A Texas hospitality company continued its move into the Pacific Northwest on Monday, announcing its purchase of Provenance Hotels, the boutique chain based in Portland.
Benchmark Pyramid said it hopes to close the deal by the second quarter of this year. Gordon Sondland, founder of Provenance, will join the Benchmark Pyramid board of directors.
“This transaction is an exciting step forward for Provenance, our employees and our guests,” said Provenance CEO Katherine Durant. “As part of Benchmark Pyramid, Provenance employees will gain access to even greater employment opportunities, and our guests will benefit from the resources of a larger organization with a global portfolio of properties.”
Benchmark Pyramid announced earlier this month it had taken over management of the g the Riverhouse on the Deschutes, a prominent hotel in Bend. Benchmark also owns Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington, in the Columbia Gorge.
Benchmark Pyramid was formed in 2021 by the merger of Benchmark Global Hospitality and Pyramid Hotel Group, both owners of numerous hotels and resorts. It now has 240 properties in the U.S., Europe and the Caribbean.
Provenance has 12 hotels.
Terms of the deal were not announced.
It’s been a monumental couple of years for Durant and Sondland, who were married for 29 years. He was named U.S. ambassador to the European Union, a move that put him in the middle of international intrigue and the impeachment of former President Donald Trump.
Then the pandemic struck, crushing the hospitality industry. Provenance’s business plummeted, and it shuttered several of its hotels.
Sondland and Durant divorced but continued to work together. Durant took the CEO role.
Now, they’ve sold the family company. The extent of their role in Benchmark Pyramid, beyond Sondland’s role on the company’s board, is unclear.
“We are confident that Benchmark Pyramid shares our employee-oriented culture and values, and we look forward to a bright future for our combined company,” Durant said in a written statement.
— Jeff Manning