Global Update

Portland , Oregon-based owneroperator Provenance Hotels believes in strong F & B , well-curated art , flexible standards and creative thinking that leads to disproportionate media exposure to compete with the big brands .

Operating primarily independent , unencumbered assets is resonating with investment partners who want to provide discretionary growth capital to expand the 14-property portfolio ( eight owned and managed , five JVs with asset management and one

Provenance Plans to grow its 14-ProPerty Portfolio to 30 to 50 in urban , high-barrier-toentry locations in markets such as chicago , new york city and washington , d . c . owned and asset-managed ) to between 30 and 50 in urban , highbarrier-to-entry locations in markets such as Chicago , New York City and Washington , D . C .

The model is boutique-style , 100- to 300-room properties with strong restaurants that drive room sales . Provenance Chairman and CEO Gordon Sondland says a new capital platform will be based on location , size and leverage . If deals fall into those parameters , Provenance can deploy capital based on its own judgment . The end game is to consider exit options as varied as selling to a REIT , taking the company public or selling to a strategic buyer .

In the meantime , Provenance has a pipeline that includes projects in Seattle , Portland , San Francisco , downtown Los Angeles and Nashville , Tennessee . This is in addition to announced projects on sites it owns and controls in Hermosa Beach , California , and New Orleans . Provenance will build 120 luxury rooms in Hermosa Beach with a rooftop bar-pool . In New Orleans , it is partnering with GB Lodging , New York City , and will soon start construction to reposition the 165-key Ambassador hotel .

“ We prefer to be a full partner , often with 50 % of the equity in each deal ,” Sondland says . “ This aligns our interests with the other owners and allows us to sell unencumbered and still maximize our returns through the real estate .”