Flagstone Hosp. Plans Expansion, Inks 3 Mgmt Contracts

MEMPHIS— Flagstone Hospitality Management inked three management contracts in the Northeast— a region in which it was not previously represented. The three new Residence Inns, a 136-room property in Fishkill, NY, a 96-room hotel in Warwick/Providence, RI, and a 120-room property in Wilmington, DE, mark the company’s first foray into the Northeast corridor and bring Flagstone’s portfolio to a total of 52 hotels in 24 states. All of its properties are owned by RFS Hotel Investors, a hotel REIT. “The Northeast markets we’re entering are all areas where we were previously not represented and had strategically determined we wanted to be in,” said Angie Mock, president/CEO of Flagstone. While the company now considers itself to be nationwide, Mock noted that Flagstone is still under-represented in the Pacific Northwest— an area she hopes to expand in within the next few years. Since spinning off from Hilton Hotels Corp. in January of this year, Flagstone has been “transitioning those contracts it had previously been supplying with superior management to, and making sure everything went smoothly,” said Mock. “We decided that mid-way through the year we wanted to shift our focus to expansion, and we did it.” In addition to the three new Residence Inn management contracts, the company currently has six other hotel projects in the pipeline. If those deals were to close, Flagstone would be working with new hotel brands and owners. “We have 12 brands that we manage right now; we’d love to see that number continue to grow. By the end of the year we expect to pick up a number of new hotel projects, two-thirds of which should be additional brands,” said Mock. Currently Flagstone manages properties flying the Sheraton, Four Points, Hilton, Doubletree, Homewood Suites, Hampton Inn, Residence Inn, TownPlace Suites, Courtyard by Marriott, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Comfort Inn brands. In addition, Flagstone soon hopes to begin “growing [its]resources outside of [its]primary owner, RFS Hotel Investors, and begin working with a variety of owners,” said Mock. “We’re keen on growing our business with other owners, whether it be institutional, small group, or private investors.” Of the six hotels in its pipeline, all are with owners other than RFS.