Perelmuter has his team in place at Remington

PHOENIX – When joining Remington Hospitality in May of this year, the first thing Ben Perelmuter did as new CEO was to bring in his people to “set the stage with knowledge and need.” As Perelmuter puts it, “It all starts with people.”

Bringing in Jason Kreul as chief operating officer in July was the first call Perelmuter made, knowing if he got commercial right, they’d outperform. And as Kreul puts it, “I saw an opportunity on the commercial side and appreciate Remington’s culture around controlling expenses.”

In August, Cory Chambers joined Remington as chief commercial officer to drive topline performance, enhance guest engagement and support the company’s continued growth across key markets. Perelmuter said Remington is already starting to see results with an improved group booking pace for 2026.

Next, in September, Matthew Grauso joined Remington as vice president of operations – Caribbean, as CALA has become an identified opportunity for more robust growth in Mexico and Caribbean markets such as Costa Rica, Grand Cayman, the Dominican Republic and others.

Grauso brings nearly three decades of experience in resort and luxury hotel operations, with 23 years dedicated to Hawaii, specifically on the islands of Maui, Oahu, and The Big Island. He played a pivotal role in the construction, development, and pre-opening phases, driving the launch and strategic repositioning of properties for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International and Highgate Hotels.

In February, Remington Hospitality will open ONE | GT in George Town in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.

The goal in CALA is to reach 20 hotels inside two years and start to cluster operations. Perelmuter added that Remington can bring sliver equity to the table, which they prefer over key money.

All-inclusive will be another focus in CALA with a few term sheets signed for deals in the Dominican Republic and Mexico.

“Brands are happy to see us in the region,” Grauso added.

Five priorities

Indeed, Perelmuter has set the stage with his team. But from a broader perspective, he said Remington has five major priorities, including top and bottom-line revenue growth, the customer, associates and the product. “I also see a need for balance across those priorities,” he told Hotel Investment Today at The Lodging Conference last week.

Another change has been made around structure with Perelmuter saying he has a direct line to the chairman, which allows him to quickly realign decision making.

Remington, with some 135 hotels today across 33 brands, is also further decoupling its portfolio away from assets owned by its parent company, Ashford, and growing strict third-party deals. Currently, more than 50% of the portfolio is strict third-party and Remington is working with some 35 ownership groups, according to Perelmuter, who said the bigger goal is to reach a 75% to 80% strict third-party platform.

At the same time, when considering further growth, Perelmuter added that Remington will put more emphasis on net profit than net unit growth.

And speaking of profitability, Perelmuter also said Remington is putting an even bigger emphasis on technology platforms to better align objectives with owners and address the industry’s flat growth projections.