The Hotel Business Green Book Hotel Brokers Report featured insights from Eric Guerrero, senior managing director, partner, brokerage and advisory, HVS; Brent A. Jaynes, managing partner, Leisure Real Estate Advisors LLC; and Yatish M. Nathraj, Southwest managing director, HTL Hospitality Advisors.
They were also asked the questions below:
Which types of properties are investors most interested in?
Guerrero: Hilton and Marriott assets with RevPAR above $100 and less than 10 years old are drawing the most attention, even in secondary markets. Extended-stay hotels also remain highly sought after, though the segment is becoming increasingly crowded with the rollout of new brands. Any conversion opportunities, especially to a superior brand, gets a lot of attention.
Jaynes: Investment interest is across all property types, from value-add to top-tier flags with cash flow, with cash flow leading. There is some interest in alternative-use deals, mainly to apartments. But, as I mentioned earlier, if one has cash flow, one will get the looks from investors.
Nathraj: Investors are interested in properties that make a return, are financially secure through the whole investment cycle and provide a long-term hedge against inflation. These assets tend to be extended-stay products and properties with a lot of open space. Many hospitality properties are being redeveloped into a la carte, full-service, extended-stay, hotel and resort model.
How is technology changing hotel marketing and sales?
Guerrero: Technology is central to how we manage deal flow. We use a proprietary system that tracks buyer needs, 1031-exchange buyer timelines, and buyer bid history across our database. This shared platform allows our team to move quickly and execute more efficiently, which translates into faster closings for our clients.
Jaynes: AI has been a part of our practice for some time now. The platforms that we use for marketing all incorporate some level of AI, some of which is helpful and some not. AI has elevated our ability to respond to inquiries quicker and to provide automated access to confidentiality agreements and to document vaults. It also provides information to us about the prospect’s interest level and history. We are able to research and evaluate markets quicker. As it evolves, AI will continue to be a major part of our marketing and database intelligence. Each deal is unique, though, and therefore, the human aspect of evaluating and delivering the information to the investment marketplace is still essential.
Nathraj: Technology has made the consumer more aware of prices and amenities. This has made markets super competitive in terms of trying to recapture the maximum per dollar spent on marketing and sales. Not having the right strategy or technological knowledge can lead to empty leads or wasted clickbait.
Data is very important in the technology revolution. Without the right data your technology becomes unreliable just like employees that need to be retrained. Technology systems need to be checked and refined over time with updated policies to attract the right customer at the maximum room rate.
For more from the Green Book, click here.
