CANTON, MA—When Buffalo Lodging Associates opened a new Marriott Courtyard in downtown Buffalo, NY, this year, the company came full circle. Founded in 1996, Buffalo Lodging built its first hotel, a Homewood Suites by Hilton, in Buffalo. Now, the company is headquartered here, with regional offices located in Buffalo and Orlando, FL.
Though President Ronald Kendall admitted that, compared to the number of rooms added in some markets in 2013, this year has been slightly less profitable, he conveyed, “Conversely, other markets are quite strong and, as a consequence, we are performing better than we have in previous years.”
Along with the Marriott Courtyard, recent projects include the TownePlace Suites at Buffalo Airport and Homewood Suites in Canton, MA. A Home2 Suites is under construction in Buffalo, as well as a Hilton Garden Inn in Wayne, NJ, a Residence Inn in Rochester, NY, and a TownePlace Suites in Albany, NY.
And Kendall is looking forward to the next couple of years, which he anticipates will be similar to this one. A Homewood Suites in Sarasota, FL, two Home2 Suites hotels in Orlando, FL, and a Homewood Suites in Danbury, CT, are all in the works, with construction set to begin in 2015.
“The new inventory entering many markets and the number of hotels in planning is higher, I believe, than anticipated several months ago,” he said. “My understanding is that the number of approved and pending applications for major franchisors is the highest that it has been in several years.”
Growth is certainly in the pipeline for the 19-year-old hotel development and management company. “We anticipate that we will continue to grow as opportunities become available,” Kendall said. “We have also been successful in developing sites as infill to retail projects that are underway or existing within our company.”
Primarily, Marriott International and Hilton Worldwide properties populate the company’s portfolio, which totals more than 40 hotels and 5,000 rooms, featuring select-service and extended-stay hotels that target leisure and business travelers.
The company deals with hotels in the northeastern U.S., concentrated in New York, New Jersey and Ohio, with several properties in Florida, as well. “The most consequential growth in demand in our portfolio has occurred in Florida and New Jersey,” Kendall noted.
“Our target markets have been primarily infilling locations where we currently have hotels so that we can take advantage of operating efficiencies in those areas,” Kendall explained. “We also found select opportunities that have been brought to us by brokers and owners, which we’ve also taken advantage of.” However, Kendall noted that Buffalo Lodging is not targeting any specific markets due to the amount of projects underway.
Buffalo Lodging doesn’t anticipate growing through acquisitions, however. “We have not made any acquisitions nor do we contemplate making any in the current year,” Kendall said. Every property is a new-build, said the company, with the exception of the Marriott Courtyard in Buffalo, which is located inside the former Donovan State Office Building.
Kendall remarked that the greatest challenges faced by the company on current and future projects have been in locating general contractors and managing construction costs. However, that hasn’t impeded the company. All in all, “This year has been a strong year for BLA,” he said.