August marks a year since Todd Turner took over the reins as CEO of Spartanburg, South Carolina-based OTO Development following the untimely passing of longtime CEO Corry Oakes. Turner—who cofounded the company alongside Oakes in 2004 and previously oversaw OTO’s real estate division—recently spoke with LODGING in an exclusive interview to provide an update on the owner/operator as well as how he has adapted to his new role. The following Q&A represents a portion of that conversation.
LODGING: The company now has a portfolio of 66 owned and managed hotels. How would you assess its progress in the wake of the recent leadership transition?
Todd Turner: It’s really amazing to reflect and to look on how far we’ve come. Along this journey, Corry built a fantastic team, and that’s really the thing that resonates through our history and it’s carrying us forward into our future. He laid this foundation that’s super solid. He set the vision for where we’re going; he gave us confidence and courage to keep pushing through some obstacles. The team is dedicated to keep going [and] to keep building on that foundation; all of us are. We have 44 owned hotels right now—including two that are under construction—and I would say our portfolio is one of the best-performing select-service portfolios in the whole country.
You worked closely with Corry for years. How have you navigated the personal and professional changes brought on by his passing?
For me it’s been traumatic and challenging. I’m performing a role now to which I never aspired, to be honest. I loved what I did, which was leading the real estate team and working alongside Corry. But my stepping into this role is what he would have wanted, I believe, and indicative of the dedication I have to our team. It’s been amazing to feel the support of the team [for] me, and we’re kind of all picking each other up and moving ahead, which has been great to see.
You’ve repeatedly emphasized the importance of people when discussing the company. How would you describe the overall culture of OTO Development?
Integrity is the first thing, the foundation upon which everything else is laid. There’s no gray area and that has helped us, and it helped build the reputation of our company. Integrity means you treat your partners better than you treat yourself. Those partners are our lenders, our brands, development partners, and it’s the communities we’re in. It’s this pervasive interest in treating people well, and that really runs deep.
The company held its annual conference in March and had some 250 associates in attendance. What was your takeaway?
It was really exhilarating. There are so many dedicated folks in the OTO family. The conference felt like a family reunion and a celebration. What I got to see was that OTO is a whole lot more than just any one person; I marvel at what Corry started and how pervasive his impact is, and is always going to be, in our company.
Of the company’s 66-hotel portfolio, some 44 are owned while 22 are third-party managed. Are you happy with the current ratio, and do you see it changing going forward?
We like where we are, but we also the recognize the benefit of the third-party [model] and we will expand that in the right markets with the right partners. We want to partner with owners who think like we do, owners who are wired like we are. We want owners who reinvest in their properties and value the people who work there, who are our employees. OTO operates on a set of Guiding Principles and we learned pretty quickly that managing hotels for hotel owners that don’t share those principles isn’t the right way to go, it isn’t the right thing for our team.
What are your growth aspirations for the company going forward?
There are no growth target numbers for us; we want to grow prudently. We’ve gone a year without signing a new deal, as there’s been a lot of turmoil in our industry. I think as long as we keep identifying growth opportunities that are in high-performing markets with a bright future that are going to be accretive to our portfolio, then we’re going to want to execute on them. I think our access to equity capital, while it’s not unique, is probably unusual. In addition, our banking relationships are fantastic, and we’ve got a great real estate team. We’ve been bicoastal for a long time—about a third of our revenue comes from the West Coast—but going forward I think the Southeast is where most of our growth will be focused. We just love the demographic trends of the Southeast, and we love the performance of beach markets in particular.
