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Masters of Moments

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Aug 23, 2023 • 1h 24min

Homi Vazifdar - Founder & Exec. Director at The Canyon Group - Building the Future of Luxury Hospitality

Homi Vazifdar is Founder and Exec. Director of the Canyon Group, a boutique private equity company, based in Larkspur, California just of north San Francisco. The Canyon Group, which was co-founded by Vazifdar in 2005, owns and/or develops ultra-luxury resorts in exotic destinations around the world. The Company currently owns assets in North America, Latin America, Mexico and the South Pacific. The Canyon Group’s resorts are managed by marquis brands such as Amanresorts, Six Senses, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts and Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. Under Vazifdar’s leadership, many of the Canyon Group’s ultra-luxury assets have achieved high global accolades and are considered the “Best in Class” with extraordinarily high occupancies and rates. On this episode, Jake and Homi discuss:- Selling a brand for $2m per key- Building Amangiri and Amangani- How to make experiential luxury work- How to make select service hotels work Links:CanyonHomi on LinkedIn Connect & Invest with Jake:Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzakTake the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo Topics:(00:01:55) Homi’s journey into Real Estate and hospitality (00:07:42) What is most important when you are reinventing yourself? (00:08:43) Building Canyon and the focus on ultra-luxury assets (00:28:24) Swapping federally controlled land and creating a profitable asset in remote Utah (00:48:47) How do you make a tent experience work? (00:54:44) How do you find labor and built infrastructure in these remote areas? (00:58:22) Is establishing a sense of community at a resort important? (01:04:00) How have you learned to invest and stay afloat during cycles? (01:13:11) What will be the biggest challenge in replicating this new concept? (01:15:11) Homi’s select service hotel (01:21:23) What is your favorite hotel?
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Aug 16, 2023 • 1h 1min

Mauro Governato - General Manager of Château de la Messardière - Operating One of the World's Greatest Ultra-Luxury Hotels

Mauro began his career in the food and beverage industry, working in Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe for a 15-year period. Having worked in Hong Kong, London, Paris, Lisbon, Rome, Milan, the Maldives, Mauritius, and the Bahamas, he has a wealth of international experience with luxury institutions and brands. Born and raised in Turin, Italy and fluent in English, Italian, French and German, Governato is particularly focused on guest experience, believing that "luxury service should happen without guests knowing where it comes from." On this episode, Jake and Mauro discuss: How Mauro approaches managing an ultra-luxury hotel The story of the Château de la Messardière How luxury and experiential travel has changed Balancing how you create moments in a hotel with profitability Links: Mauro on LinkedIn Château de la Messardière Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzak Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/ Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo Topics: (00:02:12) Mauro’s background and career (00:07:33) Insights and advantages of starting in Hospitality on the F&B side (00:10:18) How do you recognize a guest? (00:13:22) Mauro’s management style (00:16:47) Experiences working in the Maldives (00:20:47) The story of the Château de la Messardière (00:25:52) Balancing creating moments with hotel profitability (00:36:42) The most important physical components of a luxury resort (00:41:28) How has luxury and experiential travel changed in the last 5 years? (00:46:05) How have you built a culture of always finding ways to continuously enhance the visual moments? (00:50:21) What would surprise people most about operating an ultra-luxury hotel? (00:53:49) Why do hoteliers mess up the F&B program so often? (00:56:25) What’s the best way to work with a partner (00:58:48) What is your favorite hotel?
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Aug 9, 2023 • 1h 33min

