Think like an owner
Evaluate the property, structure and operating plan as one decision.
Independent hospitality company
Dallas / Santa Fe
Investment Development Management
TRU Hotels
& Resorts
Lough Erne Resort / County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
01
The firm
We work on the whole asset, not just one line of the plan.
TRU Hotels & Resorts is the successor to The Prairie Group, formed in 1995 to manage hospitality assets and pursue hotel and resort opportunities.
The firm and its principals work across acquisition, development, operations and owner-side advisory. That range keeps the investment thesis connected to the guest experience and the daily realities of the property.
Stay close to operations
Connect capital priorities to the people and systems that shape performance.
Build for durability
Make practical choices for the asset, its team and its market over time.
Photo / Lough Erne Resort
Current management
Enniskillen, Northern Ireland
Lough Erne
Resort
TRU joined the resort's acquisition in 2015 and was appointed to oversee management. Public reporting in 2026 continues to identify the resort as operating under TRU management.
- Role
- Investment & management
- Engagement
- Since 2015
- Setting
- Fermanagh lakelands
02
Capabilities
One mandate.
Three lenses.
Focused hospitality work for owners, investors and development partners.
01 / 03
Management, development & acquisition
Day-to-day operations, asset development and transaction work across hotels, resorts, restaurants and spas.
02 / 03
Project feasibility
Owner-focused evaluation of existing and proposed hospitality and related real-estate investments, including international projects.
03 / 03
Management agreement negotiation
Behind-the-scenes support for owners negotiating operating agreements with third-party hotel managers.
03
Selected experience
A record built
property by property.
Selected work of the firm and its principals, drawn from TRU's company record.
-
01
Current
Lough Erne Resort
Acquisition partner & manager / 2015-present
A resort engagement that brings the investment and operating sides of TRU's work together.
-
02
Past
Encantado Resort & Spa
Opening & operations
Jeff Mahan led the 2008 opening and operation of the Santa Fe-area resort, now Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado.
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03
Past
Inn of the Anasazi
Development & operations
TRU's principals played leading development and operating roles from the inn's 1991 opening.
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04
Past
Hotel Crescent Court
Development experience
Part of Mark Ward's development work during his tenure with Rosewood in Dallas.
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05
Past
Seaside Amelia Inn
Management
An oceanfront management assignment on Amelia Island.
Company record
Additional project experience
Hotels & resorts
- Hotel Hana-MauiHana, Hawaii
- Eldorado HotelSanta Fe, New Mexico
- Hotel Santa FeSanta Fe, New Mexico
- Rancho EncantadoTesuque, New Mexico
- DeSoto HiltonSavannah, Georgia
- El Monte SagradoTaos, New Mexico
Restaurants
- CatalinaEnniskillen, Northern Ireland
- TerraTesuque, New Mexico
- Anasazi RestaurantSanta Fe, New Mexico
- GeronimoSanta Fe, New Mexico
- De la TierraTaos, New Mexico
- Shohko CafeSanta Fe, New Mexico
Real estate
- Tallinn Business CenterTallinn, Estonia
- Cahuenga PeakHollywood, California
- Hana Town CenterHana, Hawaii
04
Principals
Two careers.
One operating view.
01
Co-founder / Managing Partner
Mark Ward
Mark's background spans accounting, real-estate development and hotel investment and operations. Before forming TRU, his work included Trammell Crow, Rosewood Property Company and Rosewood Hotels.
Full profile
At Rosewood, Mark served as Vice President for Development and worked on projects including The Crescent in Dallas and Hotel Hana-Maui. In 1990 he became managing partner of the group that developed and operated Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe.
He formed TRU in 1995. Mark holds an accounting degree from The University of Texas at Dallas and is a Certified Public Accountant.
02
Co-founder
Jeff Mahan
Jeff's career centers on opening, operating and repositioning independent luxury hotels, resorts and spas. He opened Inn of the Anasazi and ran it for its first fourteen years.
Full profile
His operating work has included Encantado Resort & Spa, El Monte Sagrado, Hotel Hana-Maui, Eldorado Hotel and Hotel Santa Fe.
Jeff has served in lodging-industry associations in New Mexico and nationally. He holds an accounting degree from New Mexico State University.
05
Contact
Bring us the
real question.
A property, a partnership, a management decision or an opportunity worth examining.