New Owners Grow AvenueWest Denver Managed Corporate Housing Franchise; Growth on New Franchisees’ Minds

Since 2001, Angela Healy worked for AvenueWest Corporate Housing in Denver – helping founders, Kimberly and Eric Smith, manage their financials and run the day-to-day operations. Angela was pivotal in helping AvenueWest grow and find success over the years – including early on in the business when the company took a financial hit in the failing economy. Over the years, Angela helped the Smiths create the AvenueWest Managed Corporate Housing Franchise model and even assisted with the on-boarding of the franchisee team in Colorado Springs.

Along the way, Angela learned that Kimberly and Eric’s long-term plans were to eventually franchise the Denver market.

“When I told Tim [my husband] that AvenueWest Denver was available for purchase as a franchise, he said, ‘Have you ever thought of us buying Denver?’ I’d been working in the business for so long that it made sense that I would be the perfect successor,” says Angela. “The best part was that my husband had always wanted to own a business – so it was truly the right fit for us to do together.”

Kimberly says that Angela was a natural fit to take over the business given her experience and deep corporate housing knowledge.

“Between her strong corporate housing background experience and Tim’s impressive business acumen and entrepreneurial desires, Eric and I knew they were the right team to take over the Denver market,” says Kimberly.

AvenueWest Denver Changes Hands

 In 2010, the Healys officially purchased the AvenueWest Denver franchise, thus beginning their journey as corporate housing entrepreneurs.

After taking over AvenueWest Denver, the Healys became iron-focused on their mission: To match those seeking corporate housing in Denver with those offering furnished, short-term rental properties.

“We are lucky to live in Denver as we get to cater to a variety of people in need of corporate housing, from business professionals and traveling consultants to relocating employees, traveling healthcare professionals, on-assignment military personnel, traveling theater companies and more,” says Tim.

The State of Denver’s Corporate Housing Market

Angela and Tim add that Denver is traditionally a high-demand market for corporate housing, and they don’t see that changing anytime soon.

“While we are currently seeing a lot of clients sell their properties because it’s a hot seller’s market, at the same time we are adding new clients who are looking for a competitive advantage when it comes to managing and marketing their unique furnished properties available for rent,” says Angela.

One of the ways Angela and Tim say they maintain steady inventory throughout market fluctuations is by offering great customer service, competitive pricing, unique properties, and win-win partnerships with those who own properties in desirable locations.

“We manage about 30 properties in The Spire (891 14^th St. Denver), an upscale condo community in downtown Denver that offers panoramic views of the city and resort-style amenities. We are able to offer these properties to discerning individuals and groups who want to experience Denver’s culture and vibrant downtown scene while traveling to the Mile High City,” says Tim.

Steep Learning Curve

While Tim had little corporate housing experience when he took over AvenueWest Denver in 2011, he says he has since undergone a steep learning curve.

“At first corporate housing was like speaking a foreign language,” he says, “But today it feels like a natural progression in my career and offers me the flexibility I desire to balance my family-life with my professional-life.”

Above all, Tim says that having AvenueWest as the backdrop of their franchise gives them the name recognition and instant trust in the industry.

“Partnering with an award-winning, well-respected name in corporate housing not only brings us high quality referrals, but also helps us solidify relationships with new prospects who have come to know and trust the AvenueWest brand for more than a decade,” says Tim.

AvenueWest Global Franchise Awarded Top Real Estate Investment Award

Denver, CO – May 20, 2014 – AvenueWest Global Franchise, a leader in the corporate housing industry announced today that they were recognized in Personal Real Estate Investor Magazine’s Annual Top 50 Real Estate Investment Opinion Makers and Market Leaders Awards.

“Personal Real Estate Investor Magazine/PREI as a leading publication for individual real estate investors has a role to identify individuals and service providers who are helping move our industry forward,” stated the PREI editors.

AvenueWest Global Franchise has been awarded for the second year in a row the Top 50 Real Estate Investment Opinion Makers & Market Leaders Award from the Personal Real Estate Investor Magazine. 🙂

“This is our second year on the list,” commented Kimberly Smith, the CEO of AvenueWest Global Franchise. “We are honored to join this group of respected industry leaders that are working to establish individual residential investment real estate as a reputable and sound investment opportunity.”

We are looking forward to continued help and service for the individual real estate investor. If you are an investor looking for a full service property management company to manage your portfolio of investment real estate, we are located in Atlanta, GA, Boston, MA, Colorado Springs, CO, Denver, CO, Dallas, TX, Fort Collins, CO & Northern Colorado, Phoenix, AZ, and San Francisco, CA. We can match your property with qualified business travelers, corporate housing clients, individuals, insurance claims, athletes, etc. Contact any of our eight locally owned and operated full property management offices that offer fully furnished residential properties.

