News & Press

By Travis Murray, President, McNeill Hotel Company
Even though the United States boasts numerous exceptional independent hotels, approximately two-thirds of the country's 60,000 hotels are still associated with a brand. Additionally, the number of rooms being constructed for unaffiliated hotels was only around 30,000 at the end of last year, which is significantly lower than the 131,000 rooms being built for branded and franchised properties.
There are many compelling reasons for the predominance of branded properties, both in the United States and globally, some of which will be considered in this column. Click to learn more.

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Success in the hotel industry over the past few years has been gauged by reaching 2019 levels, back when things were “normal.” But as some trends such as hybrid work persist and business travel demand remains below where it was pre-pandemic, hoteliers have started to consider what “normal” looks like in 2023.
Whether this newfound bleisure travel is a short-term trend or not is yet to be determined, Jennifer Driscoll said. “Is it the new normal or is it not? But that’s the [point]; I don’t know if we know what normal looks like anymore. It’s ever-changing,” she said.

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NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Group travel demand has been on a steady path toward recovery over the past few years, but hotel revenue-management experts are starting to see some softness in performance, leading to some concerns about the future of the segment. In a round table hosted at the Hotel Data Conference, Jennifer Driscoll, vice president of revenue management at McNeill Hotel Company, said there have been fewer group booking leads recently, and to make matters even more strenuous for hotels, the expectations are rising.
“They’re starting to get much more aggressive with their asks. The rebates, the commissions, the concessions — all that kind of stuff is getting back to pre-pandemic, which then doesn’t help the bottom line,” she said. “You get a little bit of softness in the group leads that are coming, but now it’s going to be more costly for you to bring that business into the hotel.”
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It’s here: The List, HOTELS’ global survey of the top hotel companies in the world, ranked by total number of rooms in operation, as of December 31, 2022.

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Travis Murray is quoted for this article in Hotel Managment on the topic of Risk Management. Click to learn more about the role Training plays in mitigating risk.

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McNeill Hotel Company is listed among the Top 50 Hotel Management Companies in Lodging Magazine for 2023. Click the link to view the article.

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Valerie Bolton and Deanne Frame co-authored this article for Hotel Executive. They explore the lessons learned through the pandemic and evolution of Human Resource Management in recent years. Here is an excerpt: "With a distinct understanding of our mission of being people serving people, we were positioned well to build trust and cohesiveness between Human Resources and Operations. This allowed us to be more prepared and nimbler in navigating the pandemic." To learn more, click below.

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Valerie Bolton, Executive VP of Human Resources, is quoted in this article for the Wall Street Journal. She shares information about our Career Development program for our hotel employees. Click the links below to learn more.

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Deanne Frame, Director of Human Resources, was interviewed for this article that appeared in Hotel News Now. You can learn more about our recruiting efforts by clicking the links below.

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Kim Knop, VP of Sales and Marketing, is quoted for this article in Hotel News Now. Click to learn more about the relationship between hotels and meeting planners.

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Chris Ropko has faced two monumental challenges since taking the reigns at McNeill Investment Group: Steer the company through a strategic shift and try to fill the void left in the wake of founder Mark Ricketts' death.

Ropko, CEO of McNeill Investment Group and McNeill Hotel Company, said the shift in investment strategy marks the third iteration of the company since its founding nearly a decade ago by Ricketts and Phillip McNeill, Jr. The transformation was driven in part by a new capital partnership with Almanac Realty Investors.
Click the links below to view the video of the interview with Chris Ropko.
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Chris Ropko is quoted throughout this article for Hotel News Now. 
Ropko said hospitality is a tangible business with the ethos of personally serving another person.

“To extent that we can harness that technology and those advancements, not to act as a surrogate for the people or degrade or diminish the guest experience but to act as a productivity tool for our people — we embrace that wholeheartedly,” he said.

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At McNeill Hotel Company, technology powers a strategy to centralize back-office operations so property-level staff can focus on improving guest satisfaction. Travis Murray shares about the cost saving benefits of going paperless.

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Sussan Harshbarger's latest article appears in Hotel News Now. Excerpt: "At McNeill Hotel Company, we have a sincere interest in and commitment to each individual and her or his potential for career growth with us. Our employees make us a stronger company and allow us to succeed in providing better guest experiences."

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Travis Murray, president of McNeill Hotel Co., said TVs are essential in “activating” a lobby. A great sporting event or a big news story can bring people into the lobby to root for their team or to discuss what’s happening. He added that, increasingly, many guests don’t want to work in their rooms but will come down to the lobby to work.

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This is one of Mark Ricketts final articles that he worked on prior to his passing. He co-authored this with Brent McDowell. In this article, we will review some of these trends, including for select service and extended stay properties; and how cost to build and cost to operate considerations may interact with the less easy to define, but equally valuable goal of crafting a memorable stay for guests.

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It is with profound sorrow that we announce the death of our courageous and most loved leader, Mark Ricketts. Mark passed away on November 2, 2022, after a brave battle with ALS. To those who knew him, as a second-generation hotelier, Mark seemed born to a career in hospitality, with his personal and professional lives driven by a genuine sense of faith and devotion to the service of others...

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Memphis Business Journal shares a profile of Sussan Harshbarger, Chief Legal Officer, McNeill Investment Group. Harshbarger provides comments regarding her background and recent transition to McNeill Investment Group.

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Jennifer Driscoll was interviewed by Bryan Wroten for this article appearing in Hotel News Now. Jennifer shares about the challenges of this year's RFP season and the negotiations with our Corporate Accounts for 2023.

