R.M. Woodworth & Associates (RMWA), a provider of customized lodging research and advisory services, and Core Hospitality Advisors, a firm specializing in hospitality real estate appraisals, have merged. The new firm is called Woodworth Core Group (WCG).
Adam Cowart and John Ritger will be joining Mark Woodworth, Henry B. “Hank” Staley Jr. and Jill L. Bidwell as principals in the new firm. With the merger, WCG will have offices in Atlanta; Jacksonville, FL; Washington, DC; Birmingham, AL; Baton Rouge, LA; and Boise, ID.
“We are fortunate to have assembled a strong team and achieved significant growth since forming RMWA three years ago,” said Mark Woodworth, founding principal. “Our initial vision was to establish a strong advisory foundation focused on an expert understanding of lodging industry fundamentals, asset management capabilities and solid research practices and methods. In merging with Core Hospitality Advisors, we are taking our valuation expertise and database coverage to a new level. We believe that the collective understanding of the drivers of change in hotel real estate profitability and value is critically important as all lodging industry participants work their way—willingly and unwillingly—through the protracted period of recovery following the Great Pandemic of 2020.”
Over the last two decades, Core Hospitality Advisors has grown from a small family business into a national hospitality-focused appraisal and consulting firm. The company has completed more than 4,000 assignments across all 50 states, ranging from small independent properties to large full-service resorts. The firm’s research team oversees an extensive database with more than 70,000 hotels.
“We have been friends with the principals of RMWA for many years and have had the opportunity to collaborate with them on numerous occasions since they formed their firm in early 2021,” noted Cowart and Ritger, co-owners, Core Hospitality Advisors. “We were fortunate to work with the RMWA team on a number of diverse projects in recent years including large portfolio valuation assignments, single asset appraisals, large resort lodging and residential developments as well as real estate property tax appeal litigation.”
Prior to establishing his own firm, Woodworth, along with Cornell University’s Jack Corgel, founded PKF Hospitality Research in 1999. Like his new colleagues, Woodworth has managed and conducted consulting assignments, involving both public and private sector clients, throughout the U.S.
The relationships and experience of the team at Woodworth Core Group extend to many of the industry’s leading lenders, developers, chains and management companies, according to the new company. The firm’s principals have dealt with all aspects of management contract negotiation, operations, development, valuation, bankruptcy and expert witness advisory, as well as financing.