 

AvenueWest Corporate Housing Celebrates 15th Anniversary

AvenueWest Corporate Housing, Inc., founded in April of 1999, celebrates their 15th anniversary this year! 🙂

This Colorado business shows staying power by finding solutions for customers in the economic and housing market’s ups and downs.

DENVER, May 1st, 2014 – AvenueWest Corporate Housing, Inc., started as a small real estate management company but quickly grew to the largest provider of corporate housing rentals in Colorado, added a spin-off of Corporate Housing by Owner and is now the foundation for the national expansion of AvenueWest Global Franchise. This month AvenueWest Corporate Housing is celebrating its 15^th anniversary of doing business and providing solutions for property owners, corporate travelers and business owners alike.

In 1999 Kimberly Smith along with her business partner and husband, Eric, founded AvenueWest Corporate Housing, Inc. Which went on to become a multi-million dollar company providing furnished corporate housing and property management services to upscale business travelers. A recognized leader in the industry, AvenueWest was awarded the Corporate Housing Providers Association’s (CHPA) prestigious 2010 Provider Company of the Year Award and listed for 3 consecutive years on Inc Magazine’s Inc 5000 list featuring the country’s fastest growing businesses.

Kimberly Smith states that there are two secrets to the company’s success. First, they work hard to run AvenueWest as a team and develop a place where their employees enjoy coming to work, take pride in what they do and create lasting solutions for the tasks at hand.

Secondly, Smith adds, that they believe in doing business the old-fashioned way, person-to-person with high standards for customer service. “We are able to offer relocated or traveling professionals more than just a temporary place to call home; we also help them get to know and love their new city like we do. So many of our customers come back to us time and time again because they know they can depend on us for reliable information about the city they are relocating to.”

Kimberly and Eric Smith are passionate about people and finding solutions. They believe real estate investors will continue to invest and need the right support teams to protect those investments. “2014 is the year of the real estate investor,” the Smith’s say. “We’re not just interested in running a website or a property management business. What we’re doing is much bigger. We’re educating and developing sustainable systems and residual income. We see today as a time that real estate investment can and should be as accessible as trading stocks.”

Alpha Books, a division of the Penguin Group agrees. The publisher, knowing the real estate landscape had shifted and seeing a need for investment property guidance, recently hired Kimberly Smith to write and share her hard-earned knowledge with the rest of the world and so was born, The Idiot’s Guides: Making Money with Rental Properties. “It’s not good enough to shout from the roof tops that corporate housing is a fantastic venture, we have to show investors how and why in 2014.”

Kimberly Smith continues to lead in the corporate housing industry and served as the 2011 Chairman of the Board of Directors for CHPA, the primary trade organization for the corporate housing industry. Kimberly has been nationally recognized for her business success and her philanthropic endeavors and is frequently featured in media sources like The NY Times, The LA Times, The Denver Post, US News & World Report, MSNBC.com, CNBC and SmartMoney.com.  She was awarded the 2013 Denver Business Journal’s Outstanding Women in Business award for real estate, small business finalist in 2010, a finalist in the prestigious Power Book special section of The Denver Business Journal, a feature in Denver Woman magazine as an outstanding business woman and mother. In 2009 she was selected to join The Denver Business Journal’s elite class of 40 under 40 and in 2010 and was recognized by CoBiz Magazine as a top 5 GenXYZ leader.

About AvenueWest Corporate Housing, Inc.

AvenueWest Corporate Housing, Inc. was found in 1999 by husband and wife team, Kimberly and Eric Smith. Kimberly and Eric began their corporate housing careers in 1994 providing corporate housing to the San Francisco market before relocating to Denver and starting AvenueWest. More information can be found at www.AvenueWest.com.

About AvenueWest Global Franchise:

Established in 2010, AvenueWest Global Franchise grew from the desire to expand the business opportunity and corporate housing excellence achieved through the AvenueWest Corporate Housing Managed Corporate Housing program that was founded in 1999. Currently AvenueWest Global Franchise has 8 offices located in Atlanta GA, Boston MA, Colorado Springs CO, Dallas TX, Denver CO, Fort Collins CO, Phoenix AZ, and San Francisco CA. For franchise information and opportunities go to: www.AvenueWestFranchise.com.

About CorporateHousingByOwner.com (CHBO):

CorporateHousingbyOwner.com was founded in 2006 out of a need to connect private homeowners and real estate investors offering furnished, short-term rentals with corporate housing seekers such as traveling executives, relocated professionals, traveling nurses, actors, athletes and more. The company gives individual homeowners and investors tools to manage a corporate housing property themselves as well as helps them market their property to a mass audience turning to corporate housing to fulfill their housing needs. More information is available at: www.CorporateHousingbyOwner.com.

