When Remington Hotels acquired Chesapeake Hospitality in April, the company gained more than a portfolio of premium branded properties, many of which were in major Midwest markets. Just as importantly, the company also bolstered its leadership team with Chesapeake CEO Chris Green, who was recently tapped to take the reins of the Dallas-based operator.
After successfully overseeing the integration of Chesapeake’s hotels into the Remington portfolio, Green—who was with Chesapeake Hospitality for some 16 years—was elevated from his position as division president.
Green, who brings 25 years of hospitality experience, detailed the evolution of his role and the makeup of the company’s portfolio following the announcement, which was made by Remington Hotels CEO Sloan Dean.
“My primary job when I came over was to make sure that the integration went well. As we navigated through that, and now that the Remington portfolio is 60 percent institutional and 40 percent third-party [management], I think Sloan saw an opportunity to take my experience and use it in a greater manner,” Green told LODGING.
Founded in 1968, Remington Hotels was acquired by Ashford Inc. in 2019. Remington’s portfolio—which is now more than 120 properties—was about 20 percent third-party management prior to the roughly $26 million acquisition of Chesapeake by Ashford.
Dean further touted Green’s attributes and the rationale for the promotion: “With combined resources and an aligned mission, our partnership has led to exciting results. Chris’s leadership ethos is integral to Remington, and his new role will lead to greater success in the new year. Talent always wins out, and Chris has the rare blend of inspirational leadership, entrepreneurial work ethic, and high aptitude. There is a clear reason Chris was CEO at a young age for Chesapeake, and we’d be foolish not to elevate Chris,” he said in a statement.
Green added that the integration of Chesapeake’s properties is “99 percent” complete. He acknowledged some of the differences between the two companies and further explained the benefits of size and scale: “I think it’s getting tougher [for smaller companies]. What I was noticing was that with some of the mega managers that are out there right now, my ability to get in the mix and the conversation about development early enough to win the deal was getting muted [with Chesapeake]. That was my challenge . . . that’s where scale matters,” he said, adding that coming to such a large company “has been a big learning [experience] for me.”
He went on to add, “The one thing that keeps me up at night is, how do we get big without feeling big?”
Fortunately, Green noted that the two companies were very much a fit culturally as the transition took place, and he continues to relay the company’s objectives to its some 270 corporate associates.
“The part that was so nice was sliding right into the culture—at least I could feel comfortable in that. Everybody has said the thing they were most excited about was the aligning of culture, and honestly what they’ve heard from me so far about what I believe. It just really syncs up with what they believe,” he said. Green emphasized that one of the company’s objectives following the merger is to be a true high-touch management company, and he explained what that means to him.
“For me, it’s not just about the wording ‘high touch’; it’s more about your operating philosophy. There are a lot of good management organizations that know how to operate hotels, but I’ve always talked about having a team that looks over the horizon. A lot of people talk about what’s evident in their competitive set of hotels, and that’s just the framework that they’re going to work in. I believe in looking past that and having a slate of professionals that are so in tune with the owners’ investment thesis and with what’s possible that they look outside that and push results that no one thought were possible. That’s what it all comes down to: third-party hotel management is about knowing the client,” he said.
The results for Remington in 2022 have been very solid as the company has seen a steady increase in occupancy and revenue, according to Green. “We’re having a great year as a company, and it’s generated a lot of energy and excitement with our team about the future,” he said.
