LOS ANGELES – (February 2, 2015) – Chad Crandell, Richard Warnick and Ken Wilson today announced the formation of CHMWarnick, the world’s largest hotel asset management company. The new company is the result of a merger between two of the lodging industry’s most respected and successful hotel asset management and advisory firms: CHM and Warnick + Company. The new company will provide a full complement of hotel business advisory services proven to enhance hotel value and investment returns including asset management, operational assessment and strategic development advisory from offices in Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York and Phoenix.
The combined companies have a client portfolio of 54 hotels with 23,000 rooms, representing roughly $8 billion in hotel assets under ongoing asset management on behalf of private equity firms, pension funds, Fortune 500 companies, government entities and sovereign government funds, among others. The portfolio includes prestige brands such as Four Seasons, Hilton, Hyatt, Mandarin Oriental, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Trump Hotels, Westin and W Hotels, along with several high profile independent hotels. In addition to overseeing operating hotels, the team also represents the owners of several under-construction hotel projects including the Westin Hotel at Denver International Airport, Marriott Marquis McCormick Plan Chicago and a $2 billion luxury mixed used project in San Francisco, for which the group is providing development, pre-opening and/or asset management services.
“As the industry continues to increase in complexity, hotel investors have come to appreciate that experienced, unbiased industry experts can have a material positive impact on their business… from development or acquisition, through disposition – and all points in between,” said Warnick. “As we each looked for opportunities to provide our clients with best-in-class asset management and advisory services, it became abundantly clear that the best strategy was to combine our two firms. Doing so allows us to capitalize on our collective knowledge and experience in a truly national platform. Our end game is to be the top-of-mind, first choice for owners seeking professional hotel asset management and value creating advisory services.”
“Our companies are well known for uncovering incremental value and enhancing investment returns through analyzing all sides of a situation and determining the optimal outcome specifically from an ownership perspective,” added Crandell. “CHM and Warnick + Company have similar, yet complementary areas of expertise, proven track records for achieving results, compatible cultures and a fanatical dedication to the best interest of our clients. This merger is one of the best examples we have ever seen of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, and we all look forward to sharing this with our long-standing clients.”
According to Wilson, capital markets’ strong interest in hotel assets continues to create demand for experienced counsel and consistent oversight as viewed through the lens of the investor, yet filtered by the industry expertise needed to drive maximum asset value and investor returns.
“Technology and the increasing sophistication of investment paradigms and strategies have necessitated an increased level of top line management to effect optimal long-term outcomes,” said Wilson. “Our teams are not only experts in their disciplines, but leaders and pioneers in our field, helping to advance the profession of hotel asset management and investor-level advisory as a whole.”
A merger of equals, the new company boasts a highly seasoned team of 32 hotel professionals, of which 12 members possess 30 years or more industry experience, encompassing hotel operations, business advisory and hotel asset management. Collectively, team credentials include three CHAM-certified asset managers; five members of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC), including its current President; and nine members in the Hotel Asset Managers Association (HAMA), including a founding member and three past presidents. Additionally, the CHMWarnick team is widely represented across committees tasked with shaping the industry and advocating for hotel owner rights, including AH&LA’s Financial Management Committee, which recently published Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry, Eleventh Revised Edition; Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Hotel Development Counsel and Women’s Leadership Initiative; and Marriott’s Ownership Advisory Counsel, to name a few. The company also has a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and a Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA). CHMWarnick becomes the only hotel asset management company that is a SEC Registered Investment Advisor.
Wilson said that he expects the new company will build on the tremendous growth experienced over the past 12 months, in which the two firms were awarded asset management contracts for 17 hotels with a total of 8,000 rooms. He expects the CHMWarnick asset management portfolio to grow to include upwards of 100 hotels over the next five years.
“By establishing CHMWarnick, we have strengthened our collective bench tremendously and ideally become the de facto choice for hotel owners and investors seeking hotel asset management and business advisory services.”