Don’t Miss This CHPA Networking Event if You are in the Phoenix Metro Area!

If you are in the Phoenix Metro Area and are a Corporate Housing Provider or a vendor affiliated with the industry, then you do not want to miss out on this local networking event today, May 7th.

Welcome AvenueWest Atlanta!

Our newest location officially opened November 21, 2013: AvenueWest Atlanta located at 5905 Atlanta Highway, Suite 101. AvenueWest Atlanta connects private landlords with business travelers, or relocated families in need of full service corporate housing.

AvenueWest Global Franchise welcomes their newest franchise: AvenueWest Atlanta! We are so excited to help grow this newest market, and for our recent expansion into Phoenix and Fort Collins as well!

AvenueWest Global Franchise has been tapping into the emerging trend of business executives who are finding both financial freedom and life balance through franchise ownership. Jennifer Haigler, the owner of the AvenueWest Atlanta office, along with her husband Rory, came to the realization she needed the flexibility, provided by AvenueWest, when one day she realized she didn’t even know what her young son was wearing to school that day. Jennifer, a veteran of the corporate relocation industry and a licensed Certified Relocation Professional (CRP) says: “It was a profound moment in time for me as I decided I needed to do something to bring some work/life balance back to my existence.”

AvenueWest’s approach to Managed Corporate Housing is an exciting opportunity that taps into both Jennifer’s previous relocation and corporate housing experience and Rory’s real estate experience as they look to build a long term sustainable business. The Haigler’s say Atlanta is the perfect place to set up a corporate housing shop.

Jennifer continues: “Many relocated families and professionals as well as business executives would prefer to stay in our AvenueWest properties since they provide all the amenities of home. Our properties are in real residential settings instead of the more transient environments found when staying in hotels. The cost to stay in an AvenueWest property is also typically less expensive per night than staying in a hotel.”

Rory adds: Atlanta’s real estate market is currently booming, but there is a shortage of homes available for sale in the metro area.

“There seems to be demand from every corner. As the economy continues to strengthen, more and more people are relocating to Georgia and Atlanta in particular. As of August, Atlanta’s employment grew by 57,100 (a 2.4% increase)! Atlanta’s diverse economy generates a constant flow of people moving into the area to find a new home, and short term housing presents the best solution during that time of transition for relocating families, individuals, and executives alike, especially since the homes on the market are being snagged so quickly,” stated Rory.

“Individual homeowners and investors alike who want to offer their furnished homes or condos as corporate rental properties will have the opportunity to make additional revenue in today’s economy. By partnering with us and using our proven Managed Corporate Housing system, we can both benefit from the growing need for temporary housing solutions in the area. It’s exciting to be able to help owners develop their investment properties and turn them into major profit centers,” added Jennifer.

“Individual homeowners and investors alike who want to offer their furnished homes or condos as corporate rentals properties will have the opportunity to make additional revenue in today’s economy…” like at the Sterling of Dunwoody community in Dunwoody, GA.

Kimberly Smith, the CEO of AvenueWest Global Franchise, says that opening an office in Atlanta is the latest step in an aggressive expansion plan that the company initiated in July of this year.

“AvenueWest’s privately owned properties offer more choices to today’s executives or relocated individuals who want a fully furnished property with all the comforts of home, high-end furnishings, and many times, amazing amenities over standard corporate housing rentals or extended stays,” says Smith. “With the Haigler’s knowledge of the area and the local real estate, relocation, and corporate housing industries, AvenueWest Atlanta is uniquely positioned to offer the kind of rental properties required by discerning executives and individuals and families who are being relocated to the area. It also offers the opportunity for private landlords to earn greatly increased rental income on their properties.”

If you or someone you know is being relocated to the Atlanta area, you can contact AvenueWest Atlanta directly by calling 678-901-9171 or by emailing Jennifer at JHaigler@AvenueWest.com. If you are a property owner or investor who wishes to put their fully furnished home, condo, town home, or loft into AvenueWest Atlanta’s inventory, contact Rory at RHaigler@AvenueWest.com.

About AvenueWest Global Franchise

Established in 2010, AvenueWest Global Franchise grew from the desire to expand the business opportunity and corporate housing excellence achieved through the AvenueWest Managed Corporate Housing program that was founded in 1999.

Currently, AvenueWest Global Franchise has offices in Atlanta, GA, Boston, MA, Colorado Springs, CO, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Fort Collins, CO, Phoenix, AZ, and San Francisco, CA.