Premier, an end-to-end architecture, design, procurement and project management and development firm, has added Cole Travers as a real estate development associate.
With more than five years of experience in the hospitality industry, Travers supports the company’s commitment to growth by leading the evaluation and execution of potential real estate developments and strategic investments.
“We are thrilled to have Cole officially join the team after his time at Ashford Inc., where he worked behind the scenes for Premier, assisting our company in building the underwriting and analytical side of the development team,” said Franklin Piñerúa, chief commercial officer, Premier. “His ability to understand the integrations between companies and develop processes with key players will further solidify Premier’s commitment to growth and development.”
In his new role, Travers helps evaluate investment opportunities and provides financial analysis of potential acquisition and development projects. He also supports project management in the execution and delivery of new ground-up work.
He began his hospitality career with Ashford Inc. as an intern in 2017 and following graduation from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business in 2018, he landed a full-time job at the company as a financial analyst. During his time at Ashford, he first worked alongside the asset management group, providing analytical support at the above-property level for revenue management, asset management, legal and risk teams. Later, his focus shifted to hotel acquisitions, where he aided three luxury hotel transactions, totaling 444 keys and approximately $540 million.
“My time at Ashford has given me the opportunity to participate in the core real estate decisions of a dynamic family of companies that operate at an extremely high level in the hospitality sector and I’m excited to continue that work at Premier,” said Travers. “The unique vertical integration Premier offers across all levels of the development lifecycle is powerful and in my new role, my goal is to demonstrate Premier’s capabilities to our partners and developers as we continue to build out these new ventures.”
