ATLANTA - Davidson Hotels & Resorts announces the transition in ownership of the Iowa City Sheraton, a property formerly owned by RockBridge and managed by Davidson for nearly 10 years. AJ Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has acquired the property while retaining Davidson Hotels & Resorts as the management company.
The Iowa City Sheraton is conveniently located on Iowa City's Pedestrian Mall District which offers an eclectic mix of culture, arts, entertainment and dining options and only steps away from the University of Iowa, home of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The nine-story, 234-room hotel will undergo an expansive renovation in 2018, culminating with a relaunch to the Graduate Iowa City by summer 2018. Renovations will touch all aspects of the property including more than 13,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces, as a well as guestrooms, restaurants, pool and the hotel lobby. Additionally, Graduate Hotels will bring a creative, contemporary, locally driven food and beverage program with the desire to cultivate relationships among hotel guests and locals. Upon conversion to a Graduate Hotel, the property will operate under Pivot Hotels & Resorts, Davidson's lifestyle and luxury operating division.
Graduate Hotels are synonymous with creating a unique environment for travelers, aiming to create lasting memories through adventure and exploration, and are part of a well-curated, thoughtfully crafted collection of hotels. Each property exudes dynamic energy, supporting its local community, as Graduate Hotels are located in university centric cities across the country.
"AJ Capital has created one of the most exciting new concepts in lodging with Graduate Hotels. We have operated in over ten university markets ourselves, so the combination of our experiences will be highly strategic as we grow together," said John Belden, president and CEO of Davidson. "We are thrilled to become part of the AJ Capital family and look forward to presenting the Iowa City community with an exciting new chapter for the hotel."
"It is with great pleasure that we announce the acquisition of the Sheraton Iowa City," says Tim Franzen, President of Graduate Hotels. "This acquisition exemplifies our strategy of investing in ideally located assets in multi-dimensional university-anchored markets. We look forward to expanding our footprint within the Big Ten Conference with Graduate Iowa City's opening next year. We look forward to growing with Pivot Hotels & Resorts as they've quickly established themselves as one of the most creative and innovative lifestyle managers in the industry."
Davidson Hotels & Resorts, and its lifestyle and luxury operating division, Pivot Hotels & Resorts, is one of the industry's preeminent hotel operators, specializing in branded and lifestyle full-service and upscale urban select-service hotels.
Davidson Hotels & Resorts Serves Up Michelle Engstrom As Corporate Director Of Venue Marketing & Programming For Pivot
Also, Davidson Hotels & Resorts introduce Michelle Engstrom as the new corporate director of venue marketing and programming for its lifestyle and luxury division, Pivot Hotels & Resorts. With dual reporting to Patricia Davis, vice president of sales, marketing and revenue management and Caroline Dyal, vice president of operations, Engstrom will drive venue marketing and activation efforts for all Pivot hotel venues, while providing a consistent brand voice amping up venue marketing objectives to support overall venue strategy.
Also, Davidson Hotels & Resorts introduce Michelle Engstrom as the new corporate director of venue marketing and programming for its lifestyle and luxury division, Pivot Hotels & Resorts. With dual reporting to Patricia Davis, vice president of sales, marketing and revenue management and Caroline Dyal, vice president of operations, Engstrom will drive venue marketing and activation efforts for all Pivot hotel venues, while providing a consistent brand voice amping up venue marketing objectives to support overall venue strategy.
Engstrom joins Pivot with more than 10 years of venue marketing experience, most recently from SLS Las Vegas, where, during her tenure, she was the opening director of nightlife marketing before taking on the role of director of business affairs for nightlife, with venues including the The Foundry, Foxtail Nightclub & Pool and The Sayers Club. Following her start in the entertainment industry, Michelle developed an interest in event marketing, kicking off her career with Bolthouse Productions/SBE. Occupying a utility role at Bolthouse allowed Engstrom to gain extensive experience in venue marketing and promotions, entertainment relations and corporate red carpet events, which led to her next marketing role with the TAO Group in Las Vegas, overseeing efforts for TAO, LAVO, TAO Beach, and Marquee Nightclub and Dayclub. Engstrom sees her new role as one that will not only impact brand awareness and community engagement but truly increase growth opportunities for Pivot Hotels & Resorts by creating partnerships that elevate and maximize potential of each venue from a branding and revenue perspective.
"We welcome Michelle's passion and drive to help create and promote our venues' unforgettable food and beverage experiences," said Albert Smith. "The Pivot team believes inspiring food & beverage programming gives credibility and cache to travelers looking for unique experiences while staying at our hotels. Fresh, local ingredients in engaging settings is one of our signatures and our venue marketing role was created to help bring that to life by driving awareness, ensuring on-going programming to keep our venues relevant and help us establish partnerships we can leverage across the portfolio."
Davidson Hotels & Resorts, and its lifestyle and luxury operating division, Pivot Hotels & Resorts, is one of the industry's preeminent hotel operators, specializing in branded and lifestyle full-service and upscale urban select-service hotels.
