Brookdale Senior Living Deploys ‘swat Team’ To Boost Occupancy Amid Search For New Ceo 

Brookdale (NYSE: BKD) is taking a “SWAT-team approach”to help boost occupancy for low-performing communities as it searches for a new CEO.

Currently, 83 communities in the Brentwood, Tennessee-based operator’s total 619-property footprint carry average weighted occupancy rates between 80% and 85%, according to a recent financial filing. Another 77 properties have average weighted occupancy rates between 75% and 80%, while 73 of the properties carry occupancy rates between 70% and 75%. Another 143 properties are currently below 70% in occupancy.

Brookdale has since the end of 2024 assigned “high opportunity response teams” that are exploring a range of tactics, from new lease-up strategies to adding more support center resources, all in an effort to boost census at properties below 80% occupancy.

According to Interim CEO Denise Warren, who took the reins following the departure of Cindy Baier last month, the company’s primary current goal “is to accelerate profitable occupancy growth through improved revenue management, disciplined expense management, strengthened operational accountability and strategic investments to elevate the resident experience, specifically rate.”

As part of that process, the company also is piloting new pricing promotions at communities at or above the 80% occupancy mark. As it has done in recent quarters, Brookdale is continuing to expand its HealthPlus program, with plans to add the program to 58 more communities in 2025.

Brookdale also is seeking to own more of its communities in the coming months and years. The company’s operational footprint includes 236 leased communities, with plans to shed 55 of the communities in that portfolio as part of a previously announced deal with landlord Ventas (NYSE: VTR).

Overall, Broodkale posted a net loss of nearly $65 million in the first quarter of 2025, with $32.8 million of that linked to losses stemming from the reacquisition of three communities previously subject to sale-leaseback transactions.

Brookdale’s stock is priced at $6.61, down 2.1% from the previous close.

SWAT teams and pricing pilots

Brookdale is ramping up its SWAT team deployments in 2025 given the effort’s “positive results” as of the end of 2024, according to Dawn Kussow, Brookdale executive vice president and chief financial officer.

The SWAT teams are removing “barriers” to deploying CapEx dollars, filling certain roles or staying flexible in pricing, she added. The team has already worked to benefit 65 communities across Brookdale’s portfolio.

“We’re taking the learnings that we had from that group and rolling that out to additional communities so that we can further accelerate our occupancy improvement,” Brookdale Executive Vice President and General Counsel Chad White said during the earnings call with investors and analysts Wednesday. “We’re very pleased with where we were in the first quarter and the progress we’re making.”

Brookdale has identified 31 communities with occupancy below 70% as “high-opportunity” for census improvements. Another 84 properties only need to fill between one and three more units to exceed the 70% occupancy threshold, according to Kussow.

“We see the positive momentum from our recent actions, and we believe the payoff will be significant as we fill these communities and benefit from the higher flow through as we leverage our fixed cost structure,” she said.

Overall, the company’s current average weighted occupancy hit 79.3% in the first quarter of 2025 as revenue per occupied room (RevPOR) ticked up to $6,416 in the period.

Brookdale is for now targeting smaller markets in which to deploy new pricing strategies, Kussow said. But the company will also keep its overall margins in mind when doing so.

“We’re doing some piloting of some of the pricing strategies in order to increase occupancy or to leverage off of where we can get increased occupancy at that 80% level to see a larger flow through,” she said during the call. “Certainly [we are] making sure that we are growing our RevPAR while we’re protecting our rate.”

Also in the cards for Brookdale this year are CapEx projects to the tune of about $175 million to $180 million, with a focus on improvements that will help increase occupancy, such as common room renovations.

The company also is in the process of selling 14 communities, and it is “selectively evaluating additional disposition opportunities to further unlock value from our own assets in the future,” Kussow added.

While management noted the dispositions will only result in a minor gain for Brookdale, White added “the disposition of those communities will improve our adjusted EBITDA, our adjusted free cash flow, and our leverage,” describing it as “a win-win for unlocking value.”

CEO search expected to last for at least 6 months

In April, Brookdale parted ways with former CEO Cindy Baier.

The company is actively searching for its new top leader with executive search firm Spencer Stuart, but that process likely won’t wrap up for another six months at least, according to Warren.

“With our search well underway, we are focused on identifying a candidate with the proven experience and skills necessary to push continued operational improvements across our portfolio and the strategic vision to drive Brookdale into the next decade by capitalizing on the intrinsic value of our own real estate and by leveraging compelling industry dynamics,” Warren said. “While we are eager to conclude this process, our priority is ensuring we identify the right leader to lead Brookdale in unlocking the company’s intrinsic value.”

So far, Brookdale has upwards of 16 candidates already vying for the CEO position. The next steps will include narrowing the candidate pool down before moving through the process, Warren said.

“We are really looking for someone that can give us the operational expertise, because we do believe there’s a lot more work that can be done on the operations down in the community level, while at the same time getting someone that has the strategic vision that can really propel Brookdale into the future,” Warren said.

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