Boomerang Hotels to focus on development

HENDERSONVILLE, TN—With the sale of its franchise brands, Boomerang Hotels has refocused its energy on hotel development.

CEO Brendan Watters noted that the existing partners and equity are intact. “We are a development company now, developing upscale hotels across the country in major markets,” he said. New projects are anticipated to include the development of at least six Hotel RL-branded properties.

Watters noted that it’s a natural evolution for the company. “Before this, I was involved with Le Méridien,” he said. “In terms of financing and the larger assets, it’s getting back to where I started.” Additionally, he said, Boomerang’s second largest shareholder is Lamont Companies, Inc., which owns and develops a number of hotels across the country. “[Jeffrey] Lamont’s been doing a lot of IHG and Marriott properties along the way,” he said.

Boomerang Hotels’ original founders and the current board of directors, Watters, Lamont and Richard Mahoney, will be heavily involved in the development, management and construction of the group’s properties in key markets. As a development group, Boomerang Hotels will focus on both select- and full-service upscale hotels in primary markets that will include ground-up development, repositioning properties through acquisition and adaptive-reuse projects. “I’m going away from secondary and tertiary markets,” said Watters. “We already have a couple of sites in mind. We’re going to be actively pursuing that.” 

Watters noted that, from a timing perspective within the industry, he wishes the deal had been done a year ago. “I’ve been speaking to equity partners, looking at markets, so it’s not like I’m going to turn around tomorrow and start this,” he said, noting that, as a franchisor, he couldn’t become a franchisee. “Now, I’ve got no restrictions. I can focus my efforts strictly on the development side. I’ve been looking at this for a long time, but it had to be the right partner.”