All Forum Posts by: Cameron Lamming

Unless you have some serious cash laying around and have a high net worth for a lender, you'll likely need a capital partner. In order to get a capital partner on board with you, assuming you don't have a strong track record, you'll need to find a smoking deal. A smoking deal will consist of an asset that is severely underperforming but has clear potential (and you can prove it), or is an overlooked hotel that has the opportunity to change brands to a more upscale brand, thus increasing the rate and occupancy and becoming more valuable. In order to evaluate these two things you'll need a very connected and strong management company as they will help evaluate operational potential as well as introduce you to brands to discuss possible conversions. 

My personal recommendation would be to network your butt off, find a smaller hotel investment company and either place your cash with them (if you have enough) and try and be as hands on of an owner as possible, or to go searching for deals and bring them to smaller hotel investment companies and have them cut you into the deal. From there they will put the rest of the pieces together (capital partner, brand, business plan, management company, execution) and you'll learn the entire way through. Once you see how one or two get executed, you're ready to do it on your own.

Jump in head first and start learning. That's what I did and I now own several hotels and I'm in my mid 20s