#25: Sean Hehir - CEO of Trinity Investments

Sean is a Principal and Managing Partner of Trinity Investments as well as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Trinity Investments and Trinity Fund Advisors LLC. He oversees the firms’ investment activities, including sourcing and executing investment opportunities, formulating investment strategies, and structuring acquisitions and dispositions.  Prior to joining Trinity, Mr. Hehir worked for HVS International. Mr. Hehir received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University and a Diploma in Hotel Administration from the Hotel Institute Montreux, Switzerland. On this episode, Sean and Jake discuss: Executing $500m of renovation projects Raising capital Fostering a no-asshole culture Strategies and deal criteria Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzak  Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/ Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo Links: Sean on LinkedIn Trinity Investments Topics: (00:02:11) Sean’s journey from Botswana to the United States (00:06:50) Influences on Sean’s investment decisions (00:07:56) Where do you see hotel labor moving within the US? (00:10:31) How did you learn to be an investor? (00:13:49) Why drew you to hospitality? (00:16:25) Does being in Hawaii make you feel left out? (00:17:53) What trends are you focusing on now that will pay dividends in the next decade? (00:22:10) Executing $500m of renovation projects (00:26:02) Raising Capital (00:27:48) Do you fear more pain in the hotel industry? (00:29:39) Where will you be investing as we enter another cycle? (00:31:18) Learnings from the GFC (00:33:04) What is a GP fund? (00::36:43) How do you go to major banks and raise from them? (00:39:57) How do you design your fee structure? (00:40:55) What did you learn from the GFC that showed you the massive opportunity coming from Covid? (00:45:41) How do you think about the enterprise value? (00:48:16) Thoughts on WFH from a business owner perspective (00:51:19) Fostering a no-asshole culture (00:52:36) The process of raising funds (00:59:28) How do you execute your business plan with an existing manager in place? (01:02:18) How do a 4 Seasons and Hilton differentiate in their focuses? (01:04:07) Navigating luxury F&B and discussing deals (01:12:05) Strategy and deal criteria (01:12:08) Micro resorts (01:25:23) What makes a great partner? (01:29:00) What is your favorite hotel?
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Aug 2, 2023 • 1h 25min

#24: Mehul Patel - CEO of NewcrestImage

NewcrestImage is a privately held family office investment firm based in Dallas, Texas, with an extensive portfolio of diversified real estate assets and alternative investments. They've conducted 277 hotel transactions and $2.7 billion in real estate transactions across 148 cities. Mehul's start in the hotel business came when he and his family moved to Garland, Texas, from India when he was 13. From 1990 to 1993 he and his family worked and lived in a hotel-his parents as room attendants and Patel and his brother as everything from front-desk clerks to landscapers. On this episode, Mehul and Jake discuss: NewcrestImages's process for purchasing portfolios How they raise capital Knowing which deals to pursue and stay away from How and why they purchased a bank Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzak  Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/ Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo Links: NewcrestImage Mehul on LinkedIn Topics: (00:00:00) Mehul’s journey into hospitality (00:13:05) Buying a portfolio of hotels from Blackstone (00:15:14) Is there less risk in buying a portfolio vs. one-off assets? (00:20:24) How do you raise capital in a portfolio acquisition? (00:23:27) Who on your team leads an acquisition and what are you most focused on in diligence? (00:27:38) What are you doing on an asset management level that the larger organizations aren’t? (00:33:51) What type of deals do you know to stay away from? (00:35:12) Why have you found Ground Lease to be painful? (00:41:13) What is the biggest opportunity you’re seeing today? (00:47:10) How do you think about ROI in the renovations you’re doing? (00:52:59) Is there one asset class you’ll lean into over the next cycle? (01:00:57) How do you reconcile that the real estate is more valuable than the building itself? (01:03:56) A walkthrough of an acquisition (01:13:09) Are there any never-sell assets in your portfolio? (01:14:12) Buying a bank (01:23:16) What’s your favorite hotel?
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Jul 26, 2023 • 1h 18min

#23: Brady Cobb - Founder of Sunburn Cannabis

Selling weed is in Brady Cobb's blood. Using shrimp boats and a suntan lotion company as a cover, his father, Bill Cobb, ran one of the country's largest pot smuggling enterprises in the 1980s, until the federal government arrested him and shut down the $300 million ring during "Operation Sunburn." The younger Cobb became a lawyer and cannabis lobbyist before founding his own marijuana company, Bluma Wellness, which he sold in April 2021 to Cresco for $213 million in an all-stock deal. In November 2022, Cobb took his father's rich history of smuggling and launched Sunburn in Florida, a vertically integrated dispensary chain with nine retail shops. Sunburn is the 13th largest medical marijuana company in Florida, the company is valued at $105 million and will generate around $50 million in revenue by the end of its first year in operation. On this episode, Jake & Brady discuss: How Brady's father got into the world of Cannabis smuggling Opportunities in the Cannabis industry Building a Cannabis farm and distribution operation How to raise capital in Cannabis Links: Sunburn Cannabis Brady on Instagram  Lefay Resorts Italy  Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzak Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/ Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo
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Jul 19, 2023 • 1h 26min

