Hospitality owner, operator and development company Hotel Equities and management group National Hospitality Services have formed a strategic alliance that will integrate NHS’ portfolio of 38 hotels into HE’s management platform. According to the two companies, the alliance will create strategic growth opportunities for associates and will optimize systems to create a more dynamic and powerful operations and sales engine. The alliance aims to leverage efficiencies and resources across the combined portfolio of approximately 300 hotels and resorts throughout the U.S. and Canada.
“Since opening our first hotel in 1996, we have lived our promise to maximize earnings and value for the ownership groups we represent,” NHS founder and President Norman Leslie said in a statement. “Our partnership with Hotel Equities allows us to take that commitment to the next level.” Leslie said that the “synergies and shared cultures” of both companies will help provide “strong and growing returns” for NHS’ ownership groups. “This is an exciting time for our industry—but management must perform at a pinnacle level to deliver the returns that investors are seeking. That’s exactly what we will be able to do with this partnership."
“This alliance has been forged from a shared vision for future growth and a commitment to foundational values,” HE’s President and CEO Brad Rahinsky said. “NHS’s track record of success and its stellar associate-centric reputation are well established in our industry. This alliance enables them to stay independent while honoring their legacy and unlocking the added scale, support and resources of HE’s collective platform.”
A key benefit from the alliance will be the focused efforts on labor concerns, recruitment and retention with the added proprietary training and development resources and benefits HE makes available to all of its associates and partners, according to the companies. NHS’s nearly 1,200 associates will bring HE’s total to more than 9,000 with access to additional perks including a sabbatical program, daily pay option, HE Marketplace and peer-management training programs.
“Not only will our team members have added growth opportunities by being part of an expansive portfolio but they also have the ability to tap into additional benefits and training programs to catapult their careers,” said Sarah Koustrup, chief strategy officer for NHS. “Partnering with a group that invests heavily into its people was a huge deciding factor in moving forward with an alliance; it’s what we are most proud of.”
“Our people-focused and performance-driven model creates immediate value add for all of NHS’s stakeholders,” HE COO Bryan DeCort added. “As all new NHS associates are fully integrated into the HE ecosystem, owners will also experience real performance lift.”
“We continue to look for scale with the right groups where we both add value to the relationship in many ways,” HE’s Chief Development Officer Joe Reardon said. “The alliance makes everyone better not only from cost savings to ownership groups but even more on the people side of the business. We are particularly excited about the growth opportunity this allows us in the Midwest.”
“The best-in-class systems, operations management and buying power of our combined efforts will not only elevate the guest experience at all of our hotels but also allow us to intensify our focus on NHS’s owner and asset management services with even more opportunities for property acquisitions, financing and enhanced operations management,” Leslie said.