A longtime management company specializing in property management, including homeowners associations and resort accommodations, has added three Colorado properties to its $6 billion portfolio.
East West Hospitality, based in Avon, has been selected to manage three new properties in Silverthorne. Company representatives said the additions come as business continues to grow. After an initial shutdown early in the pandemic in 2020, they said business has boomed as people headed to the mountains to get out and do something.
The three new properties, all in Summit County, are Fourth Street Crossing, Summit Blue and Aidan on the Blue. Fourth Street Crossing is a mix of condominiums and townhomes in Silverthorne near the Blue Bird Market Hall, which has restaurants and shops.
Summit Blue is a development of townhomes and single-family homes on the banks of the Blue River, a Gold Medal fishery. Aidan Blue, a condominium development, also has access to the Blue River and other outdoor recreation.
Peter Dann, managing partner and executive vice president of East West Hospitality, said the company is looking at adding two other properties in the area over the next 16 months or so.
“Now we’ve got our eye on Summit County, to expand our portfolio and make sure we’re also diversifying it,” Dann said.
East West Hospitality started in Beaver Creek in 1986 with three employees, said Colleen Weiss-Hanen, president and CEO. The company was formed to manage the buildings that its sister company, East West Partners, was developing.
East West Hospitality now has 1,500 employees and operates in four states, Weiss-Hanen said. The company manages a total of 110 homeowners associations and 7,000 units in Colorado; Tahoe, Calif; Charleston, S.C.; and the island of Hawaii.
The company’s suite of services includes managing retail businesses, spa and fitness centers, taking care of private residences and offering vacation rental programs. Dann said East West rarely manages vacation rentals in buildings it doesn’t manage.
“We’re on-site. We’re available to you as a homeowner or a guest,” Weiss-Hanen said. “We have a massive engineering and maintenance team on-site.”
When the COVID-19 outbreak first hit and skiing, restaurants and other businesses were closed or faced restrictions, East West was facing an uncertain future like everyone else. Weiss-Hanen said the company furloughed about 400 employees. The economic fallout in mountain communities was swift because of the dependence on tourism.
Business then “went crazy” around June 2020 as people took time off, spent more time outdoors and started working remotely, Weiss-Hanen said. “We were fortunate to be able to hire our staff back and make them whole.”
Dann said East West marketed longer-term vacation rentals. “We tried to get people to stay a month or two. The issue during COVID was the coming and going.”
