Jon Bortz, chairman, president, and CEO of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB), participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITworld: 2022 Annual Conference held in San Francisco on Nov. 15-17.
Bortz discussed the strategic advantages of the majority of Pebblebook’s properties being located on the water, noting that people find the water “both beautiful and calming.”
“[Studies say] that there’s almost a scientific reaction that happens when you stare at the water—it’s relaxing,” he said. “It’s really helpful at driving business. People love properties that are on the water.”
Turning to the company’s recent ESG report, Bortz said that Pebblebrook has set a goal of a 30% reduction of its carbon usage by 2030 and a plan to go carbon neutral by 2050.
“There’s a lot of challenges in the business obviously and a big part of it has to do with the carbon nature of a lot of utilities that we use,” he noted.
Bortz added that in Pebblebrook’s portfolio, the recovery from the pandemic has been led by its leisure-oriented resort properties.
“They have way outperformed the rest of the portfolio in terms of both the pace of the recovery and where they’re at today,” he said.