All Forum Posts by: Bok O.

I would start by educating yourself on the different hotel franchises out there. Every franchise has its pros and cons. For example, Choice has a very big network and many different brands to choose from but many not offer as much sales support as a Best Western. It would be good to understand the differences between the franchises, the fees associated, how much support they give you, how much of the operation you will be responsible for, and the restrictions for renovating your hotel all vary.  I would also look into getting your certificate through AHLEI and get your CHA. This will show banks and other people how serious you are about getting into the industry. It will also give you some general knowledge of how to operate a hotel. Our families have been in the hotel business since 2007 and we survived the crash miraculously. Its a bit difficult now.  However, the pandemic will eventually pass and those that have taken the right steps to prepare will survive and reap the profits. Hope this helps. It can be a bit daunting but we love the hotel industry. 

I would stay away from the hotel industry for a little while. You will have to wait till hotels go into bankruptcies if you want to find a good deal right now.  Hotels are going through extreme pain as demand for many areas have dropped by 60-80% from last year. Many of the hotel are being bailed out by PPP loans and EIDL loans so they will get through for a short period. All the people who purchased hotels in the last 3-4 years will have the hardest time paying their bank mortgage, and that is where you will find deals.  My short recommendation is that you have to purchase a hotel that is generating at least above $4-5Million in revenue a year if you want to hire a property management company and be able to make enough $ for yourself.  Unless you want to quit your current job and try to manage it yourself. The smaller low class to mid class hotels with less than a 100 rooms don't generate enough revenue for you to justify hiring a property management company unless you want to make only 30-40K a year. Property management companies are not cheap, and franchise fees are also expensive so it'll squeeze into your margins.  Running a hotel is a hefty operation.  If you can get into a property with more than 150 rooms, generating $4-5M in annual revenue, in a good location, with stable corporate business, that is a good investment.  My suggestion is to find a few other people to partner with to pool the downpayment together in order to invest in a hotel like i mentioned. In a smaller market the price for a hotel like that would be around $12-15M.  Find a good commercial broker and network. There are some brokers who are well connected to hotel owners. Hope this helps. 

Anyone with hotel experience give some investing advice? I want to get into hotel investing but it's very capital intensive. I'm wondering what size of a hotel (ex: 1-2Mil size or 3-5mil or 5-10mil) would you need to search for in order to be able to hire either a property management company or hire a consultant to run the property? Also, how much LTV would I need to raise in order to get proper financing?

Anyone have any insight on apartments versus stripmall versus medical office space investing? Which one would be better to do as a beginner? Any pros and cons for each?

Can anyone give some insight into the commercial real estate cycle? Are we in the peak of the cycle? The record highs in the market seem un-sustainable and we are approaching the 8-10 year period where hypothetically we could see a correction on the market. I'm a new investor and want to learn as much as I can.