The St. James Hotel will soon be under new management.
Jim Lewis, CEO of Rhaglan Hospitality, confirmed Friday that he has hired Rebel Hospitality to manage the 55-room Hotel on Water Avenue. Rebel Hospitality is the hotel management division of Manhattan-based Capstone Equities that specializes in boutique “lifestyle” hotels like the St. James and the other properties Rhaglan owns, Lewis said.
“This means great things for the St. James,” Lewis said. “Rhaglan is good. They are a lot better.”
Lewis said Rebel has particular expertise in the food and beverage arena. “We feel strongly about the current leadership of the hotel,” Lewis said. “I want the best to determine what they do every day.”
The St. James, the only surviving antebellum riverfront hotel in the country, is part of the Tapestry Collection by Hilton. Rebel will manage all of Rhaglan’s properties, including the Redmont Hotel in Birmingham.
Lewis said he hired Rebel to manage the day-to-day operations of his hotels so he could free himself up to focus on other development projects in Selma. He has said he would like to develop a restaurant in Riverfront Park and multifamily housing in the former Byrd School and Good Samaritan Hospital.
Rebel CEO Brian Sparacino said in a release announcing the partnership that the deal gives Rebel “an opportunity to elevate a unique historic property that is not only located at the epicenter of the American Civil Rights movement but is poised to be a catalyst to the Selma community, its economy and the regional travel market.”
The agreement was announced on the Hotel Business web site.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.