Omkar Bhatt, owner and operator of the Sol Inn and Executive Inn in Marshalltown, has joined the board of directors of the Iowa Hotel & Lodging Association, the group announced. Bhatt immigrated to the U.S. from India as a teenager and worked in his uncle’s hotel in Fort Dodge. Bhatt attended William Penn University and after graduation worked in hospitality groups across the country, studying best practices and operational strategies before returning to Iowa to launch Leo Hospitality. He took ownership of his first hotel in 2021 and added a second in 2023. The association was founded in 2022. Nearly 15% of Iowa’s hotel establishments are members of the group.