Coventry Hotel Associates - Assignments and Accomplishments




Assignments & Accomplishments Coventry Hotel Associates, Inc. In 1989 Gary formed Coventry Hotel Associates for the express purpose of being the operating partner for a group of first class hotels located in the Northeast United States. Coventry's partner was Greenall's Group PLC, a billion-pound public company in the United Kingdom. Coventry owned and operated six hotels, consisting of 763 rooms, 650 associates, and more than $25M of annual business revenue, which were previously managed by DCM Hospitality Group. Coventry always enjoyed a portfolio of consulting business in addition to its owned hotels, and subsequent to the sale of the hotels, Coventry has concentrated exclusively on providing advisory services and asset management to a wide variety of clients. Marriott Hotel, Burlington, MA Gary Avigne has served as the Asset Manager for the private owners of this 435 room Marriott for ten years. His participation has included a successful refinancing of the hotel, a re-negotiation of the management agreement that resulted in a better alignment of the interests of owner and operator, preparation of a series of business expansion plans, and oversight of very material capital improvement programs. Gary meets with the hotel management team once per month to review financial results, operational issues, and marketing direction. He in turn prepares monthly and quarterly reports for ownership. This hotel is viewed by both ownership and management as an absolute investment and operating success, and has been so for many years. Gary continues to contribute to the guidance of this hotel. Marriott Hotel, Central Europe, Republic of Armenia This remarkable full-service Marriott Hotel is in Republic Square in Yerevan, and was known as the Hotel Armenia when the Republic of Armenia was under Soviet rule. Coventry joined AK Development in Cambridge, MA as hotel advisor. AK Development, a group of American Armenians, purchased the Hotel Armenia from the government in 2002, and proceeded with a renovation as part of the conversion to a Marriott Hotel. The hotel re-opened as a Marriott in July of 2004, and Coventry served as Asset Manager for four years until the property was refinanced. DoubleTree Guest Suites, Boston, MA Coventry was sub-contracted by Pinnacle Advisory Group to serve as Due Diligence and Transaction Facilitator for the January 2005 institutional purchase of this notable hotel. The transaction was viewed as particularly successful by all parties. Battle Green Inn, Lexington, MA This was a 95 room inn in historic downtown Lexington. The hotel was purchased by a developer after twenty years of family ownership. Coventry served as Asset Manager and Advisor to the new Owner/Operator/Developer. We provided practical day to day guidance for the General Manager, accounting oversight for the limited partners, and a long term strategic plan for the property, which resulted in razing the building, and redeveloping the site into luxury office, retail and residential condominiums Skaket Beach Motel, Orleans, MA This is a lovely 46-room inn on Cape Cod, MA. Coventry served as the Advisor for three years to the long term Owner before the successful sale of the asset. Highland Center, Crawford Notch, NH This is a unique environmentally sensitive lodging, meeting and learning center, located near the base of Mount Washington. This property was developed and is owned by the Appalachian Mountain Club, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of our environment. Coventry Hotel Associates, Inc. served for two years as advisor to Appalachian Mountain Club. The Constitution Inn, Boston, MA This unusual hotel property is located on the waterfront in the Charleston Navy Shipyard in Boston. It had previously been the Armed Services YMCA. The non-profit Trust that owns the 150 room property decided in 2002 to convert the property to a traditional lodging facility. Coventry Hotel Associates served for one year as Asset Manager for the inn, and guided it through its renovation and transition. The Hotel Providence, Providence, RI Coventry Hotel Associates under the auspices of the Dunfey Hospitality Group was the development partner for this historic restoration of a 80-room full service boutique style hotel in this renaissance city. The hotel successfully opened in February of 2005, and the developer at that point took back full responsibility. Shield Hotel Management Gary Avigne had been a principal of this single purpose hotel operating company, which served a private investment group for the following hotels: Best Western Hotel, Northampton, MA, 88 rooms limited services Holiday Inn Express, Brattleboro, VT, 86 rooms limited services Hampton Inn, Chicopee, MA, 90 rooms limited services Ramada Inn, Wethersfield, CT, 112 rooms limited services Super 8 Motel, West Springfield, MA, 50 rooms limited services Red Carpet Inn, West Springfield, MA, 50 rooms limited services Coventry Hotel Associates, Inc...the early years In 1989 Gary formed Coventry Hotel Associates for the express purpose of being the operating partner for Greenall's Group PLC, a billion pound British company that owned a portfolio, Treadway Hotels, of languishing hotel assets in the United States. Coventry renovated and branded the six hotels, re-positioned the properties, and successfully operated the hotels until the sale of the portfolio in December of 1996, a strategic move in the interest of capitalizing on a strong market and in light of the anticipation of industry consolidation. GREENALL HOTELS: Newport Harbor Hotel And Marina, Newport, RI, 133 rooms full service Radisson Hotel, Cromwell, CT, 214 rooms full service conference center Holiday Inn, Saddlebrook, NJ, 144 rooms, full service Radisson Inn, Paramus, NJ, 120 rooms full service