Exclusive: KSL Resorts rebrands as Peregrine Hospitality

DENVER, Colorado – KSL Resorts has rebranded to Peregrine Hospitality and will continue to manage the 92-asset portfolio of hotels and resorts, including Mission Hill Hospitality, while being more active in its pursuit of global opportunities for growth across all asset classes within the hospitality sector.

CEO Greg Kennealey exclusively told Hotel Investment Today that Peregrine Hospitality is an owner-operator that has sliver interest in some of the Mission Hill and other KSL Capital Partners-owned properties, but, in large part, is an operating platform for 46 hotels (6,768 rooms), all of which are owned by one of KSL’s various funds.

The other 46 assets under Peregrine are either through asset management deals within the KSL universe or sales and marketing arrangements with other KSL assets such as Outrigger Resorts and Hotels, Under Canvas or Alterra Mountain Co. But Kennealey emphasized that 95% of Peregrine’s energy goes into maximizing the operations of the 46 hotels.

So, why the name change?

“It was time for a change – a fresh start,” Kennealey said.

Peregrine technically is a rebrand of KSL Resorts. “But it’s also an expansion of the business because we are now managing directly 21 of Mission Hills’ 33 hotels,” he added. “So, it’s an expansion beyond resorts into a broader hospitality platform. The old name was no longer fully applicable, and it gives us a chance to make a splash, get out different messaging, broaden the business a bit in terms of our positioning, all which has appealed to us.”

More active dealmaker

Broadening the business likely means getting more active in the deal market. Kennealey stopped short of using the term “aggressive” because they will still grow with the same rigor applied to any potential opportunity.

Peregrine Hospitality CEO Greg Kennealey

“We’re now in a position where we can look at not only individual deals, but potentially larger transactions, meaning portfolios of assets,” Kennealey said. “We also have the several hotels that we’re under no particular pressure to divest, but where our investment strategy has largely been executed, or will be executed at some point this year, at which point we might consider divesting some of the properties and returning that capital to investors.”

At some point, Kennealey said Peregrine might expand geographically or into other related hospitality segments. Its strength is in premium limited-service via the Mission Hill assets, independent boutique-style resorts on the East and West coasts, as well as a few more complicated resort assets. And, for now, he expects to stay in the same owner-operator space – “just over time, potentially more broadly.”

“We could get into urban, whether it’s urban franchise, urban independent, and we could lean a little heavier into luxury right now,” Kennealey continued. “We only have one asset that technically qualifies as luxury [Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego], but we’re looking at a couple of others right now. We don’t do a ton branded full-service, but that’s a segment we can get into potentially. But the ones we have, we like a lot, we understand them well. And I think at this point we have a well-developed playbook.”

What Peregrine was not created to be is a third-party manager. “Our current plan, and frankly my strong personal preference, is to not [third-party manage],” Kennealey said. “The magic of the owner-operator model is best kept as a pure play. I’m sure that at some point there may be an extenuating circumstance where we sell a particularly complicated resort to someone who would prefer us to stay in as manager, and at that time we’d certainly consider it. But what we’re not doing is pitching the marketplace on Peregrine as a management company provider… It's all about what maximizes the performance of the hotels. It’s not about what helps us with a client or other you things that sometimes create friction points.”

Silverado Resort and Spa, Napa Valley, California, is one of Peregrine’s more complex assets.

Building the team

Legally, Peregrine Hospitality came into legal existence in April 2024, when Kennealey became CEO of KSL Resorts. After going through the naming process, logo choices, etcetera, the group decided to wait till the New Year to make more of a splash.

With about 4,000 employees, the team includes Tom Barber, CFO; Ed Eynon, chief human resources officer; Catherine Hance, chief legal officer; Pete Sams, chief operating officer; and Mike Wilbert, managing director and head of acquisitions.

We’re now in a position where we can look at not only individual deals, but potentially larger transactions, meaning portfolios of assets.

Greg Kennealey

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The name Peregrine, derived from the Latin adjective "peregrinus," means traveler or coming from abroad. The Peregrine Falcon, known for its wide-ranging travels and status as the world's fastest bird, embodies these qualities. According to Kennealey, “Like the Peregrine Falcon, Peregrine Hospitality operates with precision, accuracy, and agility. The new name aptly reflects the firm's talented team.”

In fact, Peregrine spent 2024 integrating some of the people from Mission Hill and all the people from KSL Resorts, as well as hiring an additional 30 people to build capabilities for capital projects, food and beverage, operations, finance and accounting.

“We are really well suited, not only to optimize the performance of the 45 hotels that have been entrusted into our care, but also to now perhaps with a little bit more confidence go into the marketplace and try to acquire some additional properties,” Kennealey added.

He concluded by saying Peregrine is leaning heavily into talent acquisition, career development, training, and “lots of things that we think will ultimately make a career path in Peregrine more attractive than a lot of the alternatives. If we do it right, we’ll end up with the best GMs and the happiest housekeepers in the industry.”