Chief Development Officer Keith Oltchick said organic
growth, not acquisition, remains the strategy in the U.S. and CALA.
CORAL GABLES, Florida – While Sloan Dean has announced his
departure from Remington Hospitality. Chief Development Officer Keith Oltchick
says it doesn’t change the group’s strategy or trajectory.
Oltchick told Hotel Investment Today at the ALIS CALA
conference in Coral Gables, Florida, last week that Remington has spent the
last couple years building out its foundation, platform and growth strategy for
the CALA region that won’t change with Dean’s absence. “It’s not truly
dependent on our CEO,” he said. “Not to minimize his departure in any sense,
but it doesn’t affect our strategy.”
Not in CALA or elsewhere, Oltchick said, adding that the
management firm owned by Ashford Inc. with some 140 hotels either under
management or signed is not necessarily looking to acquire smaller management
companies similar to many of its competitors.
It’s very difficult to value a management company and the contracts and relationships they have with their ownership groups. So, there’s been a pretty big spread in the multiples that people are looking for versus what we would be willing to pay.
Keith Oltchick
Of the 140 hotels open or in the pipeline, only 57 of them
are owned by Ashford Hospitality Trust or Braemar Hotels and Resorts, proving
that the group is making significant progress toward its stated goal of making
more outside-the-family third-party deals.
Oltchick said after acquiring Chesapeake Hospitality in
2022, the takeaway has been unless an irresistible acquisition opportunity
comes their way, growth will come organically.
“It’s very difficult to value a management company and the
contracts and relationships they have with their ownership groups,” Oltchick
said. “So, there’s been a pretty big spread in the multiples that people are
looking for versus what we would be willing to pay… We haven’t really found a
group that we would like to acquire or that is strategic enough for us to go
down that path. So, for now, we’re continuing to grow the way we want to grow
with our existing partners and new opportunities that the team uncovers.”
Oltchick said Remington exceed budgeted growth expectations
in 2024, although more of it came on the development side as opposed to
operating hotels. “It’s just indicative of the market and where opportunities
exist,” he said, adding that 2025 is shaping up similarly. “These projects are
transformational for the portfolio, but it still requires a lot of time and
effort to get them open.”
CALA concentration
At the start of 2025, Remington had eight hotels in CALA and
in February announced the addition of ONE | GT in Grand Cayman in the Cayman
Islands. The property is slated to open in November 2025 as a luxury urban
residential hotel.
Across CALA, Remington has been focusing on hiring more
people from the region because relationships are pivotal in getting deals done,
according to Richard Garcia, vice president of operations for the region.
There are a lot of amazing projects where there are some capital limitations from the local development community. Capital from the U.S. could really spark some strong and robust growth over the next few years.
Keith Oltchick
Remington in 2023 opened an office in Miami to direct the
region’s business but learned it’s still not necessarily the same as being
present in the region all the time. “We need a bigger presence in the market to
be more top of mind,” Garcia said.
To that end, Oltchick said plans are underway to open an
office inside the region with Mexico targeted as the most likely spot because
of its stronger pipeline.
Bigger picture, Oltchick said CALA continues to trend in the
right direction when it comes to growth.
“There are a lot of opportunities for domestic capital to
come into the market, and that’s what we’d love to find – a couple of
partners,” Oltchick said. “There’s a lot more money that could be invested.
There are a lot of amazing projects where there are some capital limitations
from the local development community. Capital from the U.S. could really spark
some strong and robust growth over the next few years. Groups that are bullish
on the market and come down will wind up making a lot of money.”
Oltchick added that he really likes the preferred equity
play for interested investors, adding that anyone who is still skittish about
the region should understand a lot of the countries have become much more
institutional grade.
“Maybe some of the fears for coming down here have been
mitigated. I think that there are some good opportunities to explore,” Oltchick
concluded.