HVMG added three more hotels to its portfolio and announced two strategic partnerships that have the potential to substantially increase the company’s portfolio of owned & third-party managed assets.
ATLANTA, GA – Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based, privately owned hotel ownership and management company, announced that it remains on track to have one of its most successful years on record, having added three more hotels to its portfolio in the last two months and with two strategic partnerships on the horizon that have the potential to substantially increase the company’s portfolio of owned & third-party managed assets in the next two years.
“While 2014 has been a strong year for most of the hospitality industry, it looks like it could well be the best year since we started in 2001, in terms of growth and diversification,” said Robert Cole, president & CEO of HVMG. “Historically, we have been known for our turn-around prowess, and now that we are at the place in the cycle where major repositioning has somewhat subsided, we are expanding into new territories, including new brand segments, and establishing new, best-in-class partnerships.”
Already this year, HVMG has added the following properties to its hotel portfolio:
1. Hyatt Atlanta Perimeter at Villa Christina—The 177-room full-service hotel was developed as a complement to The Perimeter’s premier conference and special event venue, Villa Christina, known as a popular venue for meetings, weddings and other social events. This marks the first full-service hotel built in the state of Georgia in the past five years. HVMG will manage both facilities, which are adjoined.
2. DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Deerfield Beach—Boca Raton, Fla. —The 220-room hotel is scheduled to undergo a multi-million renovation, which also will be overseen by HVMG. HVMG sourced the deal on behalf of Garrison Investments.
3. 230 Peachtree Street Hotel Indigo® —Currently under development, the 200-room hotel will occupy floors two through nine of the landmark office tower, 230 Peachtree Center, located in downtown Atlanta. Originally designed by John Portman, the 414,768-square-foot office tower will undergo an adaptive reuse development and is expected to open in late 2015 under HVMG’s management.
“With relatively low new product supply and high consumer demand, a growing number of hotels are changing hands, an ideal time for us given our skill set,” said Mary Beth Cutshall, HVMG’s senior vice president of acquisitions and business development. “With experts like PKF and STR predicting increased RevPAR well ahead of inflation for the next few years, we firmly believe now is the time to strike and are interested in investments, joint ventures and third-party management opportunities that contribute to our measured growth plan.”
To round out the company’s growth initiative, HVMG has established two, new strategic alliances.
1. Gabriel Holdings, a new private equity group recently formed to acquire and develop hotels, has selected HVMG as its preferred hotel management company for its planned GH Hospitality Fund I (GH HF I). HVMG also will be a JV partner. The fund will selectively invest in value-add, well-branded hotels in the upper midscale through upper upscale segments in secondary and tertiary markets throughout the United States with a goal of adding a minimum of $100 million in assets over the next 12 months. Gabriel Holdings was founded by former University of Illinois Fighting Illini football player David Boatright, along with Ronnie Lott, eight-time All-Pro and Hall of Fame NFL player, and Isaac Vaughn, a successful, Silicon Valley lawyer.
2. Serendipity Labs, a network of shared workspaces with a hospitality focus, entered into a joint venture with HVMG to open and operate commercial and hotel-based work spaces located in hub cities nationwide. The Coworking sector is a $9B industry in a very high growth category, and the JV will be uniquely positioned to launch and lead the expansion of the industry into the hospitality sector. HVMG’s first deal with Serendipity Labs will open this fall in downtown Chicago.
“We quietly have gone from a handful of hotels to nearly 50 in less than 7 years, a testament to the team of professionals we’ve been fortunate enough to assemble,” Cole noted. “We have a highly diverse group of executives with an average of more than 20 years industry experience each, and our retention rate is one of the highest in the industry. I credit that to the family atmosphere the team has been able to cultivate. As excellent as 2014 is already, the future looks even brighter still.”
Prior to founding HVMG in 2001, Cole was president and CEO of Lodgian, Inc., formed as a result of the merger between Servico, Inc., a publicly traded hotel company, and Impac Hotel Group, where he was founder and CEO. At the time of the merger, Lodgian was one of the largest owners of hotels in the country, with a portfolio of 143 owned and managed hotels and more than 26,000 rooms in 35 states and Canada.
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