Brittain moving into third-party white space

MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina – Add Myrtle Beach, South Carolina-based Brittain Resorts & Hotels to the list of smaller management company who see an opportunity to grow by providing more personal service to owners.

To that end, the low-profile Brittain family, who has been an owner-operator in the southeast for 80 years, has hired veteran Aimbridge Hospitality Vice President of Business Development Christy Jernigan as chief development officer, who plans to first work toward doubling the company’s management business from 22 hotels (4,000) today.

Brittain Resorts & Hotels Christy Jernigan

The Brittain family sold off majority stakes of seven of their largest hotels in early 2022 (it still wholly owns many of the other 15 hotels) to EOS Investors out of New York with the idea of turning more of its attention to beefing up the third-party business. Jernigan believes with her contacts in the private equity and REIT spaces, along with the Brittains family office connections, deals will be found and will come by selling a more personal and family-style approach.

Brittain’s sweet spot is in full-service and bigger limited-service properties as that has always been their specialty along the southeast coast and in markets like Myrtle Beach. She said a deal to manage a seven-hotel portfolio in Florida is close to fruition, as are management deals for two hotels, including a new-construction Hilton. Brittain also has a couple of condo-hotel deals in the works in Florida.

Jernigan added that Brittain can come to the table with key money, joint venture and/or sliver equity options and points more to owners with distressed capital stacks who need infusions for PIPs, etc. in exchange for management.

The company is also interested in acquiring another small third-party management company – maybe in the next 18 months – and Jernigan added that she knows many owners who simply want to get out of the management business and is pursuing those opportunities.

Then there is the messy transaction market and Jernigan said Brittain is working with buyers, helping them pinpoint strategic market opportunities and hoping to take management when deals close.

Jernigan added that Brittain’s management infrastructure has been improved over the past 18 months, including a $10 million investment in artificial intelligence systems, and the team is ready to prove its worth. “A lot of ownership groups are getting lost in the shuffle, if you will, and maybe not getting the specialized focus that they’re used to,” she said. “So, I feel like there's a big opportunity for us.”

A year from now, Jernigan said Brittain should be well on its way to doubling the size of the management company. Longer term, it is not looking to compete with the third-party giants but stick to its knitting in the full-service resort, enhanced select-service spaces. “This is what we’re going after because that’s what we do best,” she said.