#22: Matt Pestronk - Co-Founder of Post Brothers

Matthew Pestronk is co-founder of Post Brothers, a real estate investment, development, and management company with singular and unique expertise in urban real estate development. Matthew serves as President of the company, engaged in the sponsorship of 40 Class-A multifamily, mixed-use, and retail development projects comprised of over 8,000 units that are operating, under development or disposed plus, over 700K sf of office and retail space, with a total capitalized cost in excess of $4 billion. On this episode, Jake and Matt discuss:  Building a real estate database to generate deal flow Learnings from the GFC How they capitalize deals Using self-management as a key to growth A walkthrough of a typical deal for Post Brothers What metrics matter to them in a deal   Links: Post Brothers Matt on LinkedIn The Berkeley London hotel The Corinthia London hotel Oil Nut Bay Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzak  Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/ Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo Topics: (00:01:59) The first time Jake heard of Matt (00:05:20) How Matthew got started in RE and built a Real Estate Platform (00:10:08) How did you begin creating your database to generate deal flow? (00:13:18) Matt’s first deal (00:16:36) Matt’s learnings from the GFC (00:18:55) How were you capitalizing early on and when did you move into institutional capital? (00:25:47) At what point did you realize you needed the organization to be vertically integrated? (00:27:22) Was self-managing key to your growth? (00:28:51) What are the ways you’ve found to make money in the Operating Company? (00:35:47) What’s your preferred playbook when working on a deal? (00:38:47) What’s the size and scale of PB today? (00:40:19) How do you resist the temptation to do every single deal that comes across your desk? (00:44:22) What does a typical deal process look like for you? (00:51:28) What metrics matter to you in a deal? (00:58:01) Office to MF conversions (01:03:03) How major cities experiencing loss of population will fare (01:06:40) What amenities are you prioritizing in projects right now? (01:10:14) Are there any ideas you’re planning on implementing that you haven’t so far? (01:11:59) Furnished Apartment concepts & thoughts on the hotel industry (01:22:24) What is your favorite hotel?
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Jul 12, 2023 • 1h 22min

#21: Chris Frampton - CEO of East West Partners

As Managing Partner, Chris oversees all of the company’s development and sales activities. With East West pioneering new communities in Charleston, Denver, Snowmass, Deer Valley and Kauai, Chris works with folks from coast to coast and helps guide these destinations toward the future. From his perspective, the agenda is actually quite simple, “We build places that put people first, where the experience drives design and sustainability governs construction techniques.” Chris is a founding member and the board President for the Civic Center Conservancy, the City of Denver’s private partner at Civic Center Park. He is also Board Chair for the Rocky Mountain chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization, and a member of the Board of Governors’ for the Denver Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. On this episode, Jake & Chris discuss: - how they find deals - East West's acquisition process - setting up multiple offices to enhance the development flow - the difference between condos & hotels how to make it work - large scale resort development - managing risk Connect & Invest with Jake Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzak Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/ Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo Links: Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cframpton1/ East West Partners: https://www.ewpartners.com/ Petit St. Vincent - https://www.petitstvincent.com/ Cayo Espanto Beliz - https://aprivateisland.com/ The Soho Grand NYC - https://www.sohogrand.com/ One Hotel Hanalei Bay - https://www.1hotels.com/hanalei-bay Topics: (00:02:05) Chris’ career in real estate (00:12:17) East West’s focus on providing value to buyers (00:16:39) East West’s PM approach (00:19:51) An inside look at the 3 companies within EastWest (00:26:08) How has the organization changed in your time there? (00:30:19) How did you expand to all these different markets while maintaining the core value of living where you work? (00:35:04) What incentives worked when giving ownership to employees? (00:38:35) How have you been able to survive real estate cycles and maintain a massive development pipeline? (00:43:17) Fee Development for another party (00:49:15) Is there room for more master resorts? (00:51:32) What was your greatest investment? (00:54:24) How are you capitalizing deals? (00:57:02) How do you approach reporting? (01:01:18) Is there a mistake that you made that lingers for you? (01:04:09) How are you managing risk through the acquisition pipeline? (01:11:17) How do you structure a Condo Hotel? (01:19:28) What is your favorite hotel?
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Jul 5, 2023 • 1h 18min

