As Dallas-based third-party hotel management platform Remington Hotels grows its portfolio, President and CEO Sloan Dean said he isn't afraid of saying "no" to certain deals.
In April, Remington, which is owned by Ashford Inc., completed the $26 million purchase of third-party management company Chesapeake Hospitality.
Not only did the deal diversify Remington's portfolio, but the company also gained more employees. A total of 1,800 associates, 32 executives and 15 capital groups folded into Remington's platform, Dean said during a video interview with Hotel News Now.
Dean said Remington is now the biggest its ever been, with a total of 9,000 associates and a portfolio of 121 hotels in 28 states across 25 brands.
However, Dean said he doesn't lead the company with the mindset of wanting to be the biggest.
"I think uncontrolled growth comes at a sacrifice for the associate, for the culture and for owners," he said. "If all you're focused on is [mergers and acquisitions] and growing, you tend to not be a great performing company. We want to be the best operator."
Ideally, Dean would like to add 100 more hotels to the portfolio through the 32 existing owners that Remington manages for.
"The best way to do that is take care of the hotels and the associates you have," he said.
Additionally, he anticipates Remington will acquire one to two more companies in the future. However, they have to be the right fit.
"Frankly, where I think I add the best value, besides being the chief recruiting officer ... the second best thing I do is just say 'no' from time to time," he said.
Dean said Remington had the opportunity to purchase the same portfolio that HHM, the management and development affiliate of hotel real estate investment trust Hersha Hospitality Trust, bought from White Lodging — as well as a few companies that Aimbridge Hospitality has acquired "and another one that they're buying right now that's not public information."
"We passed on those opportunities because they weren't right for us," he said. "What we want to do is grow with like-minded owners that are well-funded, mostly in full-service assets and also steer more towards independent properties."
Remington now has 29 lifestyle and boutique hotels in its portfolio as well as four under construction, he added. Dean plans for Remington to expand further with independent resorts in addition to lifestyle and boutique hotels across North America, the Caribbean and Hawaii.
Dean said select-service extended-stay hotels will not be a large focus of the company's growth path. Of the 50 deals that Remington is currently working on, 40 are for full-service hotels.
A Multi-Year Labor Problem
Operating full-service hotels requires more labor than select-service, and Remington is finding ways to combat the war on talent, he said.
Part of the strategy includes pay increases. For example, wages for hourly associates across Remington's hotels have increased 32% compared to 2019, he said.
Remington's number of open jobs, use of overtime and use of contract labor is leveling off, he added.
With immigration laws affecting recruitment, he said, the name of the game is learning how to operate hotels with 10%-20% less labor.
Dean estimates that 20% of Remington's hourly associates left during the pandemic, and a majority are not coming back. Absent housekeeping, Dean said filling food-and-beverage jobs is the second most concerning problem with staffing.
"Anyone who's not taking [the labor challenge] from the vantage point that I'm going to operate this full-service hotel with about 10%-20% less staff is losing out," he said. "The total wrong question is, 'When do I get back to 2019 staffing levels?' At Remington Hotels, it will be never. The only way we get back to 2019 staffing levels is if occupancy levels are 15% higher than in 2019."
Remington is leveraging technology and learning and development to do more with less and build employees' skill sets.
For more from Remington Hotels' Sloan Dean, watch the video above.