After Mario Tricoci sold a majority of his stake in the highly acclaimed Elysian hotel in Chicago to Sam Zell in late 2011, he put his head together with his GM and now business partner Kevin Robinson to create a new management/development company that would differentiate itself in the 4-star independent space.
They decided to look at secondary and tertiary markets where there is a lack of interesting hotels and supply, in general, and where there were opportunities to truly embrace the local culture – not shove a branded, hip culture down the local’s throats, as Tricoci put it.
The pair found themselves travelling to these smaller markets like Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, and St. Louis, Missouri – not too far from their Chicago roots – to look for development opportunities in the US$20-30 million range. At the same time, they were looking for independent owners that needed help with service or creating a sales philosophy that is relevant to the local market.
They ended up at the Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee, where they convinced owners Tim Dixon and Brigette Breitenbach to sell them an equity position and take over management.
That deal marked the beginning for Aparium Hotel Group Properties, with offices in Chicago and Milwaukee. In fact, Dixon and Breitenbach have a partnered with Tricoci and Robinson. Dixon is a managing partner of Aparium Hotel Group and CEO of Aparium Development Co., leading the firm’s hospitality development initiatives, while Breitenbach is spearheading marketing for both companies.
More recently, Michelin-star chef and restaurateur Suzy Crofton joined the team as executive culinary director.
Perhaps more importantly, Tricoci said the group is very close to making a deal with sizeable equity partners that will allow it to compete with bigger players in the independent space such as John Pritzker’s Commune Hotels.
The group, which has a second hotel coming soon in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and several others in various stages of development, operates under a strict platform that focuses on “translocal” hospitality, owner collaboration and an intuitive service model.
“If you create that local respect, there’s a stickiness to that business and a support that has an extraordinary ripple effect,” Tricoci said. “We don’t think these hotels need to be at Main and Main Streets. They just need to be positioned relevantly and take into account the local community. Each one of these markets that we’re pursuing have important history – Cleveland, Indianapolis, Minneapolis.”
Aparium is a strict manager of the soon-to-open Charmant Hotel in LaCrosse at the site of an old candy factory, but at US$350,000 per key, according to Tricoci, this is no ordinary hotel for this tertiary market, which he says has a very nice business base and strong university culture. Simeone Deary Design Group was brought in to do the interiors for this historic building renovation and Tricoci expects it to become a destination spot for the U.S. Midwest.
Tricoci said Aparium is also under development in downtown Detroit, Michigan, and Covington, Kentucky, and is negotiating a deal in Minneapolis. He also mentioned possible deals in Montclair, New Jersey, Vail, Colorado, and Telluride, Colorado. “All of these hotels will have an important food and beverage component,” Tricoci added. “What is lacking is proper, locally relevant execution of F&B with these types of independent hotels.”
Moving forward, Tricoci believes true independent owners will see what they are doing in these markets and will look to Aparium for investment and management.
He is also quick to cite how the Elysian and Iron Horse have been Number 1 on TripAdvisor – today’s acid test. “I don’t want to say we’re going be Number 1 on TripAdvisor in every market. But we’re going to be very, very close. That’s really critical and it’s a really good measuring stick for how to operate, how people feel about the property and whether or not they’re coming back,” Tricoci sais.
Tricoci was also quick to add that his group has a lot to prove and understands at the end of the day the proof is in the pudding. “Our profitability at the Iron Horse is extraordinary and our owner is making a lot of money,” Tricoci said. “And that is a good calling card.”