The holiday season is in full force and year end is just around the corner. The Blue Ocean team took time to gather, look back on 2023 and glimpse into 2024. 

2023 was not without its challenges. Interest rate hikes which began in 2022 continued for most of 2023. This unprecedented increase in rates was the largest the group travailed in its almost 20-year history. Founder and CEO, Jonathan Ehrenfeld, shared, “In 2022 we had the tail winds behind us. We had some strong dispositions of assets that had built strong value thanks to our Investment and Operations teams. We also refined our portfolio to focus on the TRELLIS brand and entered the storage industry. In 2023, we faced headwinds that slowed down our progress while we remained focused on our goals – headed in the same direction, more thoughtfully, strategically. It was a good year, but it wasn’t as smooth as 2022.”

As a company whose growth strategy is contingent on buying assets, the economic environment made it more difficult to execute. On an individual level, inflation has made life more challenging for the team members, stakeholders and community Blue Ocean serves.

While Blue Ocean faced headwinds, it continued to overcome adversity, adding two new Trellis assets to the portfolio. Trellis Canyon Creek in Texas and Trellis Durham in North Carolina became our sixth and seventh extended stay conversions and we are excited for the renovations to come. 

Jason Elover, CFO, spoke about aligning Blue Ocean with future goals, “Economists expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in 2024 as inflation continues to decline. As the team looks forward to 2024, everyone is optimistic and excited for the year ahead.” 

Elover closed with a personal reflection, representative of the teams warm connections and team culture, “My 6-year-old daughter was reading me Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses. The story focuses on Pete’s need for a magic pair of sunglasses to realize there is an optimistic mood inside of him-with or without the glasses. There is much that we are optimistic for in 2024. At times it takes a child’s story to remind us to remain optimistic. I can’t stress enough that we have much to be thankful for and much to look forward to as an organization.”