After one of Takach’s partners backed out of the Northwest projects for personal reasons, local partners stepped in and suggested he buy into the hotels and start a management and development company on his own. That was 17 years ago.
“During [these 17 years], we have either built from the ground up, purchased or managed third parties in some form for almost 35 hotels,” said Takach. “We have survived two major downturns and continue to look optimistically ahead.”
Suite success
Homewood Suites by Hilton, Vancouver-Portland, is one of Tackach’s most successful projects and holds an outstanding score record within Hilton’s hotels. A Hilton inspector shows up every six months unannounced and thoroughly inspects the hotel in regard to cleanliness and brand standards. In addition to this inspection, hotel guests fill out surveys.
“To achieve an outstanding score, not only does the inspector have to write you up as outstanding, but your guests have to give you a score of a certain service level to achieve that score,” explained Takach. “This hotel has had 28 straight outstanding inspections.”
Above all else, Takach attributed the success of Homewood Suites to its staff. Additionally, he said the company continually reinvests in the property.
“We also measure our performance versus our competitor set,” Takach continued. “For years, we have been the number one hotel for revenue performance in this market per room of any hotel in Vancouver. I don’t think many people realize how successful it is. We are very proud of this hotel and what it represents in this community.”
Building for the future
Currently, Vesta is in the process of building a small hotel at SE 192nd Avenue and 20th Street with approximately 85 units.
“We looked at it as a good long-term plan,” explained Takach. “It’s close to [Highway] 14, I-205 and the airport. There were a lot of support services, like restaurants, that we thought would be advantageous for guests staying there.”
In addition to growing the company’s presence in Southwest Washington, Takach recently hired Mike Cryan, owner of Lighthouse Lodging Group, to serve as chief investment officer. Lighthouse’s pipeline of hotels (located mostly in California) is now owned by Vesta.
Furthermore, Takach said he is now putting together a hotel investment fund for future acquisitions.
“We are pretty excited about the growth,” he said. “We are focused on assets we think will be profitable in key major markets. We have a team of people looking for projects. We are matching that up with the equity sources we now have in place. That, with the money we’re raising, should allow us to, we hope, grow at least two to four hotels a year over the next few years.”
Vesta Hospitality
Founded 1996
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