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Where does your project stand right now?
Pick the one that sounds most like you. We'll show you how we'd approach it and one simple next step.
I'm planning my first hotel
Make the early decisions with a clear plan.
Everyone at the table brings their own experience. We give the owner the confidence to lead it, with someone in their corner who has sat in every chair.
How we'd approach it
- Pressure test the budget and pro forma before you close on land or sign with a brand.
- Help you pick the architect and GC, and level their bids so you're comparing real numbers.
- Map brand and franchise requirements early, so they don't show up as change orders later.
Related case study
About $1.9 Million Saved: Auger Cast Piles Eliminated on Two Hotels
The first drawings on two hotels called for auger cast piles. Chris worked through the foundation options with the design team before they were bid.
Read the full case studyThe brand handed me a PIP
The brand writes the PIP. You pay for it.
A property improvement plan comes with a scope and a deadline someone else set. What it costs, and how many rooms you take offline doing it, is up to whoever manages it.
How we'd approach it
- Go through the PIP line by line and price it before you commit to a contractor.
- Find the items that can be negotiated, phased or substituted with the brand.
- Sequence the work, the FF&E deliveries and the installs so rooms keep selling.
My GC's bid came in high
Understand the bid before you commit.
Chris has spent years writing hotel bids from the contractor's side. He knows where margin hides: in contingency, general conditions, allowances and scope gaps that turn into change orders.
How we'd approach it
- Read the bid line by line against what the work should really cost.
- Review contingency, general conditions, allowances and scope gaps against the drawings and project requirements.
- Give you the specific questions to send back to the GC.
Related case study
About $260,000 Lost: Why We Push for a Second Opinion
During bidding, we caught electrical gear sized at about twice what the hotel needed. Here's what it cost when the design went ahead unchanged.
Read the full case studyMy opening date is slipping
Your hotel earns nothing until the doors open.
Every day late is a day of room revenue you never get back, plus carrying costs that keep running. Most late openings come down to a few things: the critical path, FF&E that shows up late, and brand inspections.
How we'd approach it
- Review the schedule and find what is really driving the date.
- Track FF&E from the factory to the room. That's where openings quietly slip, and it's our home turf.
- Get ahead of brand inspections and punch lists so nothing fails at the finish line.
I hit a permit or regulatory surprise
Bring agency requirements into the project plan early.
Sea turtle lighting on the Florida coast. Wetlands. Utility capacity. Impact fees nobody budgeted for. These surprises stop projects cold, and the way through is knowing who to call and what they'll accept.
How we'd approach it
- Figure out exactly what the agency needs, and what it will accept instead.
- Bring in the right engineers and designers, fast.
- Rework the schedule and budget so one problem doesn't turn into three.
I'm buying a hotel
The asking price doesn't include the next PIP.
Deferred maintenance, aging systems and the renovation the brand will require are all costs you inherit. Know them before you sign, while they can still change the price.
How we'd approach it
- Walk the property with a builder's eye: roof, building envelope, mechanical, life safety.
- Estimate PIP exposure and the capital plan for your first five years.
- Give you numbers you can take to the seller and the lender.
None of these quite fit?
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