(Crystal Proenza is associate editor of Real EstateFlorida.)

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-The Providence Group LLC, a full-service hospitality management company based in Duxbury, MA, has opened its first satellite office here in order to expand its services in Central and Southeast Florida. The new office, located at 401 East Las Olas Blvd., will seek to provide a full menu of management services to small and mid-size hotels, including finance, marketing, sales, operations, construction projects and renovations.

"The local office will give us easier access to the Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Miami and West Palm Beach areas, which are prime locations for small- to mid-size hotels," says Jed C. Heller, Providence Group founder and president. "It is a very competitive market, and based on our past success with these size properties, hotel owners can take advantage of our management experience and benefit from our ability to increase property rates and occupancies in a very short time."

Heller, a 30-year industry veteran, launched the company in 2005 to offer hospitality and general management services to hotels, time-share resorts and condominiums in the US and overseas. Heller has now decided to focus only on small to mid-size hotels, typically between 75 and 150 rooms, according to a Providence Group spokesperson. The group currently manages one property in Florida, the Sandhurst Hotel in Fort Pierce.