Best Western Inn, Batavia, NY, 75 rooms full service Comfort Inn, Cromwell, CT, 77 rooms full service Surfside Inn, Provincetown, MA This is an 86 unit limited services and seasonal leisure hotel on the water in Provincetown, MA, a tourism destination location. New ownership, inexperienced in the hotel industry, purchased the inn in 1998, uncertain of how to proceed after having secured the property. Gary Avigne was engaged to help tutor new ownership in the discipline of being a hotel owner / operator. He established standard operating policies and procedures, initiated a new rate structure and merchandising process, and prepared a budget and business plan. Over time, operating standards and personnel training were introduced, and very meaningful renovation was completed, on time and on budget. Gary continued to serve ownership in an advisory capacity at this hotel after the transition, and navigated the hotel to success in spite of a high purchase price and deferred maintenance. The owner became ill in 2000, and Gary worked closely with the owner to effect a successful sale of the hotel to a mid-size regional owner and operator. The Refuge At Ocklawaha, FL This was a very unique environmentally sensitive project funded by a charitable trust for the purpose of ecological reclamation and ongoing preservation. The inn is thirty rooms in size, together with a lodge for meal service and for meetings. The inn was to have had all of the comforts of a traditional inn, but was to have been developed in a strict environmentally responsible way. Gary Avigne was engaged by the charitable trust that funded the project. He provided financial oversight and capital budget accountability, as well as operational and marketing direction for the hospitality component The Refuge is today a successful eco-resort, fulfilling its purpose to preserve 3000 pristine acres of wildlife and vegetation at the edge of the Ocala National Forest. The Sheraton Washington Hotel, Washington DC Gary Avigne was engaged by John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company to be its Owner Representative for this 1500 room convention hotel. Hancock was involved in complicated litigation with Sheraton, and sought to protect its interests with respect to the hotel as both a real estate asset and an operating business. Gary assembled a qualified team of professionals to take residence in the hotel and oversee the operation of the hotel by Sheraton until such time as the Sheraton management contract had ended. Gary's role involved interaction with Hancock counsel on legal issues, interaction with collective bargaining organizations on personnel issues, and interaction with long- range convention clients on marketing issues. Gary as well was involved in the selection of and negotiations for a new operator. This project successfully concluded with Gary ceremonially handing the keys to the hotel to John Marriott, and the hotel is today the very successful and respected Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. John Hancock also prevailed in its litigation against Sheraton Corporation, which is now viewed as landmark hotel law, the 2660 Woodley Road case. Litigation support, a long and detailed process for this assignment, was provided by Sarah Wohlstenholme, Esq. Gary Avigne and Sarah Wohlstenholme worked very effectively together on behalf of Hancock's attorneys. This and other lower profile assignments by each serve as the foundation for litigation support services for clients today. Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York, NY The Marriott Marquis is and has been for years the market leader in New York. In a proactive strategy to preserve this leadership position, Pinnacle Advisory Group, with which Gary Avigne has been affiliated with for many years, was engaged to evaluate the Marquis competition with an eye towards extraordinary capital improvements essential to ongoing leadership. Gary Avigne assessed all of the New York competitive set, and evaluated other plus one thousand room hotels throughout the country. The result was a very comprehensive understanding of the features and characteristics deemed essential to success in this kind of market, and a detailed recommendation to Marriott regarding a capital improvement program that would assure market leadership and an ongoing competitive advantage. Boutique Hotel, Washington D.C. Pinnacle Advisory Group is and has been for many years the advisor to the ownership of an upscale 150-room hotel in Washington D.C. Pinnacle consistently evaluates the ongoing efforts and accomplishments of management, evaluates annual business plans, critiques proposed capital improvement plans, and assures the success of the hotel from both a financial as well as from a positioning perspective. Gary served as the point person for Pinnacle with this client. Corporate Hotel, Boston, MA Pinnacle Advisory Group provided operational analysis and litigation support to the limited partners of a corporate 250-room full service hotel in Boston. The limited partners were seeking to separate from the general partner and operator after many years. Pinnacle's role was pivotal to the negotiated outcome that was very satisfactory to our clients. Gary Avigne provided the operational assessment that assisted counsel in its negotiations. Mountain View Grand Resort, Whitefield, NH Gary Avigne's client was a developer who purchased the venerable but shuttered Mountain View Resort, inclusive of operating golf course, country clubhouse and 300 acres of land available for development. Gary developed the operating and marketing business plan for the re-opening of the resort, conceptualized the capital improvement program with the developer, and assisted the client in obtaining all of his financing. The Dunfey Hospitality Group provided the pre-opening