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McNeill Investment Group is listed among the top Multi-Unit Owners and Developers in the latest edition of Hotel Management. Click the link to view the article.

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Read the latest article by Jennifer Driscoll, VP of Revenue Management that we published in Hotel Executive. In this article, as we progress through RFP season, we will discuss some of the other-room strategies that...

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McNeill Investment Group (MIG), formerly McNeill Hotel Investors, has named veteran real estate investment and transaction attorney Sussan P. Harshbarger as a managing director and its new chief legal officer...

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Jennifer Driscoll, VP of Revenue Management, was interviewed for an article for Hotel News Now. The video and text can be viewed online by using the links below...

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McNeill Investment Group appears at number 35 on the list of Owners & Developers in the August 2022 edition of Hotel Business.

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McNeill Investment Group (MIG) has named Travis Murray as the new president of McNeill Hotel Company, a division of newly formed MIG.

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The lodging per diem rate increase is a mixed bag, said Jennifer Driscoll, vice president of revenue management at McNeill Hotel Company. It’s good that the rate increased after two years without increases, she said, but the $2 increase in nightly rates isn’t proportional to the needs of hotels. Labor costs have grown past 25%, and inflation has compounded over the past few years to 16%.
“A 2% increase is very hard, based on what we’re going through right know, and we don’t expect any of that to change into the next year,” she said.

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Mark Ricketts, Chief Culture Officer, McNeill Hotel Company, has been in the hospitality industry for as long as he can remember. Late last year, he was diagnosed with ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Hotel Business spoke with him about his career, the hospitality issues that are important to him and his legacy.

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Travis Murray, President of McNeill Hotel Company, shares some the sustainability efforts of our hotels. He is quoted in Hotel News Now in the article - Corporate Travel Planners Look for Specifics on Hotel Sustainability Efforts. "We know that business travel supports economic growth as it brings people together across national boundaries, and companies want to be able to do this while doing what is right for society and the environment."

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Brent McDowell, VP of Hotel Support was quoted in the latest issue of Hotel Management. Brent shares his thoughts on the current status of Hospitality Construction. 

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McNeill Investment Group (MIG), formerly McNeill Hotel Investors, has named hospitality and commercial real estate veteran Tom Burdi as a managing director and its new COO. With MIG, he will help develop and work with overall corporate and investment strategy, owner relations and fundraising, among other responsibilities.

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McNeill Investment Group (MIG), formerly McNeill Hotel Investors, today announced that CEO Phillip H. McNeill, Jr. will transition to the new position of Executive Chairman of McNeill Investment Group. In that role, he will oversee the Board and provide strategic direction to the company.
Concurrently, Chief Financial Officer Chris Ropko becomes Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer of McNeill Investment Group, with responsibility for the growth and strategic oversight of the company's restructured organization.

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Germantown, TN-based McNeill Investment Group (MIG), formerly McNeill Hotel Investors, has entered into a strategic partnership with Prospect Ridge, a national private equity real estate investor, and Fulcrum Hospitality, a hospitality investment operating partner, advisor and asset manager.

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To grow our organizations at this pivotal time in our industry, everyone must be rowing strongly and in the same direction. This will happen when we respect and understand each other better and welcome and help grow each person’s capabilities. This organizational culture becomes our brand, not based on a logo but a shared, living purpose...

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The hotel manager’s top priority for2022 is balance. A hotel manager seeks balance, not of the scales but the many spinning plates. Hospitality relies on meeting and exceeding guest expectations, achieving the ownership groups’ numbers, actioning brand initiatives, and most importantly maintaining employee morale. The hotel manager will do well to develop this balance with a dedicated focus on average daily rate. Are we priced right? With the right pricing model follows the mix of business. With pricing and mix in check, balance can be achieved.

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Hotel Management published the latest edition of the Top Management Companies for 2021. McNeill Hotel Company is ranked at #37.

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Mark Ricketts latest article explores the complexity of Guest Services and the people who deliver them. In this article, we will consider many of the challenges now faced by hotels of all types as they relate to the delivery of guest services, from extended stay and select service hotels to full service luxury properties; ways in which guests themselves are redefining the hotel stay; and ways in which we can eliminate as much as possible the gap between the full range of services that we must provide guests and the people whom we need and trust to fulfill those requirements.

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McNeill Hotel Company has hired accomplished industry executive Lindsey Chang to serve as the company's Vice President of Acquisitions and Capital Markets. Mark Ricketts, President and Chief Operating Officer, made the announcement.
As VP of Acquisitions and Capital Markets, Lindsey will be leading the company's acquisition efforts and working to raise both debt and equity capital on behalf of McNeill Hotel Company.

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Mark Ricketts and Travis Murray are pleased to announce the new operational management structure of McNeill Hotel Company. Sargis Mnatsakanyan, Matt McAtee, and Jesse Kremer are named as Regional Directors of Operations.

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Kim Knop, VP of Sales & Marketing and Ken Parish, Director of ECommerce and Sales Support co-authored this article.
Today's Internet-driven world of social media in all its forms has become a critical pathway to connecting with guests in today's world of hospitality sales and marketing and guest engagement. The connections may be technology-driven and virtual, but the established relationships and impact are real.

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Jennifer Driscoll is quoted in the article "Hotel Season Performance Lifts Hotel Operators Expectations" that appears on Costar.com. Click the link to learn more about the impact of the Holiday Season and it's impact on the forecast for 2022.

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McNeill Hotel Company is ranked at #44 among Owners & Developers in the Hotel Business Green Book 2022. Mark Ricketts shares insights regarding the success of McNeill Hotel Company during the pandemic. 

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