She Has a Deal (SHaD), a real estate education and investment platform dedicated to creating new pathways to hotel ownership and development for women, has launched the fifth season of its signature hotel investment pitch competition, SHaDPitch 2024, which will culminate in a final event on April 25-26, 2024, at the MGM National Harbor in Maryland.
The educational program and accelerator offers two competitive tracks to women interested in learning to invest in hotel real estate: Early Careerist and Today’s Woman. The former comprises current college students or recent graduates with an interest in hotel ownership or investment, while the latter track is designed for participants with established careers in hospitality, real estate or finance, who are eager to become hotel owners, but seek guidance and expertise in navigating the process. She Has a Deal has a goal of closing five Today’s Woman deals during Season 5. As well, five lucky contestants will be personally mentored by founder/CEO Tracy Prigmore and have access to funding from the SHaD Prosperity Fund.
Over the program’s six-month duration, participants will experience an unparalleled, guided journey to gain the competencies needed to become hotel owners and developers. The contestants will be immersed in She Has a Deal’s proprietary 9-stage hotel investment education designed to accelerate knowledge and ignite the confidence for them to take action toward their goal of hotel ownership. They will gain exposure to a vast network of resources and receive one-on-one mentoring from experienced industry professionals, luminaries and hotel owners.
New to this season of SHaDPitch is a three-day “boot camp” from Nov. 29–Dec. 1, hosted by Prigmore as the official kickoff with contestants for the program. This intensive session with Season 5 participants will take place at Prigmore’s recent property acquisition, the 5-suite luxury Grand Reserve Inn at Wilderotter Vineyard in the Sierra Foothills wine region of Northern California. The property fund established by Prigmore and Osur is 80% funded by women investors. Early in the year, participants will have the opportunity to tour top hotel brand headquarters and connect with potential investors in person during the SHaD City Tour.
“I am incredibly excited to launch Season 5 of SHaDPitch,” said Prigmore. “As a hotel owner, operator and developer, I have been a steady and audible champion around the country of women gaining ground in hotel real estate. This season, I plan to spend less time speaking about the importance of women in hotel real estate and more time dealmaking so that the world can experience the brilliance of women and the explosive innovation in the industry when more women are owning and developing hotels. This year is going to be unparalleled in terms of opportunity and growth!”
While graduates from SHaDPitch become a part of the SHaD community and ecosystem for a lifetime, the culmination of the formal education is the pitch competition in April, where participants will present their hotel deals to potential investors and industry experts. The top winner in each track will be awarded $50,000 in deal equity toward their project. Furthermore, all women will have the opportunity to access capital through the SHaD Prosperity Fund, a group of investors specifically interested in supporting women-led hotel investment projects.
