Fear of making the wrong move is why most aspiring hotel investors never get started. And ironically, that hesitation is costing them more than any mistake ever would. In this episode, you'll learn how one developer went from zero hotel experience to 50% NOI margins, a REIT acquisition, and a second brand now scaling to 10+ locations across the US. A former McKinsey consultant turned landscape resort developer who built two properties from scratch, sold 90% to a REIT, and is now pioneering a lan...
Feb 24, 2026•51 min
If you're still tracking your hotel pipeline in Excel and spending two hours screening each deal, you're working harder than you need to. Ziggy Hallgarten lived with that frustration as an analyst, so he built the solution. In this episode, you'll get fresh market insights from the ALIS Conference, learn how AI can cut your deal analysis time dramatically, and hear what the entrepreneurial journey looks like when you're solving a problem you experienced yourself. A Cornell Hotel School graduate ...
Feb 17, 2026•43 min
What if there's a way to scale a hospitality portfolio without having to own the real estate? For operators looking to grow quickly without raising millions in equity or navigating complex bank financing, the OpCo-PropCo model offers a compelling alternative path. In this episode, you'll discover how to build a hospitality brand by leasing properties instead of buying them, command premium ADRs without real estate risk, and scale across multiple markets using the OpCo-PropCo model. An outdoor ho...
Feb 10, 2026•56 min
Most investors think they're building a business, but they're actually building themselves a job. The truth? If you died tomorrow, your "business" would die with you. A real estate investor who scaled from 80-hour weeks to just 4 hours per month reveals the exact automation framework that freed him—and how to apply it to any real estate asset, including hotels. Mark Podolsky built a multi-million dollar land flipping operation, lost 50% of it in 2008, then rebuilt it into a passive income machin...
Feb 03, 2026•34 min
Most hotel owners think the only way to reduce OTA dependency is to throw more money at Facebook ads or hire expensive marketing agencies. But the real solution isn't more budget, it's leveraging what you already have: authentic stories and staff who actually care about the guest experience. A hospitality marketing veteran who's advised VCs and built a 1.6 million social following reveals the direct booking playbook that independent hotels are using to reclaim revenue from OTAs. Scott Eddy has s...
Jan 27, 2026•52 min
Most first-time motel buyers don't lose money on the purchase price. They lose it by underestimating CapEx, guessing on underwriting, and assuming they can "market" their way to higher occupancy. That's how people get smoked. In this episode, you'll learn a simple, real-world way to sanity-check a value-add motel deal, including what "light reno" actually costs per key and which levers really move ADR. My guest is Jordan Malara, an ex-Space Force engineer who went from managing short-term rental...
Jan 20, 2026•1 hr 7 min
Think you need hotel operations experience to invest in boutique hotels? That belief may be the only thing standing between you and building serious commercial real estate wealth. In this episode, you'll discover how a Gulfstream pilot raised $1.5 million and became co-GP on a 130-room boutique hotel in Tennessee's Smoky Mountains - without managing a single employee or making a single bed. A private jet captain who flies billionaires by day reveals his exact framework for partnering on commerci...
Jan 13, 2026•55 min
Most first-time hotel syndicators are already breaking the rules; they just don't know it yet. If you've ever taken money from friends and family without the right structure, you may have accidentally sold securities. And if you're paying someone just to raise capital? That's another violation waiting to happen. In this episode, you'll learn exactly how to raise money for hotel deals without putting yourself or your investors at risk. A securities attorney who's structured hundreds of capital ra...
Jan 06, 2026•1 hr 1 min
Stop treating your front desk like an expense; it's costing you hundreds of thousands in property value. The biggest mistake boutique hotel owners make isn't about the property itself. It's ignoring the untapped revenue sitting right at your check-in counter. In this episode, you'll discover how to turn your front desk into a profit center that can add 5% to your bottom line and potentially $500,000 to your hotel's valuation. A hospitality revenue expert who helped pioneer the car rental upsell ...
Dec 30, 2025•41 min
Why do so many people dream about buying a hotel but never actually close one? In this episode, Michael sits down with Brian Resendez, CEO of SVN Northwest Hotel Advisors. Brian has been involved in hundreds of hotel transactions across the Pacific Northwest and brings rare insight into what separates buyers who close deals from buyers who stall out. You will learn: • The real reasons most buyers never get their first deal • How successful investors overcome fear, uncertainty, and inexperience •...
