As first reported by Hotel Business, hotel management company Remington Hotels has promoted Chris Green from divisional president to president. He first joined Remington back in April after the company acquired Chesapeake Hospitality, where he served as CEO.
“Throughout the past eight months, [we]have been working to integrate the two firms,” said Green. “Now that we are fully integrated, we believed as a company of 120-plus upper-upscale, first-class hotels around the nation—and to honor our commitment to being the absolute best third-party manager—we needed to add this role to the organization,” said Green. “It really is an effort to continue to lean into our third-party presence as a manager and operator.”
Sloan Dean, who previously held the president role, will continue as CEO. “In a world where many management companies focus solely on company growth and cost-savings, Chris and the Chesapeake team focused on its core values of honesty, integrity and humility early on, setting them apart from the pack,” said Dean. “With combined resources and an aligned mission, our partnership has led to exciting results. Chris’ leadership ethos is integral to Remington, and his new role will lead to greater success in the new year. Talent always wins out, and Chris has the rare blend of inspirational leadership, entrepreneurial work ethic and high aptitude. There is a clear reason Chris was CEO at a young age for Chesapeake, and we’d be foolish not to elevate Chris.”
With the leadership move, Dean will handle global strategic initiatives, growth, merger and acquisitions activity and public-facing promotions, as well as internal strategic operations. Green will handle the day-to-day operations of the company. “When you think about the verticals I am handling, it is all operations in the field, all sales and commercial in the field and accounting functions—everything that supports our hotel estate,” said Green.
He views the move as “solidifying” the two companies as one and ultimately making for a stronger company. “We’re one company now, under one direction, and [it]very clearly sets the path forward, as a third-party manager, that we have a goal of being the absolute best,” he said. “We have no sights on being the biggest. We want to make sure that we stay true to what we have both done…that is, leaning into our client relationships and leaning into our culture to make sure that our offering stays true even as we begin to grow. The biggest risk in growth is moving to mediocrity. That is something that neither Sloan nor I are willing to accept.”
In his first few months in the role, Green plans to visit all of the company’s hotels and lean into that culture. “I’ve got to get out and see,” he said. “I’m big on knowing our team members, our support staff and the people who make things happen on the ground. It’s important that we continue to be known for a rapidly advancing culture, which is something that Sloan started about five years ago here, that we’re the place where passionate people thrive.”
The company will also be refining its offering. “We’ll be leaning into client services and relationship management,” said the new president. “As a third-party manager, we’ve got [several]constituencies. We’ve got the brands; we’ve got the owners, who are our clients; we’ve got the marketplace; and then we have our associates. So, we need to lean into all of those relationships because we are a professional services company. We need to make sure that we’re honoring all those commitments.”
Green expects the company to continue its success into 2023. “For Remington, the market has responded extremely well to our continuously enhancing platform,” he said. “We’re looking at a great 2023. We’ve had a lot of interest in joining the Remington family from other third-party owners. We look forward to seeing solid growth in 2023.”
Green is bullish on the upcoming year. “We do have strong revenue and demand,” he said. “Occupancies are up, so it is hard not to be bullish as an operator. Are there headwinds? Absolutely. But, to me, that’s what is fun about operations—figuring out how to get past those hurdles and not just seeing them and turning around and going the other way.”
In the long-term, Green has one broad goal. “I would be proud in five years if every one of our clients—regardless of the number—would answer that Remington exceeds expectations as a management company,” he said.
But, with that broader goal, the company’s growth will be strategic. “We’re not going to take on contracts where we can’t add value,” he said. “We’re not going to take on contracts for the sake of taking on contracts. We’re not going to just grow for growth’s sake. That is not a business plan. That is a recipe for disaster.”
Green plans to grow Remington’s lifestyle hotel portfolio. “We’ve got over 20 independent lifestyle hotels [and]we love that space,” he said. “We have more than 40 Marriotts and more than 40 Hiltons. We love the branded space in the full-service categories.”
He pointed out the company plans to add international properties to its portfolio. “We’re going to expand, but only thoughtfully,” he said. “In three or four years, you’ll definitely see us in different countries—South America, Mexico, Latin America and other areas.”
