DFW CRE Veteran Takes Reins of New Hospitality Vertical at M2G Ventures

By Charles Grand, Candy’s Dirt, August 7, 2025

The Fort Worth-based commercial real estate firm M2G Ventures is embarking on a significant expansion of its operation, adding hospitality to its repertoire of investments and asset classes.

M2G’s new hospitality vertical will be headed up by Chris Hanrattie, a veteran CRE professional with plenty of experience in the North Texas hospitality sector.

Born in Pittsburgh, Hanrattie moved to Texas when he was a teenager. He earned his bachelor’s degree and a couple of graduate degrees at the University of Texas at Arlington. He went on to work for Crescent Real Estate, working his way up to become the senior vice president of investments and the head of the firm’s hospitality wing.

During his nearly 20 years at Crescent across two stints, Hanrattie had his hand in 23 hotel acquisitions totaling more than $2.2 billion in value, including the luxe Hotel Crescent Court in Dallas and The Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio.

“I had a really fantastic run there,” he said. “I always look back on my time at Crescent very fondly.”

While Hanrattie was familiar with M2G Ventures and its twin sister founders Jessica Miller Essl and Susan Miller Gruppi, he learned more about the company after a former colleague, Mark Collier, came on to serve as CFO.

“After many conversions with Susan and Jessica — and really Mark kind of building a relationship, really building trust — we [discussed] my thoughts on the industry going forward and it ended up just being a perfect fit. I’m just beyond excited to be where I am today,” he said, calling his new bosses “two of the brightest minds” in the industry.

Founded in 2014, M2G Ventures got its start working on industrial and mixed-use properties. An early redevelopment project that put them on the map was The Foundry District just north of bustling West 7th in Fort Worth. They also became the exclusive retail development partner for the Stockyards.

Now, some $2 billion in transactions and 4.2 million square feet in projects later, M2G Ventures is looking to leverage Hanrattie’s experience to enter the hospitality space.

“The hospitality industry is not new to us. M2G’s expanded platform is poised for success as we combine experience in branding, placemaking and institutional quality execution, with Chris’ experience and reputation. We remain dedicated to thoughtfully investing in distinctive mixed-use and industrial projects across Texas and beyond as we strive to be a best-in-class integrated development team and a top owner in the markets we invest in.” – Susan Miller, Co-Founder, M2G Ventures

Hotels have certainly seen their share of obstacles over the past couple of decades. Short-term rentals, for instance, have emerged as a competitor in lodging. There was also the COVID-19 pandemic, which was disastrous for the industry. And today, there’s headwinds like sticky inflation, high interest rates, significant cuts to public sector travel, and overall economic uncertainty.

Still, Hanrattie said the situation in D-FW, and really a lot of the Sun Belt states, is pretty promising. Limited supply and the fact that plenty of people still crave a lodging experience only hotels can deliver. He noted there is a “tremendous amount of demand” in the Metroplex right now.

“Our focus going forward is really going to be … soft-branded hotels that are able to really tailor themselves in that local neighborhood or community. I do believe there’s a lot of upside, especially in the Sun Belt, where there’s been a lot of organic population growth.” – Chris Hanrattie, Managing Director of Hospitality, M2G Ventures

Not wasting any time, M2G Ventures is already looking at potential acquisitions in Texas, including in D-FW. Hanrattie said he could not provide any information on the properties, citing confidentiality agreements.

“We have got multiple assets targeted that we’re digging through and underwriting, taking a look at the markets, the submarkets, even down to the particular micromarket, and how those hotels compete with those in their competitive set,” he said.

With his first hotel deals for M2G Ventures on the horizon, Hanrattie said he hopes to replicate the success he brought to Crescent.

“I think M2G is a very dynamic, really creative firm,” he said. “I’m super excited to be joining them.”