Real estate development came to a crashing halt during the recession, but no sector was hurt more than the hotel industry. Now, however, with the economy gaining steam, shovels are in the ground and cranes are in the sky as investors begin to see promise in the hospitality business again. High-profile hotel projects in the works across Los Angeles will add as many as 3,400 guest rooms. The bulk of the development activity is occurring in downtown Los Angeles and along the coast. In beach communities – Redondo Beach chief among them – developers broke ground this year on several projects, from hip boutique hotels to corporate lodging standbys. In downtown, a couple of major projects are gaining steam, including construction of Korean Air’s 73-story mixed-use Wilshire Grand project, which promises to bring 900 hotel rooms to the market in addition to retail and office space. Across from L.A. Live, Edward Kirk is overseeing construction of a 23-story Marriott Hotel with 393 guest rooms for Sodo Builders LLC. In this Who’s Who in Real Estate Special Report, the Business Journal profiles 12 go-to people – including developers, brokers, architects, lawyers and consultants – who are behind this recent wave of hotel construction.