Now separated from Banyan Investment Group, CEO Oswald wants
to compete with the major third-party managers and sees M&A as one way
forward.
PHOENIX
– When Atlanta-based Banyan Tree Management rebranded in March
at Aperture Hotels to pursue more third-party opportunities separate from its
historical attachment to Banyan Investment Group, it had but 12 properties in
its stable. Within 90 days, it grew to 18 and today has the lofty goal of
reaching the top tier of management companies within two years.
President and CEO Charles Oswald recently told Hotel
Investment Today at The Lodging Conference that Aperture should be north of 25
hotels under management by the end of this year, around 30 by next summer and
is actively seeking portfolio deal opportunities or a strategic alliance to
further accelerate growth.
Aperture predominantly plays in the select-serve and
lifestyle space in southeastern urban markets, but Oswald said expansion to the
West Coast is coming.

Aperture Hotels CEO Charles Oswald
Because of its relationships with Banyan Investment Group,
which has since rebranded as Satori Collective with a renewed focus on raising
and deploying capital, Oswald added that Aperture expects to be able to help
owners source emerging deal opportunities and take management in return. “We
have the ability to play matchmaker,” he said.
Oswald added that Aperture has assembled a senior team that
has collective experience operating over 400 hotels in every chain scale. “We
look forward to deploying that experience to help more owners achieve
superior guest experience, team member engagement and improved bottom lines,”
he said.
The company operates properties with the likes of Marriott,
Hilton, IHG, Wyndham and Choice Hotels. Oswald said it follows a
value-based approach to management, which is evidenced by an above average
portfolio-wide gross operating profit margin.
“Aperture Hotels fills the gap between today’s oversized
management companies with fractured culture and the smaller, less-sophisticated
management companies that often lack subject matter expertise,” Oswald added.
“We’ve spent the last year building the right tech stack,
operating systems and processes, and hiring top-notch talent in preparation for
this day to attract new third-party management contracts and possible M&A
opportunities,” Oswald said. “Being a truly independent third-party operator
allows for accelerated growth as we can work with a broad array of owners and
not solely captive to one investment firm.”
Oswald closed by saying, “Our initial focus will be on
lifestyle, premium select-service and compact full-service… but don’t put us in
too tight of a box because we have collective experience across a much broader
range of product.”