Peachtree Group Awarded Developer of the Year by Hilton

ATLANTA, GA April 24, 2024 - Peachtree Group today announced that it has been recognized by Hilton as the 2023 Developer of the Year in the Focused Service category. The Hilton Americas Development Awards recognize the achievements of owners, development partners and hotel teams in the Americas across several categories.

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“We are immensely honored to have been named Developer of the Year by Hilton, a distinction that underscores our desire to build outstanding hotels,” said Mitul Patel, principal, Peachtree Group. “This recognition highlights our unwavering commitment to creating exceptional hotels and further strengthens our partnership with Hilton. This award is a testament to our strategic approach to hotel development, which combines identifying great locations, assembling a top-tier team and maintaining a steadfast focus on quality.”

In 2022, Peachtree Group received the Multi-Brand Developer of the Year from Hilton.

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These annual awards celebrate the resiliency and commitment of Hilton’s owners and team members who spread the light and warmth of hospitality. For more information about Hilton, visit the company’s newsroom at stories.hilton.com.

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About Peachtree Group

Peachtree Group is a vertically integrated investment management firm specializing in identifying and capitalizing on opportunities in dislocated markets, anchored by commercial real estate. Today, the company manages billions in capital across acquisitions, development and lending, augmented by services designed to protect, support and grow its investments. For more information, visit www.peachtreegroup.com.

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Contact:

Charles Talbert
678-823-7683
ctalbert@peachtreegroup.com

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ATLANTA (April 3, 2024) – Peachtree Group ("Peachtree") announced the elevation of three senior executives, expanding their roles to strengthen the firm’s executive leadership team. The promotions include Michael Harper to president of hotel lending, Jared Schlosser to executive vice president of hotel lending and head of CPACE and Michael Ritz to executive vice president of investments.

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"These appointments underscore Peachtree's commitment to its core growth initiatives in hotel lending, as well as fostering talent from within our own ranks, with an eye toward further diversifying its allocation strategies as it taps into new investment opportunities," said Greg Friedman, Peachtree's CEO and managing principal.

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Since joining Peachtree in 2014, Harper has distinguished himself through a succession of leadership roles, directing the company's credit business, particularly in loan originations and strategic acquisition of credit portfolios. Since joining, he has led the team through over 500 investments totaling over $6 billion. As president, he is responsible for the entirety of Peachtree's credit platform for hotels, guiding all facets of the credit business.

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Schlosser's promotion to executive vice president of hotel lending and head of CPACE reflects his exceptional performance and extensive knowledge of the hotel loan origination processes and the firm's Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE) program. His significant contributions since joining the firm in 2019 have been crucial in advancing Peachtree's CPACE program, which now exceeds $800 million in transactions and has become one of the largest in the U.S. Furthermore, since taking over hotel originations at the start of 2022, Peachtree has completed more than $1.5 billion in hotel loans, further demonstrating his expertise and effectiveness in these dual roles.

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Ritz has been elevated to the position of executive vice president of investments and will oversee Peachtree's credit and equity investments across commercial real estate and other ventures.  He joined Peachtree in 2017, and his promotion recognizes his expertise in successfully managing and growing a portfolio of investments that is now approaching $10 billion in transaction asset value.

Peachtree was recently ranked as the tenth largest U.S. commercial real estate hotel lender, its third consecutive year in the top ten, by the Mortgage Bankers Association ("MBA") 2023 loan origination rankings.

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About Peachtree Group
Peachtree Group is a vertically integrated investment management firm specializing in identifying and capitalizing on opportunities in dislocated markets, anchored by commercial real estate. Today, we manage billions in capital across acquisitions, development, and lending, augmented by services designed to protect, support and grow our investments. For more information, visit www.peachtreegroup.com.

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Contact:

Charles Talbert

678-823-7683

ctalbert@peachtreegroup.com

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The hotel industry has had a remarkable recovery in the post-COVID era, marked by strong fundamentals, limited supply and increased capital inflows, making it an attractive investment option.

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Peachtree Group CEO Greg Friedman sat down with Bryan Younge, executive vice president at Newmark to discuss this remarkable recover and where the market is today. Bryan heads the hospitality practice group at Newmark and is a leading commercial real estate advisor. Below is a recap of his expert analysis and insights.

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Listen to Peachtree's discussion with Bryan Younge, EVP Newmark here.

Hotel Industry Comeback

‍The industry witnessed an unprecedented come back after the pandemic. 

Limited New Hotel Supply: Limited new hotel supply coinciding with high travel demand creates a favorable scenario for the existing hotel inventory to capitalize on the surging interest.

Investment Attractiveness: The hotel sector's resilience has increased its appeal as an investment vehicle, offering substantial returns. This is reflected in the significant capital and dry powder ready for investment in this sector.

Macro Challenges: Despite its success, the industry faces challenges like staffing shortages, wage growth and inflation.

Hotel Performance – Segment: Closely examined the performance across various segments of the hotel industry, including commercial, group, leisure, and extended stay, as well as different distribution channels. These channels are crucial for predicting occupancy trends and Average Daily Rate (ADR), especially in the current volatile inflationary environment.

Key observations include:

• The group segment, crucial for hotel revenue, experienced a significant decline during the pandemic but has recently fully recovered.
• Other segments, like online travel agents (OTAs) and FIT (Foreign Independent Travel) and wholesale channel, outperformed group and global distribution     systems (GDS) in terms of recovery.
• The FIT and wholesale channel had a substantial initial setback but rebounded strongly in spring 2022, reaching levels 70% higher than in 2019.
• Seasonality patterns, resembling a heartbeat monitor, show three demand spikes in mid-spring, summer, and October, indicating a return to normalcy and     balanced pricing strategies.
• Overall, the analysis suggests that while larger hotels faced challenges during the pandemic, smaller hotels remained more resilient due to less reliance on group bookings and other factors. 
• The current trends indicate a recovery and adaptation in the hotel industry's various segments.

Predictive Analysis: Discussed methods for predicting future pricing trends in the hotel industry, including analyzing room rates and booking adjustments, the personal savings rate and its impact on the travel sector, and the performance of different hotel market segments and their recovery post-pandemic.

Transaction Market: An equilibrium is emerging in the transaction market, with buyers and sellers reaching common ground and avoiding distressed pricing. This indicates a healthy market with growth potential and abundant opportunities. 

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