BOSTON — Officials of CHMWarnick, a hotel asset management and owner advisory services company, and Pinnacle Advisory Group, a national hospitality consulting firm and women-owned business, announced the formation of a strategic alliance. CHMWarnick and Pinnacle boast company track records spanning 25 and 30 years, respectively. The move leverages vast industry experience and reputation while broadening the business platform, depth of expertise, and knowledge base of both companies to provide superior asset management and hospitality advisory services to their respective clientele.
“The new pandemic reality has resulted in a tremendous surge for assistance from an increasingly larger pool of hotel owners, investment groups, and lenders,” said Chad Crandell, managing director and CEO of CHMWarnick. “Whether it is advice on how to deal with an existing hotel in an underperforming market, assessing acquisition, or development opportunities, or simply strategizing logical next steps, hoteliers need experienced, financially prudent guidance. This alliance strengthens both companies’ abilities to respond to an ever-changing landscape as the hospitality and travel industries continue to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as support clients looking to take advantage of investment opportunities that this unique period presents.”
Combined, the strategic alliance immediately will service an asset management portfolio approximating 80 hotels with more than 32,000 rooms nationwide, representing virtually all segments and major brands, including among others, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, and Accor, as well as a growing number of high-profile independent and lifestyle properties and select-service portfolios. The entities specialize in convention headquarter hotels, complex resorts, urban lifestyle and luxury properties, upper-upscale landmark assets, select-service, and extended-stay hotels, as well as properties proximate to airports and college and university campuses. Beyond the $15 billion in lodging real estate overseen as part of the asset management platform, the alliance collectively is advising owners and lenders on approximately 250 lodging projects annually, including hotel development, repositioning, management/brand selection, operations assessment, acquisition due diligence, and ownership-entity accounting services.
Pinnacle has guided clients on a wide range of critical decisions throughout the life of a hotel investment, from initial feasibility and branding strategy to operational reviews and competitive impact studies. Often, Pinnacle’s work is on the front end of an investment strategy, providing due diligence and advisory prior to the development of an asset or during the initial stage of an acquisition. The alliance provides an opportunity for Pinnacle clients who may be looking to continue with professional oversight to access CHMWarnick’s asset management and accounting platform and related services geared toward value enhancement. Likewise, CHMWarnick can tap into Pinnacle’s market research, trends analysis, and related expertise to support their clients with acquisition opportunities, strategic repositioning, and development planning and asset management engagements. The affiliation will bring a combined professional staff of more than 50 industry experts across 13 offices nationwide.
“We saw this as an ideal match between the two companies — we fit like a hand in a glove,” said Rachel Roginsky, principal of Pinnacle Advisory Group. “Both of our groups are recognized as leaders within the industry with reputations for delivering sound, strategic advice based on decades of experience. By drawing on each company’s distinct strengths, this alliance allows us to offer the most comprehensive services available and expanded benefits for our clients.”
“Furthermore, we’ve had multiple occasions where we’ve worked together throughout our respective histories, from joint membership and presently holding multiple board positions with such prestigious organizations as the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA), the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC), and the Castell Project,” Roginsky added. “While we are formally announcing our alliance today, our groups actively have been working together in a collaborative capacity for several months, across multiple client engagements. The synergies between our groups have proven invaluable, and I’m looking forward to building upon our early success in delivering incremental value and benefit to our clients.”
“We believe the need for asset management and advisory services only will increase as
hoteliers seek the best solutions to protect and optimize their investments. There is no ‘one-solution-fits-all’ approach. Markets will respond at different times and in different ways. Institutional investment, big-box hotels have been hard hit particularly. Lenders are demanding loan payments now and strategic plans on how properties will emerge stronger and better positioned. The encouraging news is that with the continued vaccine roll-out and a seemingly reinvigorated approach to directly dealing with COVID-19, the light at the end of the tunnel finally is coming into clearer focus,” Roginsky stated.
Both CHMWarnick and Pinnacle Advisory Group pride themselves on their ability to
pivot quickly to meet client demands. While the move automatically adds bench strength to each company, the companies stress that internal expansion is equally important to their long-term growth plans. “The key to longevity is adaptability,” Crandell noted. “We both believe in the importance of cultivating talent from within, particularly as the universe of service providers has exploded, with some being obviously more talented than others. The alliance further allows us to provide additional mentoring and growth paths for our team members looking to expand their own careers.”
