Commercial Real Estate Finance

Posts Tagged ‘Sentry Centers’

Ryan joined Sentry in 2009 bringing a wealth of financial experience to the organization with a special focus in Hospitality Real Estate. As the holding company’s CIO and Principal, Ryan oversees all capital, investment and new business development transactions. In addition, he controls relationships with investment partners, lending institutions, and oversees Finance and Operations for Sentry Centers, the new urban conference center platform of the company. Ryan comes directly to Sentry from Gramercy Capital where he served as a Vice President responsible for the workout and restructuring of Gramercy’s hospitality related assets. Prior to this, he worked for Lehman Brothers within their commercial real estate group. Ryan is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and a graduate of Villanova University.

Q: As a company, tell me about the niche you have carved out for yourself and how you feel you are different from the competition. Why do you find this product type more appealing than alternative real estate asset classes?

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It wasn’t all that long ago that most hotels operated solely with the intent of accommodating leisure travelers. But for the last several decades, major hotel chains have been trying to lure business travelers by offering “business centers” and “meeting rooms” as part of their hotel. Yet, according to data from the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC), these attempts are continually compromised by the leisure minded nature of their business platform.  Conference centers have always been considered an amenity, not a core competency for hotels.  Sentry Centers, a subsidiary of Sentry Hospitality, is trying to fill this void. Sentry Centers leases dedicated corporate conference centers in urban cores.  Their flagship property, Sentry Centers Midtown East, has been a huge success since opening just six weeks ago.

We are contstantly keeping our eye out for creative real estate plays, and so we decided to dig deeper into Sentry Centers, and figure out why such a business model has led Sentry Centers to become a leading national provider of non-residential conference and executive center services. Let’s look at some of the basics:

1.  Its not a hotel - The operations of Sentry Centers are only focused on business meetings, so there are no “hotel-like” hassles, distractions or compromises. If however, overnight accommodations are necessary, Sentry Centers are strategically located and partnered with world class hotels nearby. Read the rest of this entry »

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