Hotel Rep. Firm Adds Ownership Arm

Leading Hotels of the World today announced it is entering the hotel acquisition business by establishing the Leading Trust, a real estate investment vehicle. The move further blurs the lines among suppliers of services to the lodging industry.

Travel buyers who have worked with New York-based Leading Hotels in its longtime role as a representation firm now will want to factor in whether the firm holds an ownership stake in properties it is recommending. Similarly, buyers more recently have worked with Leading as a clearing house for requests for proposals they wished to receive from any of Leading's 400 members, many of which are located in international markets. These services now also may be colored by Leading's new role.

"The acquisition of hotels by the trust is the culmination of a five-year business plan for us to evolve from hotel representation to a full-service provider of products and services to the luxury hotel sector," said Leading Hotels president Paul McManus.

Further complicating matters, management contracts for hotels the trust acquires will be awarded to management firms with hotels Leading already represents to buyers. Leading's partner in the trust is New York-based Trinity Hotel Investors.