Hartmann heads STR’s new analytics company

STR has formed STR Analytics () to extend its range of analytical services and creative applications to the hotel industry. This new endeavor will satisfy the demand for more in-depth and comprehensive analysis of STR products, including Performance, Census, and Pipeline databases.

STR Analytics will be directed by Gregory Hartmann, MAI, CHA, from offices in Boulder. Hartmann heads a team that includes seasoned hotel data analysts and consulting veterans Steve Hennis and Carter Wilson, along with several senior professionals holding advanced degrees in a variety of business disciplines.

“STR Analytics was created to better assist consultants, brokers, operators, owners, lenders, hotel company executives and financial analysts in using the STR data more fully as well as obtaining a broader spectrum of insights not previously offered through STR in Hendersonville,” said Mark V. Lomanno, STR’s President.

STR CEO Randy Smith said the new company fills a need of STR's customers. “For years our clients have been asking us to offer more than Trend, Pipeline and Market Performance reports, and I didn’t think the timing was right,” Smith said. “But after tracking our industry through the fifth—and worst—downturn I have seen in my career, those clients are now asking for more than our data ... they are asking for our help in using our data. Therefore, STR Analytics will use our data to collect and present hospitality-specific insights that I believe will serve our industry in the future.”

“STR Analytics will apply sophisticated analytical tools and statistical models to our database providing new insights to the hotel industry, which will allow clients to make better business decisions,” Lomanno said.

“STR Analytics is charged with developing innovative ways of analyzing STR’s vault of data to assist clients in making the most informed decisions,” Hartmann said. “We are currently working with hotel companies seeking more statistical relevance to their performance trends; municipal, national and international government and finance agencies examining their respective markets; consulting firms looking for more comprehensive and conveyable data; and numerous brokers and analysts identifying transaction data, target acquisition markets and better understanding of market risks and opportunities.”

Hartmann previously was Managing Director of HVS’s Boulder office, which he established in 1993. Hennis and Wilson each held Senior Vice President positions in the Boulder office of HVS and focused on devising analytical tools, models, templates and research for the firm. Between his tenure with HVS and joining STR Analytics, Hennis focused on real estate due diligence, research and hotel analysis for Destination Hotels and Resorts and later, Hospitium, a hotel research and advisory firm he founded in 2006. Orly Ripmaster joins the STR Analytics team six years of operational and analytical experience in the hotel sector along with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard and two master’s degrees—including one in Hospitality Management.

The STR Analytics team shares offices with the professional staff of RRC Associates, another STR-affiliated company, in Boulder. RRC provides a full range of specialized services in research, customer satisfaction surveys and data analysis focusing on tourism, recreation, hospitality and other fields related to business and community development.