Aqua Hotels and Resorts, Honolulu, has just completed a management buyout and changed its name to Aqua Hospitality, HOTELS learned exclusively on Tuesday. It is also restructuring its 24-property portfolio into three brands and bringing in partners to facilitate expansion beyond Hawaii.
Aqua Hospitality’s President and CEO Ben Rafter told HOTELS that Chairman Mike Paulin was looking to diversify and opened the company up to its management team, including Rafter, who was anxious to secure capital and funding from a broader market than just Hawaii.
New capital partner Eagle Point Hotel Partners out of New York City has provided Aqua Hospitality with signficant capital reserves ready for deployment. In fact, Rafter said Aqua “plans to be on the mainland by summer. We are currently looking at a half-dozen deals and expect to announce a few next week at ALIS.”
Aqua Hospitality is also looking at opportunities in Asia Pacific, according to Rafter, but those deals are mostly development projects in Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific with a longer time frame.
Rafter said the company is looking at, perhaps, growing to 50 hotels within three years via a combination of management, equity participation and development, including further growth inside Hawaii with its three newly minted brands: a soft Monogram brand (luxury, experience based); Aqua (the original midmarket with a localized experience); and a budget Lite concept.
Rafter added that Aqua Hospitality plans to differentiate itself with a combination of traditional lifestyle service and an a pure technology-driven analytic approach to bottom line performance. “This is what makes a difference going forward, and what makes the company tick today,” he said.
Aqua Hospitality recently instituted marketing strategies targeting a more adventurous and lifestyle driven 30- to 45-something demographic that has resulted in dramatically increased business from strong economies like China and Australia. The improving United States and Canadian economies are also pushing Aqua’s occupancy and revenue numbers to new company highs. The hotel group is driving these numbers even higher with an aggressive renovation program with over US$55 million dollars in projects completed recently or slated for 2013.
The increased demand has combined with a varied demographic profile across Aqua’s diversified hotels to create the opportunity for the three new brands and operating divisions under the Aqua Hospitality umbrella:
- Monogram Hotel Collection represents a group of stand-alone and independent hotels and resorts providing personalized luxury experience. Each hotel has a distinct name and identity and is unique in personality, environment and design.
- Aqua Hotels and Resorts offers stylish, mid-priced hotels that present excellent value and lifestyle services rooted in Hawaii’s rich cultural traditions.
- Lite Hotels is a group of eclectic, economy hotels that appeal to budget-minded travelers who appreciate the fundamentals — service, convenience and cleanliness.
Aqua Hospitality was founded in 2001 and has hotels across all six Hawaiian islands.