BOULDER, CO? A new management company is trumpeting its strong lodging background as well as an expertise in distressed properties. Called Six Hats, A Hospitality Company, the firm was launched here last year by Dan King, a veteran with 20 years in the hospitality business. King?s resume includes positions with HVS International and Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp. where, as vp/senior asset manager, he specialized in the take-back, operation and disposition of hotels and motels. Working with King is Robert Butschke, executive vp/director of operations, who has more than 30 years experience managing properties, and Hans Desai, vp, who has been in the industry since 1976. ?We will focus on distressed properties,? said King. ?We will work with owners with financial difficulties, but most of our efforts will be with lending institutions who are not familiar with the hotel business.? King said that Six Hats has ?a willingness to put our fees at risk based upon our performance? whether the goal is long-term value enhancement or the sale of the property at the highest possible price in the shortest time period. Six Hats now manages four U.S. properties and is working with the Mexican government on a portfolio of seven hotels the government is taking back from the ownership. Two of the U.S. hotels are limited-service properties which Six Hats is managing for lending institutions; Steve?s Sante Fe Inn in Sante Fe, NM and a Days Inn in Ogden, UT. The two other U.S. properties are the boutique Teatro Hotel in downtown Denver and the Telemark Resort in Cable, WI. Telemark has 176 guestrooms and 62 condominium units. The property was purchased in June 1999 by the more than 2,000 individuals who own timeshare units there. Six Hats was brought on board last November to improve the physical condition of the property. King said his new firm?s biggest success story to date has been the Sante Fe property. ?It had an extremely difficult foreclosure; there was a lot of litigation,? he said. ?We helped the lender get control and we?re now working to reposition it and put a brand on it.? Brands under consideration are Best Inns, Red Roof and GuestHouse, said King. ?Just about every brand is already in that market,? he noted, adding that supply was one reason the property got into difficulty. The properties in Mexico rim the Pacific Coast and range from 90 to 180 rooms. Brands include Continental Plaza and Plaza las Glorias. ?They have been under-managed and under-marketed,? King said. ?We won?t be the day-to-day managers of the properties but we will be supervising the management and working with the government on repositioning. We?ll also be heavily involved in marketing and offering advice on when to sell and the preparation of due diligence material.? King expects Six Hats to be managing eight properties in the U.S. by year?s end and also overseeing the seven hotels in Mexico. Within five years, he predicted Six Hats would be managing 30 properties. ?Our growth strategy is to work with lending institutions. We see fall-out in that area and with our background in distressed properties, we are well-positioned for it,? King said. In anticipation of growth, he said Six Hats will expand its staff at the corporate level.