#20: Glenn Alba - Founder & CEO of Opterra Capital

Opterra Capital is real estate investment sponsor and operating partner, capital markets advisor, and asset manager with significant experience in all sectors of commercial real estate. Founded by Glenn Alba, a former Managing Director at Blackstone with over 23 years experience in real estate, Opterra Capital seeks to leverage this expertise towards value-add acquisition and proactive investment management to deliver attractive, risk-adjusted returns. Opterra’s core investment strategies focus on both value-add (opportunistic) and stabilized, income-oriented assets in the hospitality, office and multi-family sectors. Our approach seeks to capitalize on mid-market opportunities in the $25 -150 million range in the United States, Canada, and the Carribean. Our investment strategy is strongly influenced by our deep asset management experience to identify the proper capital repositioning, cost reduction and operating leverage opportunities inherent in each asset to maximize returns to investors. On this episode, Jake & Glenn discuss: Glenn's experience at Blackstone and it's influence on starting Opterra How they evaluate deals The 'no-assholes' policy Developing an asset management platform Acquisitions Links: Opterra Capital Glenn on LinkedIn Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzak Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/ Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo Timecodes: (00:01:01) Glenn’s career at Blackstone and the decision to leave (00:06:39) Rolling the Blackstone mentality into Opterra (00:08:09) Glenn on falling in love with Hospitality (00:09:57) How Blackstone shaped Glenn’s Investment Perspective (00:13:02) How Opterra evaluates deals (00:16:54) Opterra’s capital strategy (00:19:15) Converting Office into a Luxury Hotel (00:23:49) Structuring a business to be focused on doing what you want to do (00:26:35) The ‘no-assholes’ policy (00:32:46) Post-Pandemic approach to doing deals (00:34:29) Qualities behind great RE investors and asset managers (00:39:01) Developing an asset management platform (00:44:11) Implementing processes at Opterra (00:49:19) Acquisitions processes (00:57:49) Areas in Hospitality ripe for disruption (01:04:56) How have the past 3 years informed your decisions for the next 5 years? (01:09:58) How do you know when to sell? (01:15:32) What’s your favorite hotel?
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Jun 28, 2023 • 1h 20min

#19: Jeff Burns - CEO of Affiliated Development | The Future of Workforce Housing

Jeff Burns is the Founder and CEO of Affiliated Development, a real estate development company headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Mr. Burns has more than 15 years of experience in the acquisition, development, and finance of a wide array of property types in markets across the United States.  With an extensive background and longstanding relationships, Mr. Burns has a proven track record to see real estate opportunities from conception through to reality. On this episode, Jeff & Jake discuss: How Affiliated works with city governments to develop workforce housing Raising capital Walkthrough of a typical deal Construction, design, and underwriting Links: Affiliated Development Jeff on LinkedIn The Dalmar Hotel Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzak Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/ Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo Timestamps: (00:01:52) Jeff’s career (00:08:48) Choosing to play in the Multifamily asset class (00:14:41) Utilizing HUD loans (00:15:27) How do you find markets to enter? (00:18:44) How Jeff engages with city governments (00:21:17) Defining workforce housing (00:27:14) What incentives are you getting from cities and counties? (00:37:44 How are you raising capital? (00:46:01) How long does a typical deal take from start to finish? (00:48:30) How are you using your in-house architecture function? (00:53:46) How are you thinking about construction costs and design? (01:02:06) How are you underwriting deals? (01:10:30) How do you choose your property managers? (01:14:01) How do you approach inclusionary housing? (01:16:37) What is your favorite hotel?
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Jun 21, 2023 • 1h 25min

#18: Warren de Haan - Managing Partner & Co-CEO at ACORE Capital

Warren de Haan is a founder, Managing Partner and Co-Chief Executive Officer at ACORE Capital, LP, one of the largest credit managers focused on commercial real estate lending, with approximately $20 billion of assets under management. For the past 3 years, ACORE Capital has ranked in the top 20 of The Real Estate Debt 50, PERE's ranking of the world's largest real estate debt fund managers. Through their offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, and Dallas, ACORE originates, acquires and manages first mortgages, B-notes, mezzanine debt and preferred equity throughout the United States. Since inception in 2015, ACORE has closed over $35 billion in more than 453 transactions. On this episode, Jake and Warren discuss: Migration patterns influencing investments Building ACORE and their growth strategies How the lending environment will change in the future Links: ACORE Capital Warren on LinkedIn Four Seasons Surf Club   Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzak Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/ Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo   Timestamps: (00:02:08) Warren’s move to Miami (00:06:21) Migration pattern influencing investments (00:09:00) Navigating Work From Home (00:12:10) Warren’s background, early career, and thoughts on today’s market (00:22:22) The regional banking crisis (00:27:43) Loan extension challenges (00:34:41) Why didn’t you end up in Hospitality? (00:38:19) The thesis for starting Acore (00:49:35) Challenges in scaling the org (01:02:22) Capital Deployment strategies (01:04:59) How Acore makes money (01:09:58) Opportunities for Sponsors to work with Acor (01:15:40) How lending will evolve over the next 5 years (01:17:15) What assets are you staying away from? (01:20:17) What is your favorite hotel?

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