Hotel Investment/Real Estate

Hey guys, this is my first post on WSO and was wondering if anyone has some input on the hotel investment business. Currently I am majoring in hotel management with a minor in real estate at a non target. Eventually I am hoping to land an analyst position at an REIT or investment firm specializing in hotels. Any suggestions on networking or breaking into the hotel niche would be great.

 

^ that is a great idea in theory, but easier said than done. Any kind of equity research (whether you're covering REITs or software or mining) is really hard to get into, period.

It would be easier to, as the OP asks, join a hotel REIT or a hotel investment company. And it sounds like that's what he wants to do. He doesn't want to do research from a desk on wall st, he wants to buy hotels.

 

Thanks for the advice. I did some looking on equity research and it does seem that even entry level is tough to break into. I think it should be fairly straightforward to get an internship at a hotel investment company considering most of them look for hotel operation experience. I also have a decent grasp of the valuation process for the hotel asset class. I was wondering if it be beneficial to try and work towards a double major or leave real estate as a minor?

 

1) Apply for jobs in the companies you mentioned and work your way up the chain through hard work 2) Look at applying at Cornell's 'hotel school' and get a Masters degree. It should give you good background (you'll take real estate and finance courses) and then go form there

2 will get you to the top faster, but you might take on a good amount of debt

 

I'll respond a bit since you have gotten anything yet. Writing appraisals is a good start, but it might not be enough. Also, when you write the appraisals, are you doing site visits and examining the structure? Or are you just doing the proformas? I know certain appraisers have others sit and work out the financials.

Array
 

Thank you all for the comments.

Moving to Ithaca for graduate school right now is out of the question. Though, I have thought about their graduate certificate in Hotel Investment.

For the first 7-8 months I was making site visits/inspections and doing all the market/area research. I have just in the past 4-5 months starting conducting all the proformas and applying the approaches to value.

"TeddyTheBear", what else could give me an edge in the industry? I take courses through the Appraisal Institute, currently. Those have to count for something to employers, right?

My thought coming in was being able to value real estate inside and out, perform due diligence and analyze/interpret markets was a good start for hotel real estate, as opposed to going straight into operations.

Thank you for the insight!

 

Sal,

Interesting, atleast you have some decent exposure. I'd say to push and start applying to FA roles with hotel <abbr title="real estate investment trust"><abbr title="real estate investment trust">REITs</abbr></abbr> in LA. I am not sure how open you are to moving, but on the East Coast, the hotel scene is much bigger. If you go to Bethesda, they have most of the major <abbr title="real estate investment trust"><abbr title="real estate investment trust">REITs</abbr></abbr> and companies like Marriott based there. <abbr title="New York City"><abbr title="New York City">NYC</abbr></abbr> has some. I don't know too many companies in LA though. 
Array
 
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