ATLANTA — Hotel development, ownership and management company Hotel Equities has recently shifted its strategy from an asset-heavy to an asset-light approach in terms of acquisitions and development, President and CEO Brad Rahinsky said.
A majority of the Atlanta-based company's portfolio growth now comes from forming strategic partnerships with other groups that align on vision, culture and "what a win looks like," he said during a video interview with Hotel News Now at the recent Hunter Hotel Investment Conference.
Hotel Equities' five partnerships are with The Witness Group, Coakley & Williams, Sethi Management, The Hotel Group and Greenwood Hospitality.
Rahinsky said the integration of each partnership is a highly collaborative approach.
"It’s essential that it has fluidity while we take a bespoke approach to each partnership," he said. "That being said, we now have had great success with five partnerships by applying what we believe to be an effective blueprint that honors each partnership while applying best practices and learnings. It takes what is inherently an anxious time and quickly turns it into one of excitement and opportunity."
Five years ago, Hotel Equities also began investing more in upper-upscale and luxury full-service properties, whereas before it primarily focused on select service and extended stay.
Hotel Equities' strategic partnership with Greenwood Hospitality has recently accelerated that strategy.
"In the past few years, we've added to our full-service luxury and lifestyle division significantly, both in terms of talent but also in properties," he said. "Recently, one of our partnerships, Greenwood Hospitality, brought over 30 full-service and lifestyle hotels into our system now, and they'll now be heading up our lifestyle division."
Greenwood Hospitality's portfolio includes high-end independent and branded hotels, such as Marriott International, Hilton and IHG Hotels & Resorts. Properties being combined into Hotel Equities' portfolio include Greenwood's Hotel Paso Del Norte in El Paso, Texas; Reikart House in Amherst, New York; and Spindrift Inn in Monterey, California.
Other endeavors that Hotel Equities is excited about include the opening of its first Curio by Hilton in Alpharetta, Georgia, called The Hamilton. Executives have been so pleased with the performance of the brand so far that they plan to open about another half dozen Curios in top 25 and 50 metropolitan statistical areas.
For more from Hotel News Now's conversation with Brad Rahinsky, watch the video above.