{"id":29647,"date":"2021-07-30T05:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T12:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=29647"},"modified":"2026-02-22T15:34:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T23:34:06","slug":"changemakers-series-fee-stubblefield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/changemakers-series-fee-stubblefield\/","title":{"rendered":"Changemakers Series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This year, Senior Housing News<\/a> (SHN) has honored a variety of senior living leaders through their Changemakers series. And without fail, each member of the Changemakers class is inspirational, unwavering and transformative in their approach to industry obstacles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That certainly describes Yardi client Fee Stubblefield, founder and CEO of The Springs Living<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Headquartered in McMinnville, Oregon, The Springs Living owns and operates multiple senior living communities across Oregon and Montana. Fee started the company in 1996 with a mission to create communities that felt like home and since then, he\u2019s elected positive change in the company\u2019s design and operations. That\u2019s exactly why he was chosen as a 2021 Changemaker and interviewed in this special series, sponsored by Yardi<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In this excerpt from his SHN interview<\/a>, you\u2019ll learn how Fee has led The Springs Living through a period of change \u2014 and how he\u2019s preparing for the future. Plus, you\u2019ll get an inside look at Fee\u2019s approach to innovation, his dedication to senior living and his tolerance for risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you agree that change-makers are risk-takers, and secondly, how do you describe your own personal tolerance for risk?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would say that we\u2019re probably categorized as both innovators and risk-takers, but I don\u2019t see it that way. I don\u2019t see it as risky. This is what we\u2019ve learned. This is what we believe the market wants and we have hedged it in ways that we think makes sense \u2014 that eliminates risk. It\u2019s been really fascinating to see how different people look at the mountain from a different side. When you go on a hike, you look up the hill and you think, okay, I\u2019ll remember that spot when I get there, and then when you get up there, it looks completely different. Our view of the mountain is that we are mitigating risk every step of the way. Do we invest in R&D and experimentation based on what the market wants? Yes. Could some people call that risky? Sure. We don\u2019t. Every day we hire a new employee \u2014 the kid that\u2019s getting their first job. Every day we bring in a new resident that is going through this phase of life. That\u2019s a different generation and we have to evolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s riskier to avoid change. I\u2019ve seen too many instances where people drive right through the curve. You have to keep your eyes on the road, or your customer and your employees. No road is straight forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In what ways do you think the industry needs to change to prepare for the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Covid has accelerated the understanding that healthcare and housing will continue to merge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The supportive services will happen in the environments that we create. To do that, capital providers need to continue making proper considerations and allocations for operational systems and platforms while investing in the workforce..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know that\u2019s the key, not building buildings. We all know this, but I think we\u2019re addicted to the capital markets and the real estate base that has driven financing in senior housing. What have you actually done to look at your underwriting differently or to invest in those operational platforms? I think that\u2019s the number one change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many years, operators have been willing to go out there and collect a small management fee for a whole lot of work. We\u2019ve tied what those resources are \u2014 4%, 5%, 6%, to, in some cases, 7% \u2014 to a model of multifamily real estate underwriting. The reality is that as an operating business, we\u2019re closer in class to a hotel, if not beyond a hotel, where branding and management fees run 12-13% or higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the number one area where we can reallocate some things, and I know that\u2019s a really hard question. On a real estate balance sheet, that\u2019s moving some dollars around, but I think you can get both, and I think you can avoid eroding values while funding operations correctly. I know the market will pay for better operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a way to do this where the real estate owners don\u2019t erode their value by seeing the management fees go from 5% to 13%, because they are able to garner a higher dollar from the customer to make up that difference. I think there\u2019s a way to blend it in and to make it work, and we\u2019re going to have more focus on risk adjusted capital. It\u2019s not just about spending your money, it\u2019s about effectively using your dollar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you use your dollar better, you\u2019re going to get better results, you\u2019re going to get more consistent results and you\u2019re going to get more stable occupancy. You will lease-up quicker, and operators who do that should be paid on a risk-adjusted basis for the quality of the returns. That will mimic the quality of the operations, whether it\u2019s a high-end product, a middle market or an affordable product \u2014 it doesn\u2019t matter. Quality still exists in every one of those tranches of brand experience and affordability for the customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Covid-19 is just an accelerant to what we knew was coming, and that\u2019s the silver lining in this whole deal. It\u2019s been a tough year, but it brought things front and center, and it\u2019s going to result in some very good quality enhancements for our industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out Fee Stubblefield\u2019s complete Changemaker interview with SHN<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year, Senior Housing News (SHN) has honored a variety of senior living leaders through their Changemakers series. And without fail, each member of the Changemakers class is inspirational, unwavering and transformative in their approach to industry obstacles. That certainly describes Yardi client Fee Stubblefield, founder and CEO of The Springs Living. Headquartered in McMinnville, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":782,"featured_media":29648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2952,3354],"tags":[2855,842,165,2438],"class_list":["post-29647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","category-senior-living","category-team-yardi","tag-changemakers-series","tag-senior-living","tag-yardi-client","tag-yardi-senior-living-suite"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYardi Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore an interview with Fee Stubblefield, a senior living leader honored in the 2021 Changemakers series, presented by Senior Housing News and sponsored by Yardi.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/changemakers-series-fee-stubblefield\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Changemakers Series\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Explore an interview with Fee Stubblefield, a senior living leader honored in the 2021 Changemakers series, presented by Senior Housing News and sponsored by Yardi.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/changemakers-series-fee-stubblefield\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Yardi Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-30T12:35:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-22T23:34:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/07\/FStubblefield_Changemaker-People-SocialMedia.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Natalie Mahn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Natalie Mahn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/changemakers-series-fee-stubblefield\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/changemakers-series-fee-stubblefield\/\",\"name\":\"Fee Stubblefield Named Senior Living Changemaker - 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