Tiverton-based Hotel Asset Value Enhancement LLC and Acorn Asset Management Inc., based in Sacramento, Calif., have bought the Hotel Providence from founder Stanley Weiss for an undisclosed price.
Hotel Asset Value Enhancement (hotelAVE) is, according to its Web site, one of the nation’s largest management advisory firms in the hospitality industry, with clients such as The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach in Palm Beach, Fla., and the Westin Boston Waterfront. It previously contracted with the Ramada Inn in Portsmouth.
“We have effected a seamless transition at the ownership level and the hotel will continue to run as it has,” Michelle Russo, president of hotelAVE, said in a news release. She added that the hotel will keep its “suberb staff” and “very capable” general manager, Christine Nevers.
“No management or staffing changes will take place,” Nevers said. “It is truly a seamless transition.”
The new owners also look forward to a partnership with Tom and Rozann Bucker, owners of L’Epicureo restaurant on the hotel’s ground floor.
“Word of the hotel and restaurant’s excellent reputation as a wedding and group banquet destination continues to grow, and we would expect that L’Epicureo will benefit from that with us,” Russo said.
According to the release, the new owners are committed to maintaining and building upon the Hotel Providence’s Four Diamond rating and reputation.
“There are lots of customers who are service- and experience-driven rather than just price-driven,” Russo said. “We only have 80 rooms, not 200 or 300 – thus we can offer personalized service. Our goal is to always be the best hotel in Providence.”
The new owners are asking for employee feedback on guest requests and will address the key concerns as part of an initiative to offer the best service and experience in the market, Russo said.
Weiss, a real estate developer, said the goal in creating the Hotel Providence had been to have a “world-class boutique hotel gem commensurate to the magnificent architecture of the hotel building and its surrounding architecture that comprise our Art & Entertainment District.”
Russo said that just as Weiss’ passion was for shaping the hotel, her company’s expertise and passion relate to hotel management. “It was the right timing for Stanley to pass the baton to us to help achieve the full potential of his vision,” she said.
The Hotel Providence opened in January 2005 at the corner of Westminster and Mathewson streets. It earned a AAA Four Diamond rating for its first year of operation and was listed as the best hotel in Providence in Zagat’s 2007 survey.
