Crafting the Next Great Stay

The nation’s premiere hoteliers trust Hospitality America to manage their most memorable properties.

As one of the nation’s leading third-party hotel management companies, Hospitality America has been exceeding guest, associate, and owner expectations for over 2.5 decades.  A trusted partner to some of the world’s most recognizable brands, which includes iconic Hilton and Marriott affiliated products, the organization is responsible for managing approximately $500 million in assets, and has a proven track record of consistently exceeding ownerships expectations through profitability and asset protection.

Established in 1995 by Cornell alum Christopher Cargen, Hospitality America is on the forward edge of managing and partnering in the development of customized assets. With a workforce of over 700 associates, annual revenues of approximately $93 million, the company manages a host of name-brand properties including Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, Hilton, and Hilton brands Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn and Suites, Home2 Suites, and several others.  The full-service hotel management company supports owners in every aspect of hotel management and operations, including consulting, new construction and renovation, property management, as well as acquisitions and receivership.

“As of today, we operate 16 hotels, 15 in the US and one in Greece,” reported company COO David Berger, whose 22-year hotel management career includes general manager stints at multiple Marriott, Hilton, and Starwood branded properties. He also served six years as Vice President of Operations for Hospitality America until his recent promotion to COO in the summer of 2018. “We currently have five legacy projects in different stages of development.  The group recently executed one of the first 10 license agreements for Motto by Hilton in the United States.”  The Grecian property, Iconic Santorini, is one of the world’s most renowned luxury destination resorts and winner of the 2018 Haute Grandeur Global Hotel Awards for the world’s best luxury hotel. Both projects speak to Hospitality America’s ability to nurture unique brands and keep them at peak performance.

According to Berger, the firm seeks out clientele whose properties have an element of real specialness to them, such as the elegant Hampton Inn & Suites Miami Brickell hotel, which blends edgy urban architectural style with contemporary art in the prized downtown Miami Brickell neighborhood.

True partnership for unprecedented success

Whether stepping in as the ink dries on the purchase of a greenfield development or shepherding a legacy location to new heights of efficiency and profitability, Hospitality America is a confident partner for hoteliers that value excellence. “We can hold your hand through development and construction, or simply take possession of an asset six weeks before opening,” Berger pointed out.

“We want to put the owner in a position where they can turn into an asset manager for the entity. We are involved day-to-day and we have been afforded the autonomy to make decisions to protect and increase the value of the asset every day.”

In addition to providing critical business intelligence to their clients, the company employs an internal revenue management team, an industry rarity. “We do all of our revenue management in house, with an experienced team that is analyzing data on a daily basis for all the assets we operate,” Berger noted. “Our approach to revenue management is very strategic and one of the most important ingredients for enhanced revenue.”

“We think like owners,” stressed Scott Reid, the company’s VP of Operations. “Regardless of the different types of owners I've dealt with, whether it's an asset manager with a real estate investment trust or a single owner, that's the conversation I've always had. We treat their asset and their money like it's our own. That culture and thought process comes across. We're very conscientious about the way we do things, and I think that's why we have the relationships we do.” Reid manages 11 of the assets currently under management and has played a prominent executive level role in the growth of other leading hotel management companies including LBA Hospitality and Crestline Hotels & Resorts.

Reid oversees a portfolio of 11 Marriott and Hilton properties located throughout the southeast, including two Starbucks retail stores. He has more than 20 years of hospitality experience while serving in the roles of General Manager, Director of Training & Human Resources, and VP of Operations. Under his leadership, multiple properties have received industry awards, including the Chairman’s Award and New Hotel Opening of the Year for Marriott. He also was on the opening and development team for the first Home2 Suites in the country located in Fayetteville, NC. Reid has served on various industry focus groups and is actively involved in his local community. He is a graduate of the Hospitality Management program at Appalachian State University and is a Certified Rooms Division Executive.

Another key differentiator is their ability to work with ownership and development teams in a project’s preliminary stages. “As soon as a location is identified, we are immediately engaged, and that's not necessarily the norm in our industry. Usually the management company is given an assignment at a predetermined time, but we get involved in the early stages of pre-development. It's just another part of our relationship and trust we have with ownership groups,” Berger said.

Trust is the cornerstone of Hospitality America’s culture. Ben Blackwell, area manager of operations in Baton Rouge, La., began his career with the company as a night auditor over 20 years ago. He now oversees the new Marriott Courtyard Downtown in that city, as well as an area Hampton Inn and Suites.

“Honestly, they're very supportive and have always put the guests and their employees first over anything else. It's the way they run a large company as a small company. They know everybody, and they've always given the tools needed to succeed and make sure that the guests are taken care of. That's always their No. 1 priority, and that's what I love,” Blackwell confessed. “Their culture is what really helped me fall in love with the business. They’ve just been phenomenal to work with, work for, and watch them grow.”