RREAF Holdings and hospitality investor Phillip McNeill Sr. have created a joint venture, MxR Hospitality, focused on the development and management of extended-stay hotels.
It was RREAF's experience with third-party property management in its multifamily portfolio that showed the company the challenges of maintaining quality and consistency, said Eric Watts, director of extended stay at RREAF Holdings, in a news release. As a solution, the company created its own in-house property management firm, RR Living.
"We saw similar gaps in the extended-stay sector, where these assets are often underserved," he said. "With MxR Hospitality, our goal is to bring the same commitment to operational excellence and best-in-class management to extended-stay hotels, both within our portfolio and across the industry."
MxR Hospitality will develop, own and operate extended-stay hotels. The company will also pursue third-party management of extended-stay properties. In light of the growth seen in the extended-stay sector in recent years, the company aims to leverage the decades of experience between RREAF's team and McNeill to enhance existing economy extended-stay hotels as well as those under development.
RREAF Holdings is a privately held, vertically integrated real estate investment and development firm. McNeill is a long-time hotelier, having been one of the first franchise owners of the Hampton Inn brand and was at one time the largest franchise owner of the brand. He was also chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Equity Inns, a hotel-focused real estate investment trust from 1993 to January 2005.
“Phillip McNeill, Sr. is a trailblazer in the hotel industry, known for his investment acumen and belief in the importance of long-term partnerships based on mutual respect and benefit,” said Kip Sowden, chairman and CEO of RREAF Holdings, in the release. “We see excellent potential and a strong operating model for economy extended-stay properties in today’s marketplace.”