Dec 23, 2025•46 min
Boutique hotel investors often lose money in the same place: they renovate what’s visible, and ignore what actually drives guest behavior. In this episode, we talk about design as a business tool, not a decoration budget. The goal is simple: create a guest experience that feels intentional, sells itself, and supports your NOI, even when you’re operating without brand-level resources. My guest is Scott LaMont, CEO of EDSA, a globally recognized design and planning firm. Scott and his team work on...
Dec 16, 2025•50 min
Is now a terrible time to buy a hotel, or the best buying window you will get this decade? In this episode, Michael sits down with Suraj Bhakta, CEO of NewGen Advisory, a national hotel brokerage that has closed deals in 44 states. Suraj explains what he is actually seeing in today’s market, from the SBA shutdown fallout to the quiet distress building under the surface. In this conversation, you will learn: Why are the 2021–2022 performance numbers misleading so many sellers and buyers Where dis...
Dec 09, 2025•42 min
Click here to start your free 7-day trial of the AI for CRE Collective. Most boutique hotel investors are running lean. No analyst team. No data department. No six-figure tech budget. Yet the demands of buying and operating hotels keep getting heavier. In this episode, I sit down with Jake Heller, founder of the AI for CRE Collective, to break down the most effective AI tools that give small operators the firepower of a full investment team without hiring more staff or burning more hours. We wor...
Dec 02, 2025•59 min
Turning an international hospitality dream into reality sounds exciting, until you’re standing on a swampy patch of land in Belize, wondering how many years it will take to shape it into something guests will love. That’s where today’s guest, Odis Martin, began. He and his wife spent nearly a decade transforming a remote island into Sindiri on the Reef, a private eco lodge built without outside investors and rebuilt multiple times after hurricanes. Odis and his wife went from small US multifamil...
Nov 25, 2025•41 min
Most hotel investors struggle to get brokers to take them seriously. The result is the same handful of buyers getting the first look at every good deal while everyone else fights over leftovers. In this episode, Michael sits down with Hunter Johnson, President of Investment Sales at US Hotel Advisors, to break down how brokers actually decide who gets deal flow. Hunter shares what he looks for in a real buyer, what turns him off immediately, and the simple behaviors that make brokers want to sen...
Nov 18, 2025•47 min
Want to know what it’s like to go from short-term rentals to owning boutique hotels while still maintaining a healthy relationship? This week on the Hotel Investor Playbook, Michael Russell sits down with Mitch Ehly and Katie Wanzer, the husband-and-wife duo behind Fresh Coast Motel and Spruce & Shore Motel in Door County, Wisconsin. They share how they scaled from Airbnbs to a full-fledged hospitality brand, revived two historic motels, and used automation to stay profitable without losing ...
Nov 11, 2025•47 min
Looking for hotel technology that can actually increase profit and reduce expenses without hiring an IT department? This week on the Hotel Investor Playbook, Michael Russell sits down with Sue Graves, founder of Experience Alive , who has spent over 30 years in hospitality and now helps hotel owners implement practical, affordable tech solutions that make a real financial impact. In this episode, you’ll discover several technology use cases you can implement today, including: Offload up to 50% o...
Nov 04, 2025•44 min
Ever dreamed of quitting your six-figure job to build real wealth through hotels? This episode shows you what it actually takes. Tim Ensmann, founder of the T.C. Hotel Fund, shares how he went from tech sales to owning a multi-million-dollar boutique hotel portfolio in under five years. He reveals the sacrifices, systems, and strategies behind turning a $1.5M property into a $4.5M success story. He then shares how you can follow the same path without losing your sanity. You’ll learn: The real mo...
Oct 28, 2025•50 min
Ever wonder where the money actually goes in a hotel deal? In this episode, Michael Russell breaks down real estate syndications in plain English. How investors and operators really get paid, what fees are fair, and how to structure deals that build long-term trust. Whether you’re looking to raise capital for your first project or invest passively, this is the playbook for understanding the math behind every syndication. You’ll learn: The simple breakdown between LPs and GPs and how each gets pa...
Oct 21, 2025•24 min
When most people say they want to buy a hotel, it’s just talk. Jacobo Hernandez sold his entire $10M short-term rental portfolio, packed his car, and hit the road for 90 days to find one. He toured 35 hotels, underwrote 2,000 deals, and slept in random motels across the U.S. before discovering a hidden gem, a 59-room hotel on 10 acres in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, for just $1.2 million. Now he’s turning it into Forest Springs Hotel & Spa, a wellness-focused retreat with saunas, cold plunges, ...
