INVESTMENT
Eden Hotels Hard Rock Hotel property in Amsterdam . who kept a minority stake . Drew Heimbrock , who joined us from KSL Capital Partners , is part of Zien ’ s leadership team and our director of strategy , mergers and acquisitions .
H : How might macroeconomic conditions impact on plans – positive or negative ? BSC : The current portfolio is mostly underpinned by high-quality assets in Amsterdam , which is a market we strongly believe in medium to long term . It is hard to see how the markets will not be difficult to navigate in the near term with some sort of recession looming and this will likely present some opportunities we wouldn ’ t have seen without market instability .
H : How much money is set aside for growth or what are the expectations for investment in the next three to five years ? BSC : We have already committed over € 50 million of reinvestment in our current portfolio . We have significant capital at our disposal for future growth when the right opportunities come along .
H : Do you have any deals in the works ? BSC : Zien will prioritize a refinement of the Eden brand with refurbishments of some properties and create another brand of individual hotels , initially by reimagining some of our own assets . We are also looking at our first few new opportunities in parallel .
H : Is there potential for portfolio acquisitions ? BSC : Single asset and portfolio acquisitions are both part of our strategy . Adding to the portfolio is a question of relationships , discipline and patience . I believe the mergersand-acquisitions ecosystem remains large , and my relationships formed by KSL internationally and the Dijkstra family domestically and regionally will help tremendously . We ’ re proactive about what brokers are putting out there in the market , and we are also working hard to generate opportunities .
H : Will Zien consider strict management opportunities ? BSC : No .
H : Describe the level of KSL ’ s role ? Is there anyone from KSL on the exec team ? BSC : KSL acquired the majority stake in the group in December 2021 . They are our main investor along with the Dijkstra family ,
H : How has the portfolio been performing in 2022 and what is the forecast for the group ? BSC : 1Q22 was difficult in the Netherlands with the COVID shutdown . Since the market fully reopened in Q2 , business has been much better than expected with significant ADR growth and NOI levels above 2019 results .
H : Where will focus be placed to optimize the current portfolio ? BSC : Optimizing the portfolio is a continuous game of sweating the details to provide a better environment for our staff and better experiences for our guests , but we have three key focus areas here :
• Our number one responsibility is to invest in our people and their development .
• We are committed to spending over € 50 million in the current portfolio .
• We will reimagine all our systems in the next 12-18 months .
46 hotelsmag . com Jan / Feb 2023