Hotel Management Services (HMS), the hospitality division of Mitch Cox Companies in Johnson City, Tennessee, acquired the Suburban Inn extended stay hotel in Lakeland, Florida and the WoodSpring Suites in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The Suburban Inn property was purchased on October 31, 2017 and the WoodSpring Suites property on November 22, 2017.
The addition of these economy extended stay hotels will bring the total number of properties under HMS management to 21, with four hotels in Florida. HMS owns 22 hotels across the Southeast and Midwest United States.
Locations of HMS properties in Florida
“We’re excited to expand our presence in the Sunshine State,” said Philip Cox, President of HMS, “We like the Florida market and these properties fit our buying criteria, including the additional brand.”
Suburban Inn is a smaller Choice Hotels product, with 60 locations across the United States, compared to the 250 WoodSpring locations. Cox noted that while the brand recognition of Suburban Inn may not be as strong as WoodSpring Suites, it comes with the resources and superior reservation system of the industry-leading Choice Hotels brand.
The recent hurricane storms have been a boon to the extended stay hotel market in Florida. “When people are displaced from their homes for week or months, our affordable and temporary residence brands increase in demand,” said Cox. The two Orlando properties managed by HMS were up by 22% in revenue over last year, according to Cox, and the Lakeland property saw an increase of 125% from the previous year.
Kathy Maile, Senior Vice President of Operation of HMS, was instrumental in the operations, due diligence, and ownership transition of the new hotels, said Cox.
Cox also mentioned HMS had a significant announcement for early 2018, but said he wasn’t able to discuss any further details at this time. Look for the news in the next issue of the quarterly Community Builder.