Oct 14, 2025•55 min
We’ve all dreamt of quitting our bland corporate jobs to buy a hotel in Costa Rica… well, today’s guest did that. After leaving a private equity career in San Francisco, Bill Graf traded suits for surf towns and founded Onda, a hospitality brand in Costa Rica that blends the style of a boutique hotel with the social energy of a hostel. You’ll learn: How to uncover hidden opportunities in small hotels that big players ignore What U.S. investors should know about buying real estate in Costa Rica H...
Oct 07, 2025•59 min
The hotel industry is changing: costs are rising, AI is here, and investors are getting more selective. This week on the Hotel Investor Playbook, we sat down with Bob Rauch, better known as The Hotel Guru. From starting out as a dishwasher to building and selling a 20-hotel management company, then launching Brick Hospitality and managing nearly 1,000 rooms, Bob has seen it all. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to spot hot markets (and avoid the ones that eat your profits) The truth about usin...
Sep 30, 2025•57 min
Where is the hotel market headed in 2026, and how can investors succeed in a challenging environment? This week on the Hotel Investor Playbook, we sat down with Jan Freitag, National Director of Hospitality Analytics at CoStar. With over 30 years of experience analyzing hotel performance data, Jan is one of the most respected voices in the industry. Here’s what you’ll learn: How to use data and analytics to spot opportunities others overlook Why conviction and strong operations can outperform ma...
Sep 23, 2025•47 min
The most powerful part of a hotel stay isn’t the design or the amenities, it’s the feeling guests take home. That’s the philosophy of Bashar Wali, one of the most candid and creative voices in hospitality, who's spent 30+ years building, operating, and reinventing hotels around the world. In this episode of the Hotel Investor Playbook, Bashar shares: Why “give-a-shit-ability” beats corporate playbooks The power of emotional intelligence in hotel teams The biggest mistakes first-time owners make ...
Sep 16, 2025•1 hr 3 min
How do you turn a struggling hotel into a profitable asset? This week on the Hotel Investor Playbook , we sit down with Naveed Khan, co-founder of London Rock Partners, a hotel management and advisory firm that oversees everything from branded hotels like Holiday Inn to boutique independents and even a 650-bed hostel in London. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why the first step in turning around a hotel always starts with people, not P&Ls The advantages (and risks) of branded vs. independent ...
Sep 09, 2025•49 min
Few people have left a mark on hospitality like Richard Kessler. He started his hospitality career by helping scale Days Inn into a household name as the early CEO Then he founded the Kessler Collection, one of the leading boutique hotel portfolios in the U.S., which ultimately helped launch Marriott’s Autograph Collection. In this episode, Richard shares the biggest lessons from his 50-year career, including: • How to lead through downturns and find opportunity in distress • Why reputation as a...
Sep 02, 2025•1 hr 6 min
What if your first hotel deal could be funded almost entirely through Instagram? This week’s guest, Soli Cayetano AKA lattes.and.leases on Instagram, went from barista to building a $13M real estate portfolio in just four years. After exiting her residential investing business, she turned to hospitality and now co-owns a 13-key boutique wellness hotel in Palm Springs that’s already been featured in Forbes, Vogue, and Travel & Leisure. In this episode, you’ll learn: How Soli raised $2.5M in 6...
Aug 26, 2025•56 min
Most hotel investors default to syndication — raising capital from dozens of limited partners and layering in complex waterfalls. But what if there’s a smarter, simpler path? This week’s guest, Brandon Gore, is building The Outlier Hotel , a 10-cabin luxury retreat in Arkansas designed to last 100 years. Instead of chasing the traditional syndication model, he’s structuring the project as a joint venture — lowering pressure, creating strong cash flow, and unlocking tax advantages that limited pa...
Aug 19, 2025•52 min
Think great marketing is only for big hotels with big budgets? Think again. In this episode, we talk with Steph Weber, a marketing and branding expert who helps boutique hotel and STR owners drive direct bookings. She breaks down how she finds her audience, tells a compelling brand story, and uses limited resources to drive big results. You’ll learn: How to identify your property’s unique selling points Simple marketing strategies that work for small hotels and inns Why guest experience is your ...
Aug 12, 2025•51 min
Think you need a perfect plan to start investing in hospitality? Think again. In this episode, we sit down with Jonathan Mueller, an everyday investor who went from zero experience and a failed multifamily deal to buying a $250K roadside motel and building a growing hospitality portfolio. He didn’t have a background in hotels, didn’t have much of a strategy, and still made it work through pure action, problem-solving, and a willingness to pivot. You’ll learn: Why taking action beats waiting for ...
Aug 05, 2025•44 min
