Armed with a well-documented reputation for building brands and companies, industry veteran Eric Danziger is at it again with the formation of a new third-party management company called Resolute Road Hospitality.
The newly rebranded company—previously known as Braintree Hospitality, the hospitality arm of Boise, Idaho-based Braintree Group—currently has a 15-hotel portfolio of owned properties and is looking to expand on that primarily through third-party agreements. Danziger joined Braintree Group in March 2022 following a six-year tenure as CEO of Trump Hotels. His extensive experience also includes C-level roles with Starwood Hotels, Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Wyndham Hotel Group, and Hampshire Hotels Management.
Danziger described the repositioned firm as “very different than the typical management company,” emphasizing an owner-centric approach and commitment to long-term partnerships.
He explained how the leadership team arrived at the name Resolute Road and what it represents.
“We were looking for a strong name that said, ‘We’re dedicated, driven, committed, passionate’—all those kinds of words. To encapsulate that, we hit on ‘resolute.’ We want to be resolute in our desire to outperform and do an incredible job. ‘Resolute Road’ because in there we wanted to communicate to owners a journey that we’d like to go on together and get down the road of improved performance and an improved relationship,” said Danziger. The CEO additionally explained the significance of the company’s tagline, “Driven by a Promise.”
“The whole premise of a great third-party manager is to do what you say you’re going to do, and I’m not sure how often that happens. If I make a promise, we’re going to deliver on that promise and we’re not afraid to scream that,” he said.
When it comes to growing the portfolio—which includes major branded properties, the majority of which are under the Hilton umbrella—Danziger described potential growth as coming “whenever there is a transaction” and underscored the company’s owner-centric approach as a point of differentiation.
“I think you have to create your own opportunities. I do think we have a different philosophy for one reason: all of our hotels we own. So, who’s better to run a hotel than somebody that’s an owner and has learned? You know how to operate a hotel and you’re not depending on anything but your own abilities. I also feel like not all management companies are always so transparent to the owners,” he said.
While the company’s portfolio is located in the Mountain West in states such as Idaho, Texas, Arizona, Utah, and Oregon, Danziger maintained future growth wouldn’t necessarily be confined to that region.
Nevertheless, Daniel Pinheiro, chief development officer, Resolute Road, acknowledged there is an opportunity for “organic growth” in some of the markets the company is already in.
“Natural growth will come there just given our infrastructure,” he said, pointing out that in addition to third-party management, the company would look at acquisition opportunities as well as conversions that made sense. Danziger further acknowledged the company could potentially acquire another management company or two down the line.
However, he further added the company would be selective in choosing the right opportunities.
“How you end up growing is the delivery of profits. We will never undertake to manage a hotel that isn’t one that we think we can do the best job for,” he said. In addition to Danziger and Pinheiro, the rest of the Resolute Road leadership team includes President Gary Horton, and Chief Investment Officer Kristen Knapp.
Meanwhile, the company recently announced two key additions to its development team. Kevin O’Neil and Richard Sprecher will join Resolute Road as VPs, business development. They will be responsible for cultivating new client relationships and growing the company’s footprint throughout North America.
Based in Charleston, South Carolina, O’Neil joins the team with over 25 years of experience in the hotel industry. Starting out in hotel operations, he has spent most of his career working in brand development.
Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Sprecher mostly recently served as VP of development for Meyer Jabara Hotels and VP of business development for Aimbridge Hospitality. Prior to Meyer Jabara, he spent 17 years at Choice Hotels International as director of franchise sales. Danziger touted the importance of bringing in additional talent from other companies.
“I always want outside people. We have this great culture inside, but that’s not enough to grow a company. We have to learn and grow and be better, and the way you do that is to introduce outside people that have like hearts and different minds. So as long as people are coming in with like hearts, we’re happy to have them help us be better tomorrow than we were today. That should never stop,” he said.
Finally, Danziger noted that some of the larger management companies in the industry are “so big they’re removed from having an owner relationship” as he further reinforced the importance of personal relationships. “We want to create this human connection between the owner and operator, instead of having an owner here and operator there; that is the biggest difference. That’s why I think everything is an opportunity. Out of the thousands of hotels managed by others, what percent of them would like to see this type of philosophy? I want to go find them,” he said.
