ABERDEEN, SD—My Place Hotels of America, LLC has named President/COO Ryan Rivett as president/CEO, succeeding his grandfather and company founder Ron Rivett in the chief executive role.
Out of the gate, the new CEO told Hotel Business, “There’s a lot of strategic talk, both about franchise development and growth of the chain, as well as about brand-management growth and structuring the company to stay ahead of the growth.”
Toward this, Rivett indicated the company is working on “some new things that will come up in late 2017 and 2018 with respect to diversified products within the My Place parent company as well…potentially a second brand.”
The CEO would not go into detail other than to say it would be “diversified from the current My Place extended-stay concept.”
Ron Rivett will remain as chairman of the franchise company, which focuses on economy extended-stay hotels.
“It’s fantastic to have Ron here almost on a daily basis,” said Ryan Rivett. “He’s able to provide a lot of character and color to the things us young people are beginning to experience. He says very commonly: ‘There isn’t anything that you’re telling me here that I haven’t already done.”
The CEO said his elevation to the post isn’t really changing his day-to-day. What will change, however, is the focus on structuring the executive level of the company “and making room for us to scale the company up as we’re doing right now.”
Rivett said one shift is moving members of its core management team into different positions and elevating some positions throughout the company. “We are making room for new people to come in as well as making room for my time to shift and be a little less task oriented and more strategic-partnership focused.”
Franchise relations and development also are on his agenda.
Rivett expects to fill his former COO role by the first of next year and make some shifts in EVP roles as well.
—Stefani C. O’Connor
(For more on the new CEO’s plans for My Place Hotels of America, catch the May 21 issue of Hotel Business.)