NORTHBROOK, IL—Well-known management company Lane Hospitality, headed by President/CEO Bill DeForrest, was rebranded earlier this month to Spire Hospitality by AWH Partners, LLC, a New York City-based equity fund composed of August Group Ventures, LLC, and Winston Harton Holdings, LLC. The joint venture made the transition as part of its acquisition last year of Lane Hotels, Inc. and its management arm from Lane Industries, whose family name has been a part of hospitality for some three decades.
“It is always hard—and a bit scary—to make a significant brand change when the existing brand is as well-known and well-respected as Lane Hospitality,” said Chad Cooley, co-founder and managing partner of AWH Partners. “We really had two objectives: first, out of respect for the Lane Family, which set a goal of exiting the business and preferred to not have their family name adorn the business for generations to come: simply a name change; and second, to mark the transition of the business from a best-in-class, family-owned business to a best-in-class, institutionally owned and operated business. We ultimately became comfortable
that the backbone of the company—our leadership team and all of our people—are ultimately what have defined the company’s historical success and will inspire our success for years to come.”
DeForrest remains in his position as president/CEO and the majority of the senior leadership team remains as the company actively recruits for additional leadership posts. Other Spire Hospitality executives include: EVP/CFO Bill Keating; COO Wayne West III; Director of Independent Hotel Operations John Price; VP/Sales and Marketing Ginny Morrison; Corporate Director of Engineering Dan Benda; and Corporate Benefits Manager Edith Williams.
“Having a brand that reflects our expertise in both real estate investment and hotel operations and was reflective of our future while honoring our past was important to us,” said DeForrest. “We believe brands have to be meaningful and clear about who [they]are. As part of the Lane Family holdings, Lane was a brand in which we took a great deal of pride, but it is somewhat about our past and we are excited to announce to the industry our focus on the future and our enthusiasm for where we are going.”
One place the company is going is away from its headquarters here, relocating to Deerfield, IL, about two miles away.
“Our headquarters here in Northbrook was developed over 30 years ago by the Lane family at the time to house their Banking Group and Holding company. As they launched the hospitality division, we moved into the headquarters and enjoyed the quality of the space but as the family sold off their combined holdings including this building it became less of a dynamic space for our business and since we no longer owned the building and wanted a more contemporary space we began looking and found a great home for our team very nearby so we aren’t disrupting travel or commute requirements but clearly signalling we are doing things in a new, exciting and fresh way and we are making a long-term commitment with room for expansion,” said DeForrest.
“As owners, we felt investing in the business was essential to its long-term growth and success,” said Cooley. “We saw the opportunity to upgrade the office space as one such opportunity, among many others. We are investing in our people, technology and, of course, our real estate portfolio, all with the aim of building on the great history established by Bill and his team, and elevating the company to new heights in the years to come.”
Spire currently has 15 properties in its portfolio, including lifestyle hotels such as the Boca Raton Bridge Hotel in Florida; the High Peaks Resort in Lake Placid, NY; and The Hotel Modern in New Orleans, LA. Branded properties include Courtyard by Marriott, Crowne Plaza, Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn, Hotel Indigo and SpringHill Suites by Marriott.
DeForrest said the company would continue to be “very opportunistic” but also strategic in terms of adding value to owners and investors.
Asked if, as part of the new dynamic, Spire would look to expand into segments or property types beyond what Lane Hospitality considered its comfort zone, e.g., premium brands, top assets in secondary or suburban markets, DeForrest was enthusiastic at the idea. “With our additional talent and the expertise of our ownership group, moving into primary markets and adding independent or single-branded assets to our portfolio is a natural way for us to build our platform, grow our business and expand our growth potential. We have been successful in these markets and asset types previously but making that into more of our core competency is exciting to us,” he said.
The CEO added the current focus on the Midwest and eastern portion of the United States would continue, while expansion into the West and Southwest, along with rebuilding the company’s presence in Texas—a major portion of the portfolio at one point—and venturing into top primary markets are all part of Spire’s plans.
Last fall, AWH Partners acquired the Boca Raton Bridge Hotel in Florida in an all-equity deal and brought in then-Lane Hospitality to manage the independent, 121-room boutique hotel and oversee a multimillion-dollar renovation and repositioning. Cooley was asked if Spire would be the automatic management company for any future hotel acquisitions by AWH Partners.
“We are opportunistic investors and so don’t really set hard and fast rules for how we will do our next deal,” said the executive. “That said, we have been thoroughly impressed with the management team’s diversity of experience and breadth of capabilities. When we are buying properties and portfolios, Bill is the first call we make as part of our process. We lean heavily on our senior management for their insight and input, and invariably, someone on the team will have operated the asset type or in the market, and oftentimes, both. They are an amazing resource and we will certainly look to leverage the team wherever we can.”
Added DeForrest: “It is the goal to grow together but AWH has a lot of great investment partners and will see a lot of deal flow and opportunity. The goal is to maximize performance and returns for investors in all the future acquisitions and, although Spire is the right operator to do that with, it is possible that a strategic investment could be made that would perform better under a different operating structure. But that would be rare and is not expected to happen in the normal pursuit of our growth strategy.”
At press time Spire Hospitality launched a website—albeit with the URL of www.spirehotels.com—to introduce the rebranding as well as present a drill down on its capabilities. The Lane Hospitality website also was still in place.
As far as the investment AWH Partners is making into the rebranding, Cooley said, “The rebranding is just the tip of the iceberg. We have a long-term view and believe the platform will be very well-received by our friends in the institutional investing world that Bill and his team may not have come across in the past. We are making investments in the business so that we can hire and retain exceptional talent, offer best-in-class services, and build on the company’s history as a leader.”
DeForrest characterized the rebranding as “both an ending and a beginning. It is the end of the transition to our new ownership structure and our new commitment to the management business and it signals our clear commitment to continuing to be an enthusiastic member of this great industry. It is the beginning of building this company as an independent provider of third-party management services and the positioning of our company as a top performer and peak provider of management services.”