PERSONALITIES
Gordon Sondland at left with President of Pyramid Global Hospitality Alex Cabañas .
Sondland with former President Donald Trump in the Oval Office .
historic property , which this was , and held onto it for five years , you could essentially make all your money back in tax credits . “ My investors were sort of betting a little bit on the jockey , but they were betting more on the tax-credit horse because they knew I had no experience in operating a hotel ,” said Sondland , who ended up hiring a local management company to run it . Shortly after , Sondland left the brokerage practice and started putting together syndications .
Then he went mano a mano with Bill Kimpton .
Bill Kimpton is the originator of the Kimpton hotel brand , since acquired by IHG in 2014 . At the time , the man from San Fran was — still is — considered the progenitor of the lifestyle or boutique concept . It turns out , he had a five-hotel portfolio tied up under a nonbinding , letter of intent . The intrepid , wily Sondland went to the seller and ended up outbidding Kimpton . “ Kimpton then called me ; obviously wasn ' t happy about it ,” Sondland said . But he wasn ’ t resentful and shortly thereafter he and Sondland had a business breakfast , which turned into a half-a-day discussion , Sondland recalled , that ended back at Kimpton ’ s San Francisco office , where Sondland was led around and met the core Kimpton employees .
In the end , Sondland and Kimpton teamed up , went back to the seller together and wound up getting the portfolio for less than what Kimpton had it originally tied up for .
Whether fate or mere coincidence , Sondland crossing paths with Kimpton rubbed off on him : Provenance Hotels , his hotel company that owned and managed hotels , particularly in the Pacific Northwest , contained properties that were decidedly of independent spirit , taking historical and cultural cues from the locations they inhabited .
AFTER TRUMP Past tense , because in December 2022 , Provenance Hotels closed on a strategic venture with an entity combined of Gencom , a Miami-based owner and developer of hospitality and residential properties , and Corten , a private
real estate investment fund manager headquartered in Wilmington , Del ., whereby the partnership acquired a 50 % ownership stake in eight hotels across the U . S ., while Pyramid Global Hospitality , a Gencom affiliate , will manage the entirety of Provenance Hotels ’ portfolio of 12 hotels .
The eight properties jointly owned include The Dossier , Sentinel , Hotel Lucia and Hotel Deluxe in Portland , Ore .; Old No . 77 Hotel & Chandlery in New Orleans ; Hotel Max and Hotel Murano in Seattle ; and Hotel Preston in Nashville .
In addition to the eight hotels , Pyramid will manage four hotels owned by third parties that were earlier operated by Provenance — Hotel Theodore in Seattle , Heathman Hotel and Woodlark Hotel in Portland and The Bradley in Fort Wayne , Ind . In total , Pyramid ’ s portfolio of managed properties will grow by 1,952 rooms and suites .
If not for COVID , however , the deal may have never been consummated . “ We were on a trajectory prior to COVID to building up not only the Provenance brand , and eventually
44 hotelsmag . com Mar / Apr 2023