management services for this remarkable restored resort, which successfully opened in May of 2002. Tage Inn, Somerville, MA Pinnacle Advisory Group provided pre-opening services for this new 150 room limited service hotel in Boston. Gary Avigne guided the Tage corporate team through all aspects in advance of opening. These disciplines include coordination with the building general contractor, specification of all FF&E, development of the pre-opening and first year operating budget, development of the pre-opening and first year marketing plan, job specifications, and personnel training schedule. Pinnacle has also provided the foundation of policies and procedures for the creation of a regional chain of Tage Inns, with guidelines for operating standards, marketing direction, and professional financial accountability. DCM Hospitality Group DCM Hospitality Group was an affiliate entity of Coventry Hotel Associates, Inc. Bob Dunfey and Gary Avigne served as Chair and President respectively of DCM Hospitality. Gary was responsible for day to day operations for the 4 owned and 13 managed hotels and inns. He also served as the primary business development executive securing contracts with financial institutions, individuals and partnerships that owned hotels. Mount Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods, NH DCM was engaged by the now defunct Elliot Bank in Boston to take over this grand but suffering hotel, an investment by the bank, and prepare it for disposition. DCM accomplished this necessary but regrettable task successfully, and eventually turned over to the FDIC a property that was properly positioned in every discipline to be privately purchased without loss to the FDIC. Quality Suites Hotel, Portland, ME DCM conceived, developed, opened and operated this first all suites full service hotel in Greater Portland which was rated as one of the top two hotels in the marketplace. The Café Stroudwater enjoyed the rare success of being a hotel restaurant with a strong local clientele base. Quality Hotel, Bristol, CT DCM was hired, mid-development, by the private developer of this lovely hotel to provide pre-opening management services to the owner and property management team. Millhouse Inn, Lincoln, NH DCM successfully operated this hotel for a private group of investors. The market at the time was a challenging one, with little demand relative to supply. Lincoln was just a little too far north for many, who otherwise selected North Conway as a destination. The challenge was further magnified by virtue of being an independent property, competing against a proliferation of time-share development units. Desoto House, Galena, IL This was a most unusual assignment three hours northwest of Chicago in an historic township. The Desoto House was fully restored at great expense to a large group of limited partners assembled by the investment firm of Tucker Anthony. It became evident to Tucker Anthony that there were irregularities in the ownership and management of the hotel. DCM was inserted as operator in an unfriendly transaction, then sought, successfully, to hold-off lender foreclosure in an effort to protect as best as possible recapture of historic tax credits upon lender foreclosure. DCM operated the hotel successfully through a legal labyrinth for three years. Sheraton Hotel, Jenson Beach, FL Howard Savings Bank of New Jersey hired DCM to take-over this lovely property from a non-performing general partner. There were not only material ownership and management irregularities, but DCM also discovered structural deficiency in the eight story high rise. DCM operated this property for two years without the need for operational bank cash infusion through the building renovation process, and prepared the hotel for a successful disposition. Tugboat Inn, Boothbay Harbor, ME DCM Group raised equity via syndication to acquire this unique and quaint harbor front inn and restaurant. Unlike previous common similar tax benefit dependent syndications, new tax laws at that time required these transactions to be economically feasible. The equity was raised quickly and the equity partners received timely payment of their return during the entire term of ownership. Greenall Hotels Greenall's Group PLC (now known as Devere Hotel Group), was a billion-pound public company in the United Kingdom which owned six hotels consisting of 763 rooms, 650 associates, and more than $25M of annual business revenue. These hotels were in secondary markets such as Newport, RI and Cromwell, CT, and were in most instances nationally branded with franchises from Holiday Inn, Radisson, and Best Western. DCM Group upgraded these hotels with material capital improvement programs, repositioned the hotels in respective marketplaces, and created an operating return for the investor. These hotels were subsequently transferred to Coventry Hotel Associates, Inc. as operating partner. These assignments and accomplishments are representative of the depth and scope of what Gary Avigne and Tracy Cooper Ramos, in collaboration with other respected industry professionals, can deliver. We have expertise at all levels and in all disciplines of the industry. We can and will work projects and hotels large and small. We will accept, based upon availability, both narrowly defined projects and open -end retainer-based assignments. We have an underlying team of associates available to deploy to whatever task is accepted. We are opportunity- driven, cost effective, and always deliver satisfactory results to our clients. We would like to do the same for you.
Gary Avigne • Finard Coventry Hotel Management, LLC • 419 Boylston Street, Suite 300 • Boston, MA 02116 (P) 617.892.8692 • (F) 617.892.8680 • (C) 508.685.9154 • gary.avigne@finardcoventryhotels.com finardcoventryhotels.com Website by CM Communications