10 Fastest Growing Travel & Hospitality Companies 2017
The Silicon Review
“Our goal is to capitalize on growth opportunities, form strategic partnerships, and work with under-performing hotels in various markets to ensure long-term growth.”
Driftwood Hospitality Management, LLC operates and develops hotels throughout the United States and Latin America. Its portfolio includes over 40 hotels and more than 8,000 rooms in top business travel, convention markets, and resort destinations located across the U.S., as well as Costa Rica. The organization strives to acquire, develop, reposition, renovate and operate hotels in the most attractive markets and pride ourselves in providing services that allow its hotels and resorts to achieve solid growth and generate more revenue month after month, year after year.
Headquartered in North Palm Beach, Florida, Driftwood has additional offices in Costa Rica and Arizona to serve hotels across the United States and internationally. The Driftwood Hospitality Executive Team provides more than two decades of combined hotel experience with a focus on hotel operations. With over 15 years of expertise in acquisition, development, repositioning, renovations, and hotel operations, the firm tailors its approach to each property and market, ensuring that its clients receive the highest level of service and are positioned for growth.
Driftwood’s mission
Driftwood’s mission is to achieve exponential growth with all our properties by forming strategic partnerships that allow us to build new hotels, acquire existing properties in lucrative markets, and work with under-performing hotels to position them for growth advancement. We are leaders in the field of hospitality management and have a proven track record of success.
We provide support to achieve increases in revenue, identify expansion opportunities, and utilize our resources to assist hotel and resort owners with all aspects of property management.
Unlike many other hotel management advisors and companies, we encourage our partners to use an entrepreneurial approach and empower our associates to take initiative, be proactive, and contribute to the success of their property with well-defined strategies and objectives.
Remarkable facets of Driftwood
A Proven Track Record of Success
The company’s portfolio includes several award-winning franchises and hospitality brand families, including:
Services for Hospitality Professionals
Driftwood offers a range of services for hospitality professionals that need assistance with property operations, marketing, legal support, and new development or construction. It works with professionals managing everything from mid-size extended-stay and limited service properties to boutique hotels and full-service resorts. Services consist of Operations, Sales, And Marketing, Human Resources, Centralized Services, Legal Support, New Development & Construction. The team at Driftwood Hospitality Management works hard to optimize the financial performance of all its properties and seeks out new growth opportunities.
Business philosophy
Driftwood goal is to provide a high level of support for hotel and resort professionals, and other hospitality management team members looking for business development services in today’s competitive marketplace. Our current portfolio consists of over 40 hotels branded under nationally recognized hospitality families. We provide services for a variety of properties including Mid-size hotels, extended stay properties, Limited service properties, Boutique hotels, Full-service resorts, Restaurants, Spas, Convention centers.
The firm encourages its associates to take an entrepreneurial approach and develop innovative solutions that will provide long-term results. Part of Driftwood’s commitment to its clients and partners is to stay up-to-date on the latest industry changes and market trends and provide a high level of service in all aspects of hospitality management.
The Founder’s Desk
David Buddemeyer, Principal, and President: Buddemeyer is a hospitality veteran who has successfully facilitated the financial turnaround and growth of several multi-dimensional hotel companies. Before launching Driftwood, Buddemeyer served as Chairman and CEO of Servico Hotels and Resorts, a NYSE hotel company. During his eight-year tenure as the company’s Executive Vice President, which began in 1990, he was responsible for all facets of Servico’s operations. Under Buddemeyer’s leadership, the company grew from 28 hotels to 140 hotels and from $42M to $520M in sales, with EBITDA growing at a compound annual rate of 41%, from $16M to $180M. In December 1998, Servico merged with another hotel company, bringing the organization’s portfolio to 180 hotels and more than 30,000 rooms. Upon the successful completion of this merger, Buddemeyer – along with several of his executive team members – left to launch Driftwood Hospitality Management, LLC. Prior to Servico, Buddemeyer served as Vice President of Operations for Prime Hospitality.