Charlestowne Hotels Expands to 50 Properties With Thrash Group Management Deal

The hospitality group Charlestowne Hotels has signed an agreement with hospitality development firm The Thrash Group to oversee the firms’ entire hotel portfolio.

The deal adds 10 hotels to Charlestowne Hotels’ portfolio. It’s the largest single agreement in the company’s 40-year history, the company says, and makes it responsible for 50 hotels in 20 states.

The group will also lead development and expansion of the independent Origin Hotel brand, which features lifestyle hotels. Charlestowne took over five brand hotels as part of the agreement, and the line is expected to grow to 10 hotels over the next four years under the group’s management.

Six of the properties will initially be added to Charlestowne’s portfolio, with the remaining four properties joining in a second phase.

“To say this has been a tumultuous year for hospitality would be an understatement,” Kyle Hughey, the chief operating officer for Charlestowne Hotels, said in a statement. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the hospitality industry hard, as stay-at-home orders and other restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of the virus meant a sharp decline in hotel visits.

“Our leadership team has never been stronger, and we have been meticulous with our strategic growth plans, this partnership with Thrash included,” Hughey added. “We consider our companies well-matched in both operational style and development goals.”

The recently-inked deal means Charlestowne will have its first presence in Kentucky, Colorado and Texas.

Charlestowne eyes the agreement “as an opportunity to add a range of lifestyle properties, independent concepts and branded hotels to its portfolio,” it said when announcing the new arrangement.

“Each of our hotels, and the teams that support them, have their own personality, culture and guest experience. Charlestowne’s work will act as a microphone for these brand attributes,” Walker Thrash, partner of The Thrash Group, said in a statement.