If we start making a list of excellent career choices, Eva Ziegler may have to play role model right at the top. The Austrian-born marketing mastermind is the "Global Brand Leader" for W Hotels and head of the global launch for Le Méridien Hotels as part of parent company Starwood Hotels & Resorts. From her home base in New York, Ziegler spends her 9 to 5 working on strategic planning (establishing the Starwood brand, scope, marketing strategies, implementing design) for hotels across the globe. Arguably, the biggest perk is that her job also includes traveling to all of these hotels (from Istanbul to Bali). In a smooth Austrian accent, the charming power player makes it all look and sound effortless, in between jet-setting to exotic locations to conduct business, of course.

Tommy Saleh, creative director for New York's Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand hotels, is the mellow curator of coolness who's been keeping both downtown institutions grand since they opened in 1996 and 2000, respectively. With a keen eye for talent, the soft-spoken, Egyptian-born Saleh consistently hosts the most groundbreaking musicians, artists, and scene-making cultural figures at his twin lairs. If you run into Saleh at a party in New York or LA or Istanbul or Marrakesh or London -- you know you're in the right place.

Talking with Alex Calderwood about his career arc, one gets the sense that he's a born entrepreneur. It’s not because the Ace Hotel chain that he and his partners (Wade Weigel, Doug Herrik, and Jack Barron) manage are substantive, interesting, and innovative, and therefore wildly popular right now, but because every venture Calderwood has involved himself in since his early 20s -- from dealing in vintage clothing to opening barbershops and event-promotion companies -- have been a succession of blockbuster success stories. Calderwood’s latest ventures, the Ace Hotel New York and Ace Hotel and Swim Club in Palm Springs, added a burst of creative energy to midtown Manhattan and the gay-friendly sun belt. For now, Calderwood is happy to continue building a hotel empire with soul. But knowing what we do about his inherent instinct for business, don’t be surprised if you see his name attached to more than just fabulous hotels in the future.

Since 1978, Tihany Design has held the champion title for worldwide restaurant and hospitality design. The company namesake, architect, and restaurateur, Adam Tihany is the creative force behind Aureole New York and Las Vegas, La Fonda Del Sol, Daniel, Charlie Palmer at The Joule, Le Cirque, and Per Se among other fine-dining establishments. His design work in hotels includes One&Only Cape Town, Mandarin Oriental Geneva and Hong Kong's Mandarin Oriental Landmark. The top name in hospitality design shares a look inside his boutique agency and list of posh accomplishments.

Sandra Ardito heads sales, marketing and special events for KO Hospitality Management (Cooper Square Hotel, Empire Hotel, Hotel on Rivington, and Chelsea Hotel in Atlantic City). We met the hospitality connoisseur at the Cooper Square Hotel to get the scoop on the Hamptons Memorial Day hotspot, the Reform Club Inn (suites and private cottages in Amagansett), working for Ian Schrager, and why we should stay at Cooper Square (besides the fact that it's the location of the Bjork's afterparty tonight).

Is this the first hotel KO has developed?
No, we did the Empire Hotel on 63rd Street, and we did the Chelsea Hotel in Atlantic City for Paul Sevigny and Matt Abramcyk. For those hotels, I would describe us as the hired guns.

As regional director of nightlife for Morgans Hotel Group in Miami, Josh Wagner oversees Skybar at the Shore Club, Sunset Lounge at Mondrian, and Florida Room at the Delano. Here, he talks to us about cachaça, Grace Jones shedding tears, and growing a beard.

What are your favorite places in Miami, outside of Morgans properties?
The pool at The Standard Hotel is the most relaxing place in Miami, period. There’s an incredible place called Silvia’s. It's this inland restaurant on the canal where nobody speaks any English, and you can pick your fish in an icebox right there, and they cook it up right on the spot for you. I love the bar at Smith & Wollensky. I like Abbey Brewing Co. because it's a tiny bar that just has beer and a dart board, and on any night off, there's nothing better than a pint and a game of darts.

Danny Clinch's images of rock stars, his travels, his life, and everyday events will adorn the walls of the new W South Beach opening in May 2009. An excitable Clinch talks about these new opportunities, his style of work, and the photos he's about to unveil at the new W.

Thompson Hotels' director of promotions and entertainment Med Abrous, on his once-in-a-lifetime guest performance with Prince, bringing movie night to clubs and the bright side of the bottle-service decline.

What’s the best night you’ve ever had at one of your venues?
A little over a year ago, I put together some concerts in the Roosevelt Ballroom for Prince. He performed six shows for about 300 people per show. It was so intimate, and he put on such an amazing show. During the third show, I’m sitting with a group of people -- the crowd was almost more famous than he was, which is really weird -- and he starts playing this riff, then calls my name and says, “Yo Med! Get up here.” So I get up onstage with Prince, and he’s playing “Play that Funky Music White Boy,” and I basically sing onstage with him playing backup guitar. It was amazing. I have a picture to prove it because it sounds like such a tall tale. I think that was pretty much the highlight of my life.

Hotelier and restaurateur Sam Nazarian -- the man behind the Philippe Starck-designed SLS brand (SLS Beverly Hills), celebrity hotspot Hyde, and future Vegas landmark, the revamped Sahara Hotel & Casino -- gives BlackBook the inside scoop on his top picks around the country, academic lecturing, and the luxury of flying private.

When you're not visiting your own bars, clubs, and restaurants, where can we find you?
I love Houston’s. It’s a very contemporary American brand. It’s not the most trendy and not the most chic, but it's one of the most successful brands, and I love going there because I know exactly what I’m going to get every time. I love Giorgio Baldi in Malibu. There is something that is so timeless in the personality of the staff, and the food is amazing. You get transported into this Italian world. It’s really a staple of our community. I like going to Tenjune in New York and Lavo in Las Vegas.

Having made a name for himself as a developer, Avi Brosh found a hole to fill in hospitality, responding with his hyper-cool West Hollywood hotel Palihouse and succeeding where none had before in making LAX-adjacent Westchester hop with his Custom Hotel. This creative spirit expands on his years of hard work, present trials and travels, and dreams for the future.

Where do you hang out?
I go to The Hall Courtyard Brasserie at Palihouse Holloway. It has the absolute best vibe and crowd in LA. I also love the street Abbot Kinney in Venice Beach, where there are several great neighborhood restaurants and bars I go to frequently. I’m in New York at least five to ten days a month, and every time I’m there I always seem to manage my way, at some point, to this gorgeous little bar in Tribeca called Smith & Mills. I love that place, but they only take cash -- which I pretty much never have on me -- so I’m always bumming drinks from whomever I’m there with.