Grand Heritage Management Company is pleased to announce a twelve-year management contract with Grove Isle Resort & Spa located on Grove Isle in Miami, Florida. With extension, the term could run for 22 years. The four-diamond hotel offers: 49 elegant oversized guestrooms (each with private terraces and views of Biscayne Bay), 8,000 square feet of meeting space, the full-service SpaTerre, a 12 state-of-the-art, championship-court tennis center, and a Club component with on-and-off island memberships. The hotel, ranked #2 of “Top Performers” by Lodging Hospitality, October, 2008, is also home to Baleen Miami, one of the top restaurants in Miami.

“We are excited about this opportunity. We feel that the Grand Heritage management philosophy will have a strong impact on the resort’s operating performance,” says John V. Cullen IV, CEO of Grand Heritage. Grand Heritage was founded by Mr. Cullen in 1989 to provide property level management and chain services to trouble assets in need of a bottom line focus. “My team and I have almost 20-years taking over the management of hotel assets in various degrees of financial, physical or partnership distress. We are not in the business of marking a hotel in our image and likeness; we are in the business of allowing a hotel to use its individual charterer to achieve its fullest potential. To me a hotel’s fullest potential is measured on the bottom line.”

“Even in challenging economic times there are many things that can be done to improve near-term hotel operating performance and position the operations to leverage these gains for exceptional growth when more bullish market conditions return. In our diligence on Grove Isle, we identified not only staffing and cost efficiencies, but also areas where active yield management and expanded marketing in feeder markets will result in better top line performance.”

One of the markets that Grand Heritage will seek to increase Grove Isle’s exposure is Europe. JP Thiry, Grand Heritages Managing Director for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, is based in the company’s European head quarters in Milan, Italy. He comments, “Miami remains a highly desirable travel destination from the major feeder cites in Europe. Our initial efforts have already met with strong results and we are confident that as an international gateway, Miami will act as a strong calling card for our brand.” Mr. Thiry’s current pipeline line includes seven projects in Europe, Africa and the Middle East that will close within the next twelve months.

“The Grand Heritage name has a strong perception internationally. We are expecting construction to be completed on our first hotel in the Gulf region by mid-2009, we are active in North Africa and have several deals signed in key European primary markets. With each new deal we sign we are expanding our reach as a niche global brand. This in turn bolsters all of our properties.”

Brian Patrick Martin
CFO/MD Grand Heritage