- Braemar Hotels & Resorts terminated its advisory agreement with Ashford Inc. on Nov. 10 and became a self-managed REIT, with a new board and executive team.
- The separation was funded by hotel sales: $437.5M in July, $190.5M for Pier House and $372M for the Four Seasons Scottsdale. A shareholder dispute ended with an October settlement.
- Braemar now holds seven luxury and upper upscale hotels. Management says limited new luxury supply through 2028 and strong forward bookings support 2027.
Braemar Hotels & Resorts cut its advisory agreement with Ashford Inc. on Nov. 10 and became a self-managed REIT, according to an SEC filing reported by Hotel Dive.
The REIT also seated seven new independent directors and named a new executive team.
Get Smarter about what matters in CRE
Stay ahead of trends in commercial real estate with CRE Daily – the free newsletter delivering everything you need to start your day in just 5-minutes
Selling Hotels to Pay for the Exit
After a lengthy strategic review, a special committee judged self-management the right path for shareholders. The filing says the REIT sold the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, Hotel Yountville and Bardessono in July, for $437.5 million in total, and used the proceeds to cover a company sale fee owed to Ashford.
It then unloaded the Pier House in Key West for $190.5 million and Four Seasons Scottsdale at Troon North for $372 million. We tracked the Scottsdale contract when it was signed on Sept. 29, at about $1.8 million a key.
The Pier House went to Sixth Street Partners and Riller Capital, as our Key West report covered. The 142-room resort had been in Braemar’s portfolio since 2014.
A Shareholder Fight Settles
The path was not smooth. Al Shams Investments, Braemar’s largest shareholder, objected in June and nominated its own director slate in September.
With the October Scottsdale sale, the two sides reached a cooperation agreement and Al Shams withdrew its nominees.
New Board, New Team
Its six sitting directors, Chairman Monty Bennett among them, resigned. Stephen Haggerty is expected to chair the new board. It also includes Barbarosh, Covey, Hirsch, Luebbers, Steinel and Theriot.
Robert Haiman becomes the top lawyer, while Justin Coe, who came over from Ashford Hospitality Trust, is CFO and chief accounting officer. Braemar also cut ties with Remington and Premier Project Management, which ran its master hotel and project management agreements.
What’s Left
The portfolio is now seven hotels, five luxury and two upper upscale, including the Capital Hilton, Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile and a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Puerto Rico.
Stonebridge Companies will manage Sofitel Chicago, and Avion Hospitality will run Cameo Beverly Hills.
Why It Matters
Braemar is now a smaller, simpler public hotel REIT with a conventional governance structure. The seven hotels it keeps skew luxury, a tighter bet on high-end travel.
What’s Next
CEO Richard Stockton said in the release that affluent consumers, a thin luxury pipeline through 2028 and healthy forward bookings should support 2027. He also cited the LA-hosted Super Bowl LXI as a tailwind.
