SINGAPORE: 31 October 2025: The International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC), in partnership with the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP), awarded Karan Mahesh, Senior Sales – South & Southeast Asia, STR CoStar, with the Rising Star Award Asia Pacific.
The award recognises an emerging leader in the hospitality industry who has demonstrated exceptional professional growth, leadership, and impact in the Asia Pacific region.
Karan began his career in sales and marketing with ITC Hotels in Bangalore, where his talent and drive quickly led to a series of promotions from property-level roles to the corporate office. In 2019, he joined STR (a CoStar company) as an Account Manager for Central and South Asia, where he distinguished himself by building strong client relationships, expanding data coverage, and growing revenue across diverse markets, including India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.
Now based in Singapore, Karan leads STR’s business development efforts across South and Southeast Asia, representing CoStar at major industry conferences and investment forums.
In recognition of his consistent excellence, Karan was named to CoStar’s prestigious President’s Club in both 2023 and 2024 — an honour reserved for top-performing sales professionals globally. His innovative mindset, adaptability, and dedication to advancing hospitality analytics have made him a standout example of the next generation of industry leadership.
ISHC launched the Rising Star Award Asia in 2014 in partnership with HICAP to recognise young, emerging leaders in the Asia hospitality community. Nomination criteria require an individual to be 35 years of age or younger, currently working and living in Asia, and working in the hospitality development and/or investment field.
(Source: ISHC Rising Star Awards)
