CHICAGO—Waterton Associates LLC has decided to combine its wholly owned apartment and hotel management subsidiaries, Waterton Residential and Ultima Hospitality. Effective immediately, Waterton Associates and the two subsidiaries will operate as a single entity, Waterton, a move that illustrates just how close the multifamily and hospitality sectors have become these days.

"Apartment residents have begun to demand higher levels of service," Waterton chief executive officer and co-chairman David Schwartz tells GlobeSt.com. "They increasingly look for better technology, package delivery services, valet services, concierges, and great fitness centers. "And all of these things have been part of the hospitality industry for a long time."

Schwartz co-founded the Chicago-based real estate investor and operator with Peter Vilim in 1995, and says that in recent years apartment operators looking to upgrade customer services have found it beneficial to recruit employees from the hospitality side. By combining its operations, Waterton can "cross-polinate talent and recruitment." This will also help on the construction side when the company repositions an apartment community, since much of the best design talent works within the hospitality sector, where operators typically have extensive, and high-traffic, common areas that need frequent renovations.