"Quality and execution" beat "concept and brand" any day.
Answering your questions...
Hello everyone, happy Friday.
Thank you for sharing your thoughtful questions with me - I’ve answered the ones below which I think will give everyone the most value.
Best,
Nadine
In today’s newsletter:
Pivoting into hospitality and other career advice
An investor’s perspective on strong concept with less proven operator vs. generic concept with proven operator
Solving problems versus finding white space in hospitality
Number 1 non-negotiable in choosing the right capital partner
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Career advice
Advice for a REPE professional looking to pivot into hospitality?
It’s not a hard or complicated transition – understanding deal dynamics and how to acquire and manage the underlying real estate are fundamental skills that give you an edge. What’s unique about hospitality as an asset class within RE is that it’s a daily operating business (vs office, multifamily, industrial, etc with longer leases) and therefore has a layer of complexity to it.
My honest caveat is to wait out the hospitality bull run to test if you genuinely want to do it, while you maintain your current job. Firstly, the world is rapidly changing with AI and it’s unclear the extent of how it will change the employment landscape. Secondly, hospitality – all sides of the business – is really not for everyone, and these days due to all the hype surrounding the industry, I’m seeing a lot of new entrants who only see it from a “brand” or “design” perspective. Hospitality is about taking care of others, and a lot of it is not glamorous. Whether you’re an owner dealing with headaches such as building issues or difficult guests, or an operator who has to motivate staff serving wealthy demanding guests while getting paid relatively little…these things are not advertised as the sexy version of hospitality we’re seeing everywhere today. But it’s the daily reality of the business. It’s also not the quickest nor easiest way to make a lot of money. As long as you go into it with eyes wide open, and if your motives are truly aligned, then you’ll consider it the best pivot of your life.
Best advice you have received for people who are just starting?
For anyone starting out in their careers, my advice is always the same. Approach employment as being paid to learn and make the most out of the opportunity to be a sponge. Learn how to ask really good questions, and you’ll not only receive great answers but mentors who want to teach you. Learn the fundamental skills, but also focus on the soft skills that will give you a real edge: precision in your work, managing relationships, and being a good communicator. Beyond that, take a view that you’ll become an expert at one thing and you’ll never worry about falling behind in your career.
Thoughts on building
When an investor group is choosing between a strong operator with a generic concept and a strong concept with a less proven operator, which risk is cheaper to fix once the money’s been committed?
