INVESTMENT
Relais & Châteaux owners about finding ways to collaborate .
Harmon , who retains family ownership of Auberge de Soleil in Napa Valley , California , ( and will remain as part of the Auberge Resort Collection ) along with McManus both have extensive experience in high-barrier-to-entry markets and believe it puts them in a perfect position to help grow their portfolio with the right development partners . “ You just can ’ t replace these assets and it led to a conversation with Mark about how valuations have become so stratospheric for these types of ultra-luxury assets ,” McManus recounts . “ We ’ re seeing interest and receiving phone calls from family offices and institutional and private equity groups . So , what if we can add our value ?
Having gone through our respective journeys , having managed the nuances of ownership , we can share it with ownership groups as they go through theirs . And if we keep it very exclusive and small in numbers , I think we may have something quite special .”
Harmon and McManus see a mix of new development and repositioning opportunities and are willing to come in as equity partners , or with contracts that allow them to participate on the upside to truly align owner and operator interests .
DEFINING THE ETHOS The pair points to their work at the Kaimana Beach Hotel at the foot of Diamond Head to describe the Private Label Collection ethos .
The hotel was dependent on Japanese travelers who haven ’ t been able to visit in two years and was locked into a certain management style for some 40 years . Private Label Collection reimagined the property , and especially focused on the F & B to make an inclusive gathering place for the local arts and surf crowd . They call it “ conversational dining ,” informal , where locals and tourists can come to relax , mingle , dine and watch people come and go . Occupancies remain a bit soft ( around 75 %) as Waikiki continues to rebound from COVID , McManus says , but F & B revenue matched rooms revenue and is driving the bottom line . They are serving roughly 300 brunches a day from 8 a . m . till 3 p . m . and another 250 dinners a night .
“ Design , sense of community , food and
Pool at Hotel Wailea , Maui ( Photo credit : John Russo )
40 hotelsmag . com May 2022