This is the fifth in a five-part series on NH's top family-owned businesses.
From left: Timothy Ford, Bruce Ford, JP Ford, Julie Bailey and Patrick Ford.
Patrick Ford has spent his entire career in the hotel industry, managing hotels across the country before venturing out on his own in 1977 to start a hotel brokerage firm. With the leadership of Ford and his three sons, JP, Bruce and Timothy, New England Hotel Realty has grown and prompted the family to launch Lodging Econometrics in the mid-90s, a Portsmouth-based consulting firm providing global real estate market data to domestic and international clients. (Patrick Ford’s daughter, Julie, joined the firm’s board of directors in 2016.)
“Our customized Real Estate Intelligence Programs identify every new business opportunity in any country or market that our clients are targeting and provide decision maker contacts for each project,” says Patrick Ford, CEO. “This translates to a real competitive advantage for our clients.”
The second-generation family business isn’t just impressing clients. Lodging Econometrics was named 2017 Family Business of the Year by the Center for Family Business at the University of NH.
Bruce Ford, senior VP and director of global business development, says the firms continue to evolve. The Ford brothers credits the companies’ continuing success to long-term client relationships, high-quality research and new technology that more quickly delivers information to clients.
“We’re able to match potential buyers interested in a particular market,” says Timothy Ford, executive VP and COO. “[Our clients] always have a growth plan and need intelligence and tools to keep growing.”
He adds that the hotel market remains strong, explaining there are about 600,000 rooms being developed in the United States alone. “We’re in a hotel development up cycle,” says JP Ford, senior VP and director of business development. “There is tremendous need in the marketplace for the information we have.”
However, the need to sell hotels and have marketplace insight means there is business no matter the economic cycle. JP says the firm has relationships with lenders that turn to the firm to help sell foreclosed hotels.
“We know who all the buyers are in up cycles and down cycles to get the maximum value we can for owners in any market situation,” JP says.
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Current Issue - April 2024