Concord Hospitality Expands Presence Across U.S. During Q1 of 2019

RALEIGH, N.C. (May 8, 2019) – Concord Hospitality Enterprises continued to grow its footprint across the U.S. during the first quarter of 2019. The award-winning hotel development and management company celebrated a new property grand opening and announced two new management deals in Pennsylvania, started construction on a new hotel in Wisconsin and partook in the topping off of a property in Florida. Additionally, Concord was named the No. 2 network service provider through Marriott’s Global Property Network Standards (GPNS) program, as well as promoted a number of employees, all in the first three months of the new year.

In February, The Oaklander Hotel – an Autograph Collection hotel – celebrated its grand opening in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Managed by Concord, The Oaklander is the first Autograph Collection hotel to open in Pennsylvania and features 167 guest rooms, five event spaces, a fitness center and the Spirits & Tales restaurant.

Concord also announced two management agreements for new properties in Pennsylvania:

• Currently under construction, the four-story Homewood Suites in Horsham Willow Grove, Penn., will have 112 rooms, 1,550 square feet of meeting space, business and fitness centers, an indoor pool and a free-standing restaurant.
• The seven-story Moxy Hotel will be located in Philadelphia’s historic former boxing venue, Blue Horizon. The property will include 140 rooms, a bar, meeting space and a fitness center. Construction of this new property is expected to start in the coming months.

Concord, in conjunction with HKS Holdings, LLC, announced the start of construction on the Renaissance Hotel in Wauwatosa, Wis., which will be the first full-service, Marriott-branded hotel in the area. The property will offer 196 rooms and suites, a 4,500-square-foot grand ballroom, additional meeting space, concierge lounge, fitness room and an on-site restaurant. Upon the project’s completion in spring/summer 2020, Concord will also manage the hotel and restaurant.

In late March, Concord hosted West Palm Beach city officials along with Autograph Collection executives and key development stakeholders for a topping off ceremony at the city’s newest hotel development, The Ben. The 208-room hotel – slated to open by year’s end – will be Autograph Collection’s first hotel in Palm Beach County and takes inspiration from the Ben Trovato Estate, one of West Palm Beach’s great homes. The hotel is being developed by an affiliate of Concord and will be managed by Concord once completed.

“It is an exciting time for Concord as we continue to execute on our robust pipeline of opportunities throughout North America,” said Mark Laport, President and CEO of Concord Hospitality. “2019 is off to a strong start, and we look forward to continuing to build upon our first quarter successes.”

Concord’s Information Technology (IT) department was ranked as the No. 2 service provider out of 14 other vendors certified by Marriott’s GPNS program in early 2019. The program’s stringent standards create a consistent, high-quality online guest experience across all Marriott brands. Concord has been a certified GPNS vendor since the inception of the program. Each year, Marriott has continued to enhance the program, reporting requirements and sophistication of the system. Concord has continued to meet these standards year-over-year, all while increasing its ranking as a top provider for the internationally-recognized hotel company and partner.

“Concord has always had an entrepreneurial spirit and the desire to provide comprehensive IT services at our hotels,” said Brian Cornell, Chief Information Officer of Concord Hospitality. “With nearly 20 years of experience in delivering these internet solutions, we are currently in a prime position to continue offering best-in-class services that meet the demands of our partners like Marriott, as well as meet the expectations of our guests.”

In addition to expanding its footprint and continuing to elevate its IT offerings, Concord also promoted numerous employees during Q1. The management company added additional leadership, resources and heightened focus to the company’s burgeoning food and beverage (F&B) segment by promoting Dean Wendel to Vice President of F&B and appointing Dean Thompson as Corporate Director of Culinary Operations. Ryan Maher was named Vice President of Business Development – providing management leadership to an active pipeline of new development projects – across Concord’s ever-growing portfolio. Additionally, Hai Nguyen was promoted to Regional Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Northeast Ohio and Michigan territories.