Provenance Hotels (Provenance) and affiliates of Gencom, a leading domestic and international investment and development firm, today announced the formation of a special purpose hospitality venture, GenPro. As part of the venture, Provenance will contribute various hotels it owns throughout the United States, along with cash, and the Gencom affiliate will contribute cash. Jointly led by Provenance’s Founder and Chairman, Gordon Sondland, and Gencom Founder, Karim Alibhai, the venture will seek to expand through future acquisitions and/or redevelopment opportunities.

GenPro’s hotel assets will be managed by Benchmark Pyramid. Alibhai currently sits on the Board of Benchmark Pyramid, and Sondland will also join the Board upon the close of Benchmark Pyramid’s acquisition of Provenance, which is expected in the second quarter of 2022.

Sondland said, “We are excited to team up with Gencom and its affiliates, one of the nation's leading hospitality investment and development firms, to launch a large and growing hotel real estate venture, GenPro. The Gencom team brings an entrepreneurial approach and attention to detail and has long been known for its work in the hospitality sector both in management platforms and ownership of hotels across all brands. With my nearly four decades of experience in the hotel industry and the friendships I developed during my tenure as U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, I look forward to sourcing opportunities for GenPro to grow both domestically and internationally.”

“We are thrilled to launch GenPro with Gordon and his team, and we look forward to growing its attractive portfolio of properties through compelling organic and inorganic opportunities,” said Alibhai. “We remain bullish on market trends in hospitality and are confident that GenPro will deliver long-term value to its stakeholders.”

GenPro’s initial portfolio of properties includes the downtown Seattle, Washington—Hotel Max; the boutique Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery, situated just blocks from New Orleans, Louisiana’s French Quarter; downtown Nashville, Tennessee’s newly renovated Hotel Preston; the museum-worthy collection of glass art at Hotel Murano in the South Sound;and four downtown Portland, Oregon hotels: the Hollywood golden age-style Hotel Deluxe in the Goose Hollow neighborhood, Sentinel in the West End, Hotel Lucia, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the art-filled rooms of Dossier.

About Gencom

Founded in 1987 by Karim Alibhai, Gencom is one of the nation’s leading domestic and international investment and development firms specializing in hospitality with further emphasis on the luxury, mixed-use sector as well as related operating platform investments. Headquartered in Miami, Gencom is fully-integrated and highly diversified, with expertise in virtually every aspect of development, acquisition, financing, asset management and sales of hospitality properties. Gencom has had success not only in developing, purchasing and exiting single assets and hotel portfolios, it also has been successful in creating, purchasing and growing hospitality platform investments, throughout the United States, Caribbean and Europe, including Gencom American Hospitality, Summerfield Suites, Carnival Resorts and Interstate Hotels. Gencom companies’ successful track record has led to significant ventures with prominent institutional investors, prominent family groups and other strategic partners both domestically and internationally. For more information about Gencom, please visit www.gencomgrp.com.

About Provenance Hotels

Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Provenance Hotels owns, develops and manages market-leading independent hotels. Imbued with intentional, deeply integrated art stories, these Conde Nast Reader"s Choice Award-winning hotels showcase trend-setting amenities, creative collaborations with local co-conspirators and innovative food & beverage operations while focusing on operational efficiency and profitability. The portfolio includes 12 properties totaling nearly 2,000 keys. The Company can be found online at www.provenancehotels.com.