Hotel Managers Springboard and Hotel Equities Are Merging: Exclusive

Typically, in mergers, the bigger fish swallows the smaller one, stamping its quirky innovations into corporate conformity. This deal is attempting something different.

Springboard Hospitality and Hotel Equities have signed a strategic merger agreement, creating a combined entity that will manage more than 250 properties across the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America, the companies told Skift.

The private companies didn't disclose the financial terms of the deal. The deal was signed May 1 and doesn't require regulatory approval.

The deal unites Hotel Equities' focus on branded properties with Springboard's specialty in independent and lifestyle hotels. For now, the company names will remain separate. Ben Rafter, previously CEO of Springboard Hospitality, is now CEO of Hotel Equities and Springboard.

"This wasn't done for synergies," said Rafter. "Unlike many industry consolidations that focus primarily on scale, this merger emphasizes complem