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Watermark Retirement Communities is making progress on its plans to evolve and enhance since naming a brand new CEO earlier this 12 months.
Tucson, Arizona-based Watermark named Paul Boethel CEO in April. In a Senior Housing Information interview the next month, he outlined his imaginative and prescient to enhance the corporate’s operations and finally pivot again to development through acquisitions and new growth.
Lately, Watermark had contracted from its earlier roughly 60-community mark all the way down to 38 communities immediately, and Boethel mentioned his important focus this 12 months is stabilizing the communities the corporate nonetheless operates. His quick objective: 94% common occupancy throughout the corporate’s portfolio.
With Keppel’s funding offering new gasoline, Watermark has reorganized and bolstered its gross sales and advertising and marketing groups, doubled the dimensions of its monetary planning and evaluation and asset administration staff and brought a SWAT-team-like method to boosting leads to communities that want enchancment. Watermark is also working with referral companions like A Place for Mother to drive extra move-ins.
“We created a reasonably exhaustive checklist of all of the issues we wished to perform over the following 12 to 24 months and we’re actually centered on gross sales and advertising and marketing and incorporating a data-centric method,” Boethel advised SHN in an interview earlier this month.
To this point, the corporate’s leaders say these efforts are bearing fruit.
Watermark has grown common occupancy 180 foundation factors within the final 4 months. In August, the corporate’s projected move-in quantity is about 35% increased now than it was in July. With change underway, Boethel believes the corporate will attain the 94% occupancy mark a while in 2026.
General, the corporate is taking a “shrinking-to-grow” technique to hone its focus and create extra density within the “smile states” within the U.S. Solar Belt area, mentioned Kai Hsiao, CEO of Senior Dwelling at Keppel Capital.
“It actually permits us to deal with the important thing areas that we need to be in,” he advised SHN. “As we glance to spend money on senior housing and purchase communities, these are the states that we need to be in.”
‘We’ve tried to extend the tempo’
Watermark’s technique in 2025 has revolved round utilizing knowledge and extra visibility in operations to set and execute on targets. Among the many first issues that Boethel did after taking the reins was to place collectively a every day electronic mail recap of efficiency indicators like leads, excursions, lead-to-tour and lead-to-move-in.
“We’ve tried to extend the tempo from eager about issues month-to-month to eager about issues every day,” Boethel mentioned. “Everybody is aware of what they’re marching towards, and in the event that they fall brief on any a type of objects, we are able to determine it shortly.”
A part of that course of has concerned bolstering the corporate’s workforce with senior dwelling veteran leaders. Earlier this 12 months, the operator introduced it had employed Bob Gollias as senior vice chairman of gross sales and appointed Sheila Donahoe as chief administrative officer. Watermark additionally lately employed Jamison Gosselin as vice chairman of selling and communications.
Boethel mentioned the brand new Watermark C-suite has taken a “formulaic method” by understanding the steps wanted for every group to spice up move-ins and finally occupancy.
In response to Hsiao, the corporate’s present method “takes classes discovered from our earlier platforms, like splitting gross sales and advertising and marketing capabilities and embracing [A Place for Mom].”
Though some operators have distanced themselves from utilizing A Place for Mother – together with beforehand Watermark, Hsiao added – nowadays, Watermark believes the referral firm is a crucial associate. To this point in 2025, the operator’s move-ins linked to A Place For Mother referrals are up 71% in comparison with 2024.
The operator additionally has added incremental monetary planning and evaluation staffers and asset managers and set new initiatives, corresponding to the mixing of methods to scale back time accessing knowledge and creating studies, to provide government administrators extra time to spend with residents.
That’s allowed Watermark communities to determine and repair issues earlier than they enlarge and extra shortly reap alternatives once they come up.
“We actually centered on creating the playbook round what our gross sales folks within the subject are doing and coaching them appropriately for that,” Boethel mentioned.
Watermark gross sales groups now have a brand new goal to answer inbound leads inside quarter-hour of contact..
“We’ve already been experimenting with some totally different choices internally, and we’ve seen variety of our communities which were capable of get below that quarter-hour,” Boethel mentioned.
The corporate is also piloting utilizing a third-party inbound name heart to answer prospects inside that point. That method is rooted in classes discovered at Vacation Retirement, which pioneered using third-party name facilities, mentioned Hsiao, who beforehand labored as CEO of Vacation.
“The very best practices from different industries may very well be utilized right here,” he mentioned. “We’re taking that mindset right here at Watermark, as nicely.”
A cornerstone of Watermark’s efforts to draw a brand new era of residents is 360Well, a wellness program that encompasses 4 domains: thoughts, physique, spirit and group. Program coordinators welcome newcomers into the group and assist residents adapt providers like private coaching and actions to their needs and desires, amongst different duties.
Traditionally, Watermark has charged for care by embedding it in rental charges, however that method set a price ground that was too excessive for some prospects.
“We’re revisiting that pricing construction and the way we current our product inside the market – not lowering charges, however reconfiguring how that goes out to the brand new prospect,” Boethel mentioned.
Particular choices within the 360Well program can fluctuate by property, however this system is accessible in any respect Watermark communities. Watermark additionally plans so as to add extra personalized well being and wellness choices within the coming 12 months.
Whereas Watermark is barely months into its new technique, the operator has already grown census in not less than one newly opened property, The Watermark at Marco Island in Marco Island, Florida, the place occupancy is over 60% since opening simply this March.
‘Shrinking to develop’
Now all the way down to 38 communities following some transitions earlier this 12 months, Watermark is “shrinking to develop.” By that, Boethel means the corporate is looking for to solely dedicate consideration to areas the place the corporate seeks to develop within the smile states.
Watermark’s new, leaner type is “really an awesome measurement for us to type of retool among the foundational parts. It’s very manageable from a change implementation standpoint,” he added.
The corporate has its eye on unbiased dwelling, assisted dwelling and reminiscence care communities with between 100 and 150 models. Hsiao additionally famous that Keppel is “trying to construct” sooner or later given Watermark’s previous historical past of ground-up growth.
“Our objective is to earn the belief of the varied possession teams, that’s our major goal,” Boethel mentioned. “As we proceed to roll out enhancements and spend money on methods, we intention to not solely assist our companions develop their asset base, but in addition assist others in attaining their funding targets by way of particular person acquisitions.”
Plans for brand spanking new growth stem from the business’s demographic and demand alternatives, however on the identical time, immediately it’s a problem for operators to “maintain themselves with out new growth in thoughts,” Hsiao mentioned. That’s the place he sees Keppel coming in.
“I do suppose there’s good, optimistic momentum,” Boethel mentioned. “I believe the differentiator on long-term sustainability and success goes to be those who, whereas they’re benefiting from the optimistic momentum, they’re additionally investing within the methods and infrastructure.”
Whereas some operators have failed by way of “cookie-cutter” standardized approaches, there’s stress in a brand new type on senior dwelling suppliers which have a kaleidoscope of communities with totally different unit mixes and property varieties.
Hsiao believes the business’s quest for scale begs the query “how large are you able to get earlier than you get dangerous?” To that finish, Watermark is looking for to construct a portfolio with extra constant footprints and choices.
“That makes issues extra manageable and extra environment friendly,” he mentioned.
