Los Angeles, California – Michael Hardisty and Philip Baxter team up to provide comprehensive real estate services for owners, lenders, and special servicers with distressed hotel and resort assets.

When a former client, then a senior manager in charge of a mixed portfolio of special assets at a major bank, suggested to Michael Hardisty and Philip Baxter that given their success with his distressed asset portfolio they get back together to execute hotel and resort work-outs they took him seriously. Michael Hardisty, formerly Executive Vice President of Lowe Enterprises responsible for Lowe Destination Development's resort and condominium hotel development program, and Philip Baxter, a 25-year hotel industry veteran whose background includes multi-property operations oversight, asset management for large institutional owners, and significant acquisition and development experience, teamed up on a number of high profile work-outs while at Tishman Realty and Construction in the 1990's.

Earlier this year they teamed up again forming HARDISTY BAXTER, Hotel and Resort Value Solutions, to offer their clients the benefit of their experience working properties such as the Sir Francis Drake, The Ritz-Carlton Mauna Lani, The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, The Grand Palazzo (now The Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas), and the Hyatt St. John (now the Westin St. John) from lender control/acquisition through disposition. "We provide advisory services in the form of an Assessment of Risk/Opinion of Value (AROV) to develop strategic alternatives, but where we add the most value is in the execution of the strategic plan from beginning to end, up to and including disposition," says Michael Hardisty. "Think of an Institution's responsibility to its stakeholders in adopting and executing a strategy that recaptures the exposed value of its Hospitality Assets."

Their collective experience comprises over $1 billion worth of hospitality REO work-outs including advisory work, receivership, asset management, management, and brokerage. Baxter says that relative to the growing number of hotel and resort loans that are in default, "there is a storm gathering and it is only a matter of time until the downpour begins." With their experience, there is no doubt that they can handle heavy weather. Hardisty for example is the former CEO of The Hotel Del Coronado where he restored and improved the physical facilities while concurrently improving service levels, a task that required a significant restructuring of the legacy collective bargaining agreement. A Cornell grad, Baxter is perhaps the perfect compliment to Hardisty. An experienced asset manager and operator trained in accounting and finance, Baxter has a knack for hospitality innovation. His programs such as Beer Sommelier and 24 Hour Check-In/Check-Out have found their way into the pages of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and USA Today.

About HARDISTY BAXTER:

HARDISTY BAXTER is a comprehensive real estate platform specializing in distressed hospitality assets. The company's services are designed to provide owners, lenders, and special servicers with strategic alternatives and the execution of a strategic plan from beginning to end, up to and including asset disposition. What sets HARDISTY BAXTER apart is its track record of success assisting reluctant owners of hospitality real estate recapture the exposed value of their hotel and resort assets.

Philip Baxter
424.785.0363

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