity. Her core belief is that quality guest experiences and green earth-conscious practices are not separate or divided, but instead can be interwoven into a truly unique and memorable travel journey.

Mike Hirschler is a graduate of the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration. With more than 20 years in the hospitality industry, he has become a Human Resources and Talent Acquisition C-level executive whose passion is to help business leaders understand that the best financial results come when employees are treated with fairness, respect and dignity. Mike’s career has taken him across the United States with brands like Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Four Seasons. He has a background in recruiting and development with proven successes across all HR functional areas. He uses ingenuity to establish cost-effective, high-impact strategies that are guided by employee engagement and a "people first" approach, focused on making staff an integral part of the business's overall success. Mike’s greatest joy is counseling young people and watching them grow into the next generation of successful leaders.

Casey Dill is a graduate of Central Washington University. He is results-driven and proactive with the ability to deliver on-time and accurate financial reporting and analysis. With over 24 years of experience, Casey has held accounting and finance roles in many industries, including aerospace, software, manufacturing and distribution. He has a passion for numbers, organization and analytics with the ability to influence positive results and effectively communicate with people at all levels of an organization. Casey’s areas of expertise include GAAP Financial Statement Reporting, Management Reporting, Internal Controls and Processes, Strategic Planning and Analysis, Budgeting and Forecasting, Treasury Management, Internal Audits and more.

Austin Gardner is a graduate of the University of Wyoming. He brings 13 years of sales and marketing experience working with independent brands in the upscale and luxury hotel segments, including oversight of Condé Nast’s #4 ranked hotel in the Pacific Northwest. Most recently, Austin served as Regional Vice President of Sales for Oxford Collection Hotels where he conducted key negotiations and successfully led the sales organization, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue during his tenure. Additionally, Austin was instrumental in expanding Oxford Collection’s hotel portfolio by over 30% during his time with the company through involvement in strategic acquisitions and ground-up development projects.

I am passionate about building teams and being a part of teams that come together to produce outstanding results. The selfless nature of wanting others to enjoy their time while staying at our wonderful Staypineapple hotels makes every day a fulfilling journey. Each and every day provides the opportunity to put a smile on someone’s face whether it be a guest who has traveled from afar or a team member who has earned a pat on the back.