UNIONDALE, New York—Blue Sky Hospitality Solutions, which formed six months ago, is on a fast growth track with the acquisition of its 51st and 52nd hotels, the 220-room New Orleans Marriott Metairie at Lakeway in Louisiana and the 615-room Long Island Marriott in Uniondale, New York.
Naveen Shah, founder and CEO of Blue Sky, said the company took on the complete portfolio of Navika Capital, which owned and operated 58 hotels, and “consolidated the management arm of the ownership of Navika.” Shah’s company now manages 52 hotels and some non-core assets, which adds up to a total of 60 assets.
Since its formation six months ago, the company is focused on growing its full-service hotel portfolio, Shah said. The acquisition of the New Orleans and Uniondale Marriott properties fit in well with this strategy, he added.
“We have been moving toward high-end branded, full-service hotels, and in the current economic environment, full-service hotels are likely to deliver better performance in a good market,” he said. “These two hotels are a result of our evolved business model and we believe that having Marriott brands … will bring better value to our management, and it will also bring it to the ownership team.”
While Blue Sky is interested in brands affiliated with companies such as InterContinental Hotels Group and Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Shah said his company wants to develop expertise in managing Marriott International and Hilton brands.
US growth
All of Blue Sky’s hotels are currently in the United States, and Shah said the company will continue to focus on domestic growth.
“In regards to geographical diversification, we’re not married to any particular region, but the goal is likely to sustain and continue (in) northeast regions, west regions, southeast regions,” he said.
Blue Sky currently has a Delta by Marriott under development in Indianapolis that is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of this year, he said.
Company growth
Blue Sky currently manages Navika Capital’s portfolio, but down the line, Shah said he plans to continue to grow his company’s management portfolio, “not only from Navika, but also from other hotel owners and operators.”
“It’s a young company with … a group of professional hotel operators to our advantage and (we will) continue to build up the team by adding specialized team members for our full-service portfolio,” he said.