The management company is deepening its relationship with The J Collection while expanding its presence across New Orleans’ boutique and full-service hotel market.
Waterford Hotel Group has assumed management of five additional hotels in New Orleans, expanding its presence in a major US travel destination. The properties—Hotel Le Marais, Hotel Mazarin, The Jung Hotel & Residences, The Rubenstein Hotel and the French Quarter Courtyard Hotel—belong to The J Collection of Hotels. With the additions, Waterford Hotel Group now oversees 11 J Collection properties across the New Orleans market.
The hotels are located throughout the French Quarter and along the Canal Street corridor, giving the expanded portfolio a broad geographic footprint within the city. Their formats range from intimate boutique accommodation to full-service environments, reflecting the varied operating requirements of New Orleans’ hospitality sector. The move also extends an existing relationship between Waterford and The J Collection rather than representing a standalone property addition.
Michael Heaton, president of Waterford Hotel Group, said the company was pleased to expand its work with The J Collection and support the five properties’ operations. He pointed to the city’s busy calendar, including Mardi Gras, French Quarter Festival and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, as a setting in which the hotels play an important role in welcoming visitors. The company said its focus would include enhancing the guest experience across the properties.
Duane Schroder, chief growth officer of Waterford Hotel Group, described the additions as a milestone in a year of significant growth for the company. The expanded New Orleans presence broadens Waterford’s management responsibilities across several hotel types while strengthening its position with an ownership group operating multiple properties in the same market. That concentration may also give the company a larger local operating platform, although the company did not provide financial or performance details.
Waterford Hotel Group’s New Orleans expansion illustrates how hotel management companies can grow through portfolio relationships as well as individual property mandates. By taking responsibility for five hotels at once, the company adds scale within an established destination while retaining a mix of boutique and full-service operations. The development leaves Waterford with a larger role in the city’s visitor economy and gives The J Collection a single management partner across 11 local properties.
