ATLANTA/TAMPA, Fla. — In an initiative to sharpen the focus of its third-party hotel development and renovation efforts, McKibbon has formed a new company, McKibbon Places. The company will continue developing and renovating hotels for owners and investors, but has consolidated its development and renovation services under the new McKibbon Places brand to strategically market third-party services to new owners and developers.
According to the McKibbon leadership team, the company formed McKibbon Places to better marshal resources and become more aggressive in the development field. “After years of developing our own hotels, we realized the opportunity to create a new kind of development company, one also focused on helping other hotel owners realize their unique vision,” said John McKibbon, chairman.
The new company is led by Erik Rowen, who will serve as president. A registered architect, Rowen joined McKibbon in 2003 as a project manager, and also served as vice president of development for many years. Rowen has managed more than 35 new build projects for a variety of hotel brands.
“I’m beyond excited to launch McKibbon Places to help other owners and developers bring their visions to life through new construction and renovations,” said Rowen. “Our seasoned team is proud to play a vital role in new hotel development and renovation projects with decades of experience and dozens of projects under their belts while we continue to grow our reputation with our own development and renovation projects.”
“It’s critical to our team’s success to have experienced professionals from different areas within our industry,” Rowen added. “This gives us a well-rounded perspective from all angles to better deliver the most value to our development projects.”
McKibbon Places already has several projects in progress or in the development pipeline. The Kimpton Hotel Arras in Asheville, N.C., a McKibbon-owned asset, is its first Kimpton flag and first independent boutique hotel. The mixed-used project includes 128 hotel rooms, 54 condos, two restaurants, retail space, and a parking deck.
McKibbon Places will break ground on two new McKibbon-owned developments in Florida later this year—the Hyatt House Tampa Airport Westshore, a six-floor, 145-room extended-stay hotel, and Hyatt House Orlando Airport, also a six-floor, extended-stay hotel with 156 rooms.
Additionally, McKibbon Places is providing third-party development services on multiple new-build projects, including the dual-brand, waterfront Courtyard and Residence Inn Jekyll Island on the Georgia coast. The developer, LNW Hospitality of Wilmington, Del., recently broke ground on the four-story, 209-room hotel on six oceanfront acres.
On the renovation front, the new company is in the midst of several owned and third-party projects, including the Hampton Inn & Suites Orlando Airport, a Homewood Suites and Hampton Inn & Suites in Bonita Springs, Fla., and Four Points by Sheraton in Huntsville, Ala.
McKibbon Places is headquartered in the Atlanta area. Its sister company, McKibbon Hospitality, is based in Tampa, Fla., and focuses on third-party hotel management.
