Masters of Moments

Jake Wurzak
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Masters of Moments

Masters of Moments involves conversations with top entrepreneurs and business leaders about hospitality, Real Estate investing, and company building. We explore the ideas, strategies, and approaches that brought them to where they are today. This podcast is for you if you are a seasoned investor, an upstart entrepreneur, or someone looking to break into the real estate and hospitality investing world. Jake Wurzak is the CEO of DoveHill Capital Management and Wurzak Hotel Group, a leading vertically integrated hospitality investment platform. Since 2011, he’s led the investment of $1.5 billion in hotel assets throughout the country. Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JWurzak Take the Hospitality Real Estate Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/ Subscribe to the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzvzdJASDiEXhV9VhkaEoWA Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://dovehillcos.junipersquare.com/portal/view_lead_capture_form/MzhmOGE4MTUwMjZhNDZkNmU1MGE0NmYwOTdhZjk2MzAxYzE0MjIzMGdBV1ZEUUFBQUFBQUFBQW9UVzhJVFdzTlRrNkpkSlF1 DoveHill: www.dovehillcos.com

  1. Best of 2024: Selling a Micro-Hotel for $1M per Key - Isaac French - Founder of Experiential Hospitality

    2 DAYS AGO

    Best of 2024: Selling a Micro-Hotel for $1M per Key - Isaac French - Founder of Experiential Hospitality

    Isaac French crafts micro-resorts & boutique hotels. He designed, built, and sold the massively popular Live Oak Lake in Waco, Texas for $1M per key. He also founded Experiential Hospitality, an exclusive course and community for the next generation of hospitality trailblazers. On this episode, Jake and Isaac discuss: Building and Selling Live Oak LakeWhat's next for IsaacNaivety as an advantage Links: Isaac on X Experiential Hospitality Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on X: https://x.com/JWurzak 1 on 1 coaching with Jake: https://www.jakewurzak.com/coaching Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:19) - The Nook (00:10:21) - Landscape hotels (00:14:47) - Getting into the hospitality business (00:21:44) - Building Live Oak Lake (00:44:57) - The numbers behind Live Oak Lake (01:04:02) - Selling Live Oak Lake (01:11:56) - What’s next? (01:26:12) - Naivety as an advantage (01:30:50) - What is your favorite hotel?

    1h 34m
  2. How to Successfully Plan Motel to Lifestyle Hotel Conversions + Group Q&A

    12/26/2024

    How to Successfully Plan Motel to Lifestyle Hotel Conversions + Group Q&A

    In this episode, we dive deep into the complexities and opportunities of converting older mom-and-pop motels into modern, vibrant lifestyle hotels, particularly in resort areas.  We discuss the importance of understanding the market, creative financing options, successful case studies, programming and amenities, renovation scopes and plans, and risk management. Additionally, we cover listener questions on negotiating deals, alternative financing methods, and enhancing the online presence of independent hotels. 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: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:17) - Converting Motels into Lifestyle Hotels (00:04:02) - Case Studies of Successful Conversions (00:08:53) - Market Considerations for Hotel Conversion (00:16:48) - Programming and Amenities for Modern Motels (00:19:19) - Renovation Scope and Design Tips (00:23:41) - Underwriting and Financial Considerations (00:30:06) - Q&A Session: Institutional Buyers and Revenue Potential (00:37:32) - Understanding Commission Structures in Hotel Bookings (00:37:50) - The Importance of a Compelling Website (00:39:16) - Leveraging Social Media and Influencers (00:41:40) - Outsourcing E-commerce and Revenue Management (00:42:25) - Challenges with Hotel Websites (00:46:47) - Negotiation Strategies for Buying Hotels (00:55:38) - Alternative Financing Methods (00:58:46) - Converting Motels to Multifamily Units (01:01:51) - Boutique Hotel Renovation Costs (01:06:41) - Networking and Financing in Hospitality (01:09:53) - Closing Remarks and Podcast Information

    1h 11m
  3. The Restaurant Development Masterclass - John Meadow - Founder & President of LDV Hospitality

    12/18/2024

    The Restaurant Development Masterclass - John Meadow - Founder & President of LDV Hospitality

    John Meadow is the founder and president of LDV Hospitality, a boutique hospitality group that was founded on his realization of the ambition to bring the dream of “La Dolce Vita,” to everyday life. Focused on concept and business development, John drives the creative process for the company, envisioning restaurants and bringing them to life, as well as forging new partnerships with hotel developers to create bespoke food and beverage experiences for their guests. John began LDV in 2008, with the critically acclaimed flagship Scarpetta restaurant, followed by signature brands American Cut and Dolce Italian. This episode was originally released May 10th, 2023 On this episode, Jake and John Discuss: Creating the Ultimate Dining ExperienceBuilding a Restaurant in RomeScaling LDV to a Global levelLeadership Lessons Links: LDV Hospitality: https://ldvhospitality.com/ Ralph’s Restaurant in Paris: https://www.ralphlauren.co.uk/en/global/ralphs-paris/7120 Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell: https://bit.ly/42k0AMX The Grand Hotel Parker's Naples Italy: https://en.grandhotelparkers.it/ Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on Twitter Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass Learn How to Invest with DoveHill Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:14) - Introducing John & his journey into hospitality (00:06:26) - Early lessons on how to cultivate an experience in Hospitality (00:11:32) - What characteristics are you for in partners? (00:13:39) - How do you set the vision for a project? (00:16:05) - Scaling on a Global level (00:27:14) - What are the tipping points for restaurants in design that you implement every time? (00:31:35) - The changing way people engage with night life (00:34:37) - Membership concepts (00:37:54) - Designing a restaurant in Rome (00:53:07) - What would surprise listeners about your leadership style? (00:57:02) - Mentorship (01:01:36) - Can a chef own a truly successful restaurant for a long period? (01:04:17) - How have you managed to rebuild investor confidence and maintain relationships since the Pandemic? (01:10:51) - How do you utilize what you learn from traveling? (01:12:30) - What is your favorite hotel?

