AHC Hospitality Management Release

Parkland Properties of Michigan and AHC Hospitality announce their management of the VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center, Delta Hotels by Marriott, Shoreline Inn & Conference Center, Terrace Point Marina, Lake House Waterfront Grille, Walker’s an American Brasserie, and the Lake Effect Bistro in Muskegon.

AHC Hospitality is the operator of several landmark hotel and restaurant properties in Michigan including the Amway Grand Plaza, JW Marriott Grand Rapids, Courtyard by Marriott Grand Rapids Downtown, the Ada Hotel (opening 2024), AC Hotel by Marriott Grand Rapids, Hyatt Place Grand Rapids/Downtown, the DoubleTree Port Huron, Ruth Chris Steak House, The Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck, MDRD, Rendezvous, IDC and Freighters.

AHC Hospitality is also the exclusive concessionaire/caterer for the DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids, which is the largest convention center in West Michigan.

“We are excited about the opportunity to add these staple properties to our managed portfolio and to grow our AHC Hospitality brand in the Muskegon market,” stated George Aquino, Vice President / Managing Director of AHC Hospitality.

“AHC Hospitality is well known and respected for their unique and quality hospitality experiences,” said Rory Charron, Director of Operations and Real Estate for Parkland Properties. “With the growth of our organization in recent years, it made sense for us to collaborate with a proven and leading hospitality management company that could support our team, and continue to implement and expand upon our goals for Muskegon.”

There is no sale involved with AHC Hospitality’s management of Parkland’s hospitality portfolio.

Parkland Properties committed in the last 14-months to undertaking two large, transformational projects in Muskegon at the former Shaw Walker Furniture Company and the former paper mill site known as Windward Pointe. Both projects are scheduled to begin in 2024. The addition of these two projects, plus the growth of Parkland’s hospitality division with the addition of the VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center (opened in 2021), prompted Parkland to engage a third-party manager to support their hospitality operations.

As Charron elaborated, “We have a great team that cares about their community. The engagement of AHC Hospitality will allow us to reallocate resources toward our new development projects while at the same time continuing to grow our hospitality footprint in Muskegon.”

AHC Hospitality has been an important part of the growth of downtown Grand Rapids. As a company, they have worked with community leaders and stakeholders to create a core and vibrant downtown Hotel District with restaurants and amenities that heightened visitor experiences and propelled tourism to the area. Grand Rapids has experienced decades of growing tourism including all-time record highs for visitors in the last two years. Kent County – where Grand Rapids is located – was also ranked among the fastest growing counties in Michigan in the last decade. Both of these trends are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

“We often say that everything starts with a visit,” stated Rick Winn, President of AHC Hospitality. “Someone visiting an area may lead to finding a job there, living and investing there, or encouraging someone else to visit the area. That’s what starts the snowball effect of people helping to grow an area.”

Parkland Properties has been operating in Muskegon since 2009 when it acquired and turned-around the 140-room Shoreline Inn & Conference Center. Since 2010, the hotel has been named the Best Area Hotel by TripAdvisor and received the Travelers Choice Award. Parkland also renovated and rebranded the adjacent restaurant into Lake House Waterfront Grille, which has been the host of celebrities, named a Top 10 Waterfront Restaurant in Michigan by MLive, and become a staple for the West Michigan community.

In 2013, Parkland acquired the neighboring 200-room Holiday Inn Muskegon and in 2019, performed a $9 million conversion of the hotel to a Delta Hotel by Marriott. Parkland also was the private component of the public-private-partnership with the City and County of Muskegon that built the 55,000 square foot VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center with over 35,000 square feet of meeting space. The convention center’s construction was funded by an additional tax that Parkland agreed to place on its downtown hotels.

Parkland Properties and AHC Hospitality believe the growth of tourism in Grand Rapids and Muskegon are important drivers in the continued growth of West Michigan. They also believe the collaboration between the largest hospitality operator in Grand Rapids and the largest operator on the lakeshore, plus the addition of the VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center to AHC Hospitality’s management portfolio, will create long term benefits to the Muskegon and West Michigan region.

These sentiments are shared by the community.

“The engagement of AHC Hospitality will bring a new level of expertise and sophistication to Muskegon’s expanding tourism and hospitality sector,” said Bob Lukens, Director of Visit Muskegon, the county’s destination marketing organization. “Adding Parkland’s lodging and restaurant properties and the VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center to AHC Hospitality’s portfolio of managed hospitality assets will aid in Muskegon’s continuing development as a premier lakeshore destination.”

“Bringing the expertise of AHC Hospitality to the Muskegon waterfront is a big win for our community,” stated Cindy Larsen, President of the Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce. “At the same time, our waterfront will significantly strengthen AHC Hospitality’s managed property portfolio. This is a win-win opportunity for West Michigan!”

“The new partnership between Parkland Properties and AHC Hospitality is yet another great indicator of our city’s development progress. Parkland has been an ally to that growth every step of the way and AHC Hospitality brings a wealth of experienced talent into their new venture in downtown Muskegon. We at City Hall are excited to welcome them to our community,” Jake Eckholm, Director of Development Services at the City of Muskegon.

“Our company focus is on efforts that support and positively impact the communities where we invest,” explained Jon Rooks, President of Parkland Properties. “It was important to us to work with a hospitality partner that is both people and community-oriented, and that understands the impact of tourism on our local economy.”

Rooks added, “AHC Hospitality has been an integral part of the transformation of downtown Grand Rapids. They were the logical partner to support Parkland’s hospitality work in downtown Muskegon as we collectively pursue making West Michigan even more of a world-class region.”

For questions on this release, please contact:
Parkland Properties of Michigan – info@parklandmi.com