New Hospitality Firm Comes to Market

Real estate, media, and marketing veteran Nelson Famadas and hospitality professional Sean Christie have joined forces to form Carver Road Hospitality. The new company plans to invest in, develop, and operate lifestyle hotels, restaurants, lounges, and other hospitality concepts.

Headquartered in Las Vegas, with offices in Miami, Carver Road Hospitality will focus on creating experiences that offer outstanding customer service in “highly curated environments,” according to an announcement of the new firm. It already is in the final stages of several deals, both in the US and overseas. 

Famadas has a background in deal sourcing, due diligence, financing and asset management in hospitality, office and residential projects, with over $600 million in projects managed or developed. He most recently owned an experiential marketing agency in Miami and managed $150 million in real assets for a family office. 

Christie hails from MGM Resorts International, where he served as president, events and nightlife. Previously, he held the roles of EVP, business development, Wynn Resorts as well as COO and VP, operations, Wynn Las Vegas,

“Our aim is to partner with world-class brands and properties to deliver discerning guests a unique hospitality experience,” said Famadas, Carver Road Hospitality’s COO. ”Despite recent headwinds, our like-minded executive team recognizes that the industry is resilient and the future looks promising as the customer spend returns in 2021.”

The headwinds of the pandemic have struck hotels particularly hard as individual travel and group business have gone nearly extinct. However, industry research supports Famadas’ assertion about the industry’s future. 

Business at hotels has been increasing every month since April, according to a Placer.ai report. The average decline in stays in July was over 42% but, in August, that number across four major chains fell to 35.8%.

The data also showed that the amount of business lost by some chains lessened in August, which Placer.ai said speaks “volumes for the pent-up consumer demand for travel.”