Editor’s Note: Randy Hendrickson, the CEO of Westlake Village, Calif.-based United Park Brokers, revealed through a letter on Wednesday (Aug. 10) that the company was now going to be known as The Intrepid Group, while also unveiling a newly rebranded website at www.theintrepidgroup.com. WOODALLSCM.com is sharing his full letter below, with permission, that details why the change is occurring.
We are very excited to share that United Park Brokers is now The Intrepid Group, and we couldn’t be more energized about this. United Park Brokers enjoys a great reputation in the outdoor hospitality world, leveraging decades of industry experience via many friends and colleagues with whom we have worked and become well-acquainted. We have brought to fruition a significant number of transactions and earned a reputation for being very good at what we do, but as the industry evolves, we felt it was important to chart a new direction with a unique perspective and focus.
Outdoor hospitality has been our bread and butter for a very long time, and it always will be. But as outdoor hospitality grows to encompass other complementary asset classes in the broader experiential hospitality world, our focus has grown to encompass not only outdoor hospitality assets but also glamping, hotel/motel and marinas, and of course, our favorite: hybrid properties.
We believe there is a significant opportunity available to investors seeking crossover hospitality products that may include combinations of motel and RV, glamping and marina, and indeed any and all of these either separately or in concert with one another. We further believe there is much that each asset class can learn from, and bring to, one another. Hotel best practices and revenue management strategies marry well to outdoor hospitality, for example. We believe it is needed and that it is inevitable. It’s happening now.
We further believe that formerly stagnant marina properties have suffered a shortage of experiential drivers, in guest experience and revenue, and that there is a better way of introducing these elements and better technology to produce much higher levels of operation and customer allegiance.
Randy Hendrickson
These are just a few of the many things we are working on and have been working on for quite some time. Because we do not want to operate in a theoretical vacuum, we have reached out to respected individuals and companies to test the theories. The fun part about this process is round-tabling ideas with respected industry leaders and learning from one another, with one another, and arriving at this or that thesis that makes sense. The conclusion from all these discussions has been largely predictive of a common theme: Creativity in a hybrid approach to experiential hospitality is sound from an investment thesis, but also from a guest experience perspective. By being guest-first in best practices about providing the best and most diverse experience with a value in excess of money spent, arguably the industry as a whole is elevated, the consumer benefits and the rewards are such that investors will continue to be committed to prudent investments in this space to continue to meet high guest expectations.
We consider ourselves to be extremely lucky to do what we do, because we see The Intrepid Group as not just what we do, but also what others do as well. We align with significant individuals and companies, each to their expertise, to provide collectively what no one company can provide alone. Yes, we provide brokerage and consulting services as our core, but that is not our limit. We consider ourselves part of ‘your team’ to find the right solutions for you, your objectives and your success plan. Whether you need software, marketing, management, feasibility, construction, branding, lender resources, entitlement work or just about anything related to ‘all things experiential,’ if we don’t already provide those services, we will proudly refer you to one of our trusted partners who is an expert in that particular field.
Relationships matter, and it is a privilege to provide the best direction at every turn whether it is us or someone better suited.
You’ll be hearing more from us soon as we share thoughts and updates as this incredible industry evolves. We believe the industry will be evolving, for the better, much more in the next three years than it has in the previous 25 and we can’t wait to see what the next day brings!
Please visit our rebranded website to learn more about what we are doing, and the team at The Intrepid Group looks forward to working with you, and for you, on all the great things we can do together!
— Randy Hendrickson, Randy@TheIntrepidGroup.com
