Built to protect the quality of the advice.

Small by design, independent by rule, and priced for judgment rather than hours.

Cavallo Point, Sausalito
Cavallo Point, Sausalito

Principal-delivered

Mark does the work you engage us for, with no handoff to junior staff.

Capacity by design

No more than four retained mandates at once.

Independent

No management contracts, brokerage commissions or leasing fees.

Priced for judgment

No hourly billing.

Specialist bench

Senior advisors in brands, construction, capital markets and clinical operations, as needed.

Conflicts in writing

Clear rules on board seats and our affiliate, Elmsworth Partners, in every engagement letter. Where Mark holds a directorship, Elmsworth takes no fee from that company.

How we engage

Retained counsel
A standing senior advisor on a twelve-month term.
Special situations
Activism and strategic reviews over three to six months.
Project engagements
Diligence and operator work over four to ten weeks.
Transaction advisory
A retainer credited against a success fee.
Board and interim roles
Set by the company.

Every engagement starts with a confidential conversation. Get in touch

The Lindy, Charleston
The Lindy, Charleston: bought in the 2010 downturn, EBITDA up about 75% by 2019

What the record shows

The advice draws on a repeatable method, applied at DiamondRock for fifteen years across more than $1 billion of capital projects. Every repositioning turned on identifiable levers rather than on market growth.

  1. Brand position

    Moving an asset into a higher-rated collection, or out of a flag that costs more than it brings.

    Margaritaville Key West · The Hythe · Hotel Clio

  2. Capital program

    Rooms, public space, food and beverage, scoped to the earnings case rather than to a design brief.

    The Hythe · The Gwen

  3. Operator and management agreement

    Replacing or renegotiating the operator and aligning its incentives to owner economics.

    The Lodge at Sonoma · The Gwen

  4. Revenue and mix

    Group-to-transient mix, channel cost, resort fees, food and beverage productivity.

    The Lindy · Margaritaville

  5. Basis

    Buying below replacement cost in supply-constrained markets, so that the asset's own earnings growth, not the market, carries the return.

    The Lindy (2010) · The Hythe

  6. The experience itself

    Deciding what the guest or resident should feel, then choosing brand, operator and product to deliver it. The skill that carries from hotels into senior housing and multifamily.

    Margaritaville · The Lodge at Sonoma · The Dagny

The same questions apply whether the owner is deciding to sell, to invest, to change operators or to answer an activist. That is the work Elmsworth Advisors does. The record in full

Results are DiamondRock Hospitality's, achieved under Mark Brugger's leadership, and are not Elmsworth's.