Recently Sold - Comfort Inn & Sleep Inn- Flint, MI

April 2008 - Smith Dean Burgett is pleased to announce that it has facilitated the sale of both a Comfort Inn and a Sleep Inn in Flint Michigan on behalf of Doctor and Mrs. Hina Nundkumar. Located at the Flint Bishop Airport, the properties have two of the best locations in the city; directly on I-75, within new commercial developments and adjacent to 5 nationally known select service restaurant chains. The properties were sold for an undisclosed amount to a midwest developer, and arranged by Ron Burgett and Meril Dean.

"When we hired Smith Dean Burgett, we got a team of professionals that never forgot about us. They made sure the process went very smoothly.  Within days of the listing, we began to get serious offers, and they did all the work.  There were no surprises, and we closed within about 30 days from the date of the accepted purchase agreement. Ron Burgett also cut through the red tape of the re-licensing process, and helped both me and the buyers work easily through the complex transaction." said Doctor and Mrs. Hina Nundkumar, the sellers.

Recently Sold - Amerihost Hotel - Marshall, MI

July 2007 - The Amerihost - Marshall, MI was sold this month to a hotel developer out of the Detroit Area. The 60 room hotel, which was built and opened as a prototype Amerihost a few years ago, will be re-flagged as a Comfort Inn later this year after extensive renovations. Dave Harjung, Director of Franchise Sales for Choice Hotels said," the Marshall, MI property further solidifies our efforts bring more properties in the Mid-Michigan market into the Comfort Inn portfolio." The property was on the market for just over 20 days. Ron Burgett said, "with some aggressive work behind the scene from our corporate office, we were able to find a buyer, and streamline the sales process to close within a very short period of time".

Recently Sold - Holiday Inn Express - Gaylord, MI

June 2007 - After a national search across the country, Smith Dean Burgett secured a buyer for the Holiday Inn Express - Gaylord, MI. The 92 room property is just off I-75, about 45 minutes south of Mackinaw Island. The purchaser, a developer out of California, plans to continue to improve the asset with targeted renovation projects, and by increasing rooms sales throughout the year. This property is the only ICHG hotel in the market, and continues to perform very well in the market. Gary Smith, Smith Dean Burgett's CEO said "we worked hard to get a premium price for this property, as we were well aware of this hotel's revenue capability. By leveraging our national buyer data base with the resources of our financing partners, we were able to put this transaction together."

FORMER CHOICE EXECUTIVE JOINS MICHIGAN BASED BROKERAGE FIRM AS PARTNER

Ron Burgett
Senior Vice President & Partner

November 2006 - Ron Burgett, Senior Vice President, an 18+ year veteran of hotel real estate investment and management, contributes an abundance of development and operations experience to Smith Dean Burgett. Formally his positions included working for public hotel companies such as Choice Hotels International and private management companies and investors of limited and full-service hotels and restaurants. Burgett joined Choice in 1993.

"Burgett’s vast experience in hotel franchising and acquisition made him a great addition to the hospitality brokerage firm of Smith Dean Burgett," said Gary Smith, president and CEO. Mr. Burgett has managed, assisted or personally executed over 1500 franchise transactions, involving independent and franchised hotels, land sites and real estate. He has an excellent transactional track record over the past decade with hotel real estate assets, beginning in the early 90’s in the Midwest, and more recently across the country.

Mr. Burgett’s experience in analyzing and valuing complex multiple transactions matured through executive positions at Choice Hotels International. As Vice President of Development for Choice, he managed US, Canadian, and Caribbean Sales and development efforts for Choice Hotel’s established brands; Comfort Suites, Comfort Inn, Quality Inns & Suites, Clarion Hotel and Suites, Clarion Collection Hotels, Sleep Inn, Mainstay Suites, Suburban Lodge and the economy branded hotels. During his near 13-year tenure at Choice, Ron has received numerous awards and recognition. He is best noted for managing the development team through several record sales years, developing ground up operating procedures, and creating two new brands within the organization. Mr. Burgett also serviced hotels in the Canadian province of Ontario during his tenure at Choice.

Ron has extensive experience in property management; working with the Charlotte, NC based Maxim Management Corporation. He managed district operations in high volume franchised hotels in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Grand Rapids. Restaurant management experience includes managing multiple Cracker Barrel and Max and Erma’s restaurants in the Midwest.

His continued success is attributed to his ability to build strong relationships, and his unwavering determination to exceed the client’s expectations.

Mr. Burgett received his Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University in 1987, and received his Certified Hotel Administration (CHA) designation in 1990.

Michigan Hotel Brokers Earns Top Hotel Real Estate Sales Performance Awards

February 2000 - Sales achievements in hotel real estate brokerage during 1999 were saluted by HMBA: America’s Hotel Broker during the organization’s annual awards banquet held January 17 at the Treasure Island Adventure Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada.

GARY L. SMITH, CHB, President of Michigan Hotel Brokers, Traverse City, Michigan was awarded TOP BROKER by HMBA for the North Central region of the country.

MERIL J. DEAN, CHB, Vice-President of Michigan Hotel Brokers, Ann Arbor, Michigan was awarded TOP SALESPERSON by HMBA for the North Central region of the country.