Sandpiper Hospitality All-In on Growing Its Extended-Stay Hotel Portfolio

ATLANTA — Sandpiper Hospitality is focused on developing the selection of extended-keep motels in its management portfolio, like by partnering with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts to control 25 motels beneath its new, unnamed extended-continue to be brand.

Started in 2012, Richmond, Virginia-based mostly Sandpiper Hospitality has constructed its foundation around getting a best chief in taking care of prolonged-remain inns.

Talking for the duration of a split at the Hunter Hotel Financial commitment Convention, President and CEO Jim Darter described the prolonged-keep phase as “ripe with prospects.” Of the 53 resorts that the corporation manages these days, 52 of them are prolonged continue to be.

The attract of extended-continue to be inns is owing in element to the resilience and hazard adversity that the section has demonstrated all through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Above COVID … our hotels seriously failed to damage that considerably,” Darter explained. “The 1st pair of months have been iffy but then it returned. By the time we got to June of 2020, we ended up beating 2019 numbers now. Due to the fact then, it’s been practically nothing but upside.”

Sandpiper Hospitality’s administration portfolio began with prolonged-keep motels in the economic climate phase, then ventured into midscale and is now introducing bigger-scale houses.

Darter stated Sandpiper Hospitality’s basis is also developed all over currently being an entrepreneurial enterprise, focused on what it can do itself even so, its most fruitful partnerships have been and go on to be with resort brands.

He claimed the organization exponentially grew in between 2018 to 2020 in conditions of quantity of lodges and profits of its lodges proportion-sensible.

“We never have countless numbers of lodges but [we went from] 17 lodges to 53 in the previous few of several years, and we’re accomplishing that largely by third-bash management [contracts],” he said. “About a third of our portfolio now is third-get together managed. We have some wonderful customers that sing our praises and we sing their praises.”

Wyndham Motels & Resorts introduced on March 22 its new overall economy extended-keep brand, running less than the performing title “Challenge ECHO,” with Richmond-primarily based genuine estate financial commitment have confidence in Sandpiper Lodging Belief having on design of 25 of the to start with 50 new-make tasks. The brand name designs to have at the very least just one of these open up in the future 12 months and has a person in review now. Sandpiper Hospitality will operate individuals 25 hotels, when an additional team will get on the other 50 %.

Sandpiper Hospitality manages the complete portfolio of its affiliate, Sandpiper Lodging Rely on, as very well accommodations for unaffiliated third events. Darter claimed this is his firm’s to start with partnership with Wyndham.

The romance with Wyndham grew about the past couple of months.

“We labored extremely closely on encouraging them design the brand. They’ve been extraordinary listeners, collaborating with us from a layout standpoint and the running expectations standpoint,” he reported.

“We glimpse at it as a manufacturer new partnership not only to produce lodges but for Sandpiper Hospitality to control more and a lot more Wyndham houses,” he stated.

His firm now has four Wyndham-branded hotels that it strategies to open up for a 3rd-occasion consumer in the next several months, like a La Quinta and Hawthorn Suites dual-brand name.

Decision Inns Intercontinental also has been a beneficial companion of Sandpiper Hospitality, he included.

Sandpiper Lodging Belief obtained two WoodSpring Suites prolonged-remain accommodations in February in Orlando, Florida: WoodSpring Suites Orlando Clarcona — Maitland for $6.5 million and the WoodSpring Suites Orlando Clermont — Minneola for $8.5 million, according to CoStar house info. Sandpiper Hospitality manages both equally.

Darter claimed Sandpiper Hospitality likes to control hotels in the Sunshine Belt area.

“Just about everything that we’re functioning on with third-social gathering customers is [in] Texas, Florida, the Carolinas and some spots in among. We really feel actually excellent about the west coast as effectively,” he explained.

Inside relationships and company lifestyle are also a leading precedence for Sandpiper Hospitality.

Darter stated he noticed that associates at his resorts sought after a way to do extra within the communities they operate in. As a final result, the enterprise introduced its “Do A lot more Excellent” community services system in 2021.

As part of that method, Sandpiper workers have donated 600 hours of group assistance get the job done and have set collectively care offers. Staff members at all of the firm’s resorts are in a position to hold events for charities in their location that require support.

“This is a gain-win, in which our associates win simply because they choose component in some thing that they treatment about … and it produces, as effectively, a minimal bit extra stickiness for our group — for [staff] to say, ‘I’m element of a firm that cares,'” he included.

Sandpiper Hospitality believes in education, mentorship and vocation advancement, Darter stated, which is why his enterprise grew to become affiliated with Virginia Tech’s hospitality university this past calendar year and introduced a university student teaching system.

The corporation introduced on its initially university student apprentice to consider section in a official instruction application throughout the state, paying out time at the company business office as nicely as its resorts. Launching this method through the pandemic aided to give college students choices for real-planet encounter, Darter stated.

“We are going to be able to give [the apprentice] a normal manager place one 12 months [after] coming out of hospitality university to run his very own lodge,” he claimed.

The software allows learners to discover their market and passion by seeking distinct departments in just the resort, he mentioned. The enterprise has just brought on its second apprentice, who so significantly is gravitating towards revenue administration, he reported.

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