DALLAS—Prism Hotels & Resorts is continuing its momentum by staying true to itself, adding new developments to its portfolio and strengthening its partnership with Hyatt.
“2018 was really an incredible year for all of us at Prism,” said Steve Van, president and CEO of Prism Hotels & Resorts. “It was packed with new opportunities and new milestones. We went head-to-head with some of the biggest and most reputable management companies in the industry on a number of high-profile assignments, and consistently prevailed.”
For example, in 2018, Prism went eight for eight in RFPs when competing against those whom the company defined as “top-ten third-party managers.”
“We now manage the Westin and Sheraton Stonebriar hotels here in Dallas, three NYLO hotels converted to Tapestry Collection by Hilton, and the recently opened Hyatt House Cupertino in the new Apple Campus’ backyard,” he said.
By year-end 2018, Prism had 38 hotels with 6,374 rooms in its portfolio.
“We’re continuing to steadily move closer to our target of around 50 properties,” Van said.
One of the top contributors to Prism’s success last year was its relationship with Hyatt.
“Hyatt was frankly a big part of our success in 2018, both in Seattle, where our work with Hyatt Place Downtown actually turned around a property that was in the red zone, and in Los Angeles, where the best-in-class results we’ve achieved at the Hyatt Regency LAX have recently prompted Hyatt to take our relationship to the next level,” he said. “Those results include growing hotel occupancy and ADR to quickly surpass market competitors in RevPAR, advancing more than 200 spots in TripAdvisor in just two years, and consistently scoring in the top percentile in Hyatt’s guest-service metrics.”
Rounding out the property’s success, Hyatt named it the 2018 Franchise Hotel of the Year.
“And, it’s exactly that kind of performance with Hyatt properties that earned Prism the brand’s 2018 Operating Excellence Award for Best Full-Service Operator in the Americas,” Van said.
Even though results are driving its success with Hyatt, Prism also fits culturally with Hyatt.
“Hyatt’s entrepreneurial energy is just a great fit for our management approach,” he said. “They get it. They get us. And we feel the same way about them. Our relationship works so well because it’s not just about what we do—it’s about who we are. Hyatt trusts us as a partner, manager and operator, and we trust and value them and their customer-centric approach. That cultural alignment has created tangible results for our mutual owners and clients.”
Despite Hyatt being one of the top reasons why Prism is currently doing so well, there’s another component to the hotel management company’s positive performance.
“I can only speak to Prism’s experiences, but there’s no doubt that the first ingredient in our recipe for success is personal attention,” Van said. “Our owners experience that firsthand when our entire executive team shows up—in person—and sits across the table from them to discuss a new opportunity. That high level of personal service and attention has established, nurtured and sustained some of the strongest relationships in the industry. That only works if you have good people, of course.”
While it’s riding a bit of a trajectory more recently, Prism isn’t doing anything differently; if anything, it’s doing more of the same. “Prism has been one of the most dynamic and successful hotel management companies in the United States for some time now,” he said. “And while we’ve made a conscious decision not to try and grow past the point where we can deliver personal service and attention from our executive team, we’ve been able to carve out a reputation as a hotel management company with ecstatically happy owners and incredibly performing hotels. It’s ultimately about opportunity.” For Prism, additional opportunities enable it to deliver its personalized service to—and generate better results for—more owners and entrepreneurs across the country.
“Prism has experience working with more than 300 premier hotels and luxury resort properties, and we’ve worked with all leading brands—as well as a number of independent and boutique hoteliers,” he said. “And one thing each and every one of the owners of those properties have in common is they want to see results. They don’t want a pitch. They want an ironclad guarantee. That’s good news for us because we’re big on ‘show me.’ Our portfolio is proof of the results we’ve achieved, and we relish the chance to prove ourselves.”
For 2019, four of the 10 new deals Prism has lined up are Hyatt products—all new developments. The management company is currently working on a dual-brand near Los Angeles International Airport, a soft-brand property in downtown L.A., a select-service property in Silicon Valley and a mixed-used Hyatt Place in Fayette, NC.
“From where I sit, 2019 promises to be even better than 2018,” he said.
