Sacco leads growth charge at PM Hotel Group

PHOENIX – At some 70 hotels today (15-plus owned by affiliate Buccini/Pollin Group), PM Hotel Group’s new Chief Growth and Development Officer Paul Sacco is charged with leading scalable growth in key markets in the upscale, full-service, boutique and luxury segments.

After acquiring 12-hotel Paramount Management Associates in November 2021 and similarly sized, boutique-focused Modus Hotels in January of 2022, PM is considering further acquisitions to spur growth with Sacco telling Hotel Investment Today at The Lodging Conference last week, “We do consider opportunities for strategic alliances that match with our culture and growth strategy and will continue to do so in a thoughtful way.”

There are markets across the U.S. in both major and secondary cities, especially with a lag in new supply, that are going to show some good fundamentals going forward. The Pacific Northwest is another area where some developers are starting to see pockets of opportunity.

Paul Sacco

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Sacco also said that the group has recently added new management contracts in Florida, Texas, the Pacific Northwest, and the Washington, D.C. area. PM Hotel Group is also under development in assets with its partners in California and elsewhere. This is comprised of both branded and lifestyle independent properties.

“Generally, there are markets across the U.S. in both major and secondary cities, especially with a lag in new supply, that are going to show some good fundamentals going forward,” Sacco said. “The Pacific Northwest is another area where some developers are starting to see pockets of opportunity.”

Sacco added that PM is willing to place strategic equity in sought-after deals and is looking further afield in markets like the Caribbean.

“We do have the ability to be thoughtful and appropriately competitive on terms and like to really consider the terms based on the ownership structure and hold period and owner investment goals regarding the asset,” Sacco said. “It is not our goal to be the biggest, it is to have a strong portfolio with great owners. And with that, we are large enough to offer economies of scale across the nation, but nimble enough to be accessible to ownership partners and other constituents at the highest levels of our organization.”

Managing each line item

Having joined PM Hotel Group in July, 30-year veteran Sacco said in this current market environment, there is not that one ‘silver bullet’ to drive success. “With no obvious low-hanging fruit to drive returns operationally, and revenue growth a bit subdued for the industry overall market to market, we are actively managing each line item daily,” he said.

Modus Hotels by PM Hotel Group manages the 93-room Waymore’s Guest House & Casual Club in Nashville.

Understanding that market conditions require having tools to manage the P&L in both a hands-on and a tech-led, forward-thinking manner day-to-day, months back PM implemented an Operational Analytics team that looks at best practices across the portfolio on an ongoing basis to share learnings and implement strategies property to property in real time. “It has been a huge differentiator for us,” Sacco said. “We are an independently owned operating platform that has the advantage of being in a position to make decisions in a nimble manner.”

He pointed to data that showed through August 2024 in all U.S. markets EBITDAPAR percentage change -1.2, whereas PM Hotel Group’s portfoliowide EBIDTAPAR percentage change was +4.4. “We have been able to be ahead of key profit drivers and have been able to actively utilize our learnings and implement practices that have led to meaningful savings on items such as insurance costs and energy pricing, for example,” Sacco said.

Sacco also emphasized that PM is highly focused on employee engagement. “We employ thoughtful initiatives in the way of technology and sustainability, while making sure that we are driving guest satisfaction and owner returns,” he said. “That formula has helped us grow in a very sensible manner, and we think going forward will allow us to grow strategically and with owners who share our same forward-thinking vision.”