The increase nearly doubles the number of hotels under management at the close of 2013. The portfolio encompasses 18 flags within the five major brand families and two independent hotels.
PALM BEACH, FLA. – Officials of Island Hospitality Management, one of the nation’s largest hotel management companies, announced the company has surpassed all previous years’ growth by adding 61 hotels to its substantial portfolio, closing out the year with a total of 142 managed hotels. The increase nearly doubles the number of hotels under management at the close of 2013. The portfolio encompasses 18 flags within the five major brand families and two independent hotels.
The expanded company is led by a trio of executive vice presidents, Gregg Forde, Roger Pollak and Jeff Waldt, who jointly took the helm of the company in January. Together, the leadership team has a combined tenure with the company in excess of 40 years. They are supported by Barbara Bachman, senior vice president accounting, Phil Cohen, senior vice president human resources and Michele Mainelli, senior vice president revenue management, all long-term Island executives who previously held vice president titles.
“Judging by the industry forecasts, 2015 should be as robust as 2014 in terms of transactions and the potential for RevPAR growth,” said Pollak. “We have a nationwide team of industry veterans that is brand savvy and poised for the next wave of growth.”
“Anticipating that the economic recovery would contribute to a substantial turnover of ownership and management, we began late in 2013 to build bench strength and bandwidth to accommodate growth,” said Forde. “When the contracts started to flow, we were prepared, and the growth that we achieved this year is yielding a new influx of talent from our esteemed competitors and the top hotel schools. Success is a great recruiting tool.”
The expanded operations team includes longtime hotelier John Rubino, who joined Island following more than two decades with Interstate, and Tom Schneider, a multi-industry veteran who started with Marriott in 1985, as well as Drew Allison, who launched his hospitality career with Island in 2005, and Louis Dracoulis, who joined the company in 2008 as a general manager. Two vice presidents of sales and marketing, Mark George, a two-time general manager of the year and Kristie Crow who joined Island in 2014, provide property-level marketing support.
“Our operations team brings a breadth of industry and company knowledge that makes on-boarding and acclimating new properties a seamless process,” Forde said. “Our owners expect a quick and efficient integration so that they can see the results of our proven systems of revenue enhancement and bottom line performance.”
Waldt noted that Island’s record of market-leading performance metrics and substantial expertise in key states like Texas and California, where the company has a high concentration of hotels, contributed greatly to the growth of the portfolio and the ability to recruit top-notch property-level managers.
“We have remarkable longevity within our portfolio and the executive ranks,” Waldt said. “That simple fact tells both owners and job candidates a lot about our company and their long-term prospects when they engage our services or sign on for a career. When you combine that information with overall portfolio performance that exceeds industry-wide RevPAR gains, you can see why our portfolio has grown so quickly this year.”
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