    1h 16m
  4. Inside East West Partners: CEO Chris Frampton on Crafting Iconic Developments

    12/11/2024

    Inside East West Partners: CEO Chris Frampton on Crafting Iconic Developments

    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. This episode was originally released July 2023 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 and 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: (00:00:00) - Intro (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?

    1h 22m

  5. 12/04/2024

    Entrepreneurship, Investing, and Whisky with NHL MVP Chris Pronger - Founder of JRNY

    Chris Pronger is a former NHL MVP who played 19 years in the league before embarking on his journey into entrepreneurship with his adult beverage business. JRNY is a Canadian whisky created by the Brothers Sean and Chris Pronger with award-winning distillery Niagara Falls Craft Distillers Whisky.  This episode was originally released March 2024 On this episode, Jake and Chris discuss: - Life in the NHL, mistakes, and lessons learned - Developing a professional mindset in athletics and business - Launching JRNY and competing in the beverage market Check out JRNY here: https://jrnyspirits.com/ Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:34) - How youth sports have changed (00:09:44) - Developing a professional mindset in athletics (00:12:01) - Misconceptions about leadership in pro sports (00:14:36) - What it takes to play 19 years in the NHL (00:16:37) - Transitioning back to civilian life (00:19:18) - Mentors & investing (00:33:32) - Discovering yourself after retiring (00:39:27) - Launching a whiskey brand (00:52:02) - Bouncing back from failure (00:53:24) - How to pick great partners in business (00:58:51) - Competitive advantages (01:01:17) - Brand inspirations (01:06:32) - Building relationships (01:08:57) - Chris’ real estate strategy & career reflections (01:24:56) - What is your favorite 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

    1h 29m

  6. 11/27/2024

    Coaching Call: Blackberry Farm Inspirations + Q&A

    In this special coaching-call episode, we deep dive into what has made Blackberry Farm a successful hospitality operation before getting into some Q&A where we discuss: - Advice to independent developers - Operating agreements w/ restaurants - Scaling w/ investors vs. bootstrapping & a ton more! 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: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:38) - Inspirations from Blackberry Farm & Blackberry Mountain (00:21:14) - Advice to independent developers (00:25:40) - Operating agreements with third-party restaurants (00:35:27) - Purchasing an existing hotel vs. developing from the ground up (00:44:12) - Pop-up hotel experiences (00:48:03) - Scaling with investors vs. bootstrapping (00:55:05) - The risk of betting on newer brands (01:00:21) - Creating a case for a market where there’s little data available to pull

    1h 7m

  7. 11/20/2024

    Turning Wall Street Expertise into a Multi-Million Dollar Value-Add Multifamily Business with Gabe Bodhi, CEO of Tekton Group

    Gabe has led more than $50mm of multi-family investments in metro Denver, across more than 500 apartment units in Denver, Lakewood and Aurora. Gabe is also the co-manager on over $25mm of multi-family investments (164 units) in Los Angeles. This episode was originally released October 2023 On this episode, Jake & Gabe discuss:  Going from Wall St. into Real EstateBuilding Generational WealthRaising CapitalExecuting Value-Add Strategies  Links: Gabe on Twitter Tekton Group   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: (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:48) Going from Wall St. into Real Estate (00:09:38) The desire to create generational wealth (00:11:14) Balancing raising capital while building wealth in assets (00:14:26) What are some key principles you abide by to protect you against being a forced seller? (00:20:15) Waiting for the Fat Pitch (00:25:46) Can you define sub-institutional real estate and what are some market inefficiencies you see around the asset class? (00:30:43) How do you find deals? (00:34:07) A walkthrough of a deal that closed 2 weeks later (00:39:01) How do you execute quickly on your value-add strategy? (00:43:03) What’s the structure of your fund and why did you decide to have a fund? (00:47:48) What did you learn from the first and second funds that you’ll implement in the third? (00:59:18) Have you thought about deals that you never want to sell? (01:02:28) What have you learned from your worst deal? (01:06:23) Getting tenant feedback for Capex (01:08:26) Gabe’s philosophy around 3rd party managers (01:12:15) What are your goals over the next 3 years? (01:17:12) What is your favorite hotel?

    1h 20m

  8. 11/13/2024

    Uniting Hotel Operators & Institutional Investors - Vamsi Bonthala - CEO of Arbor Lodging

    Vamsi Bonthala is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Arbor Lodging Partners, an award-winning national hotel investment firm. Vamsi has overseen approximately $1 billion of transaction volume since the inception of Arbor Lodging Partners, where he leads all company activities including general corporate strategy, investor relations, strategic relationships, acquisitions, dispositions, and asset management. This episode was originally released March 2023 On this episode, Jake and Vamsi discuss: Breaking down Vamsi's first dealGrowing Arbor Lodging and building a vertically integrated management teamMaintaining efficient deal pipelinesConverting Hotels to Multifamily  Links: Vamsi on LinkedIn Arbor Lodging Partners The Grand Hyatt Kauai   Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on Twitter Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass Learn How to Invest with DoveHill   Topics: (00:01:50) - Vamsi’s journey into Hospitality (00:06:38) - What happened in your first deal? (00:08:05) - How did you raise money for the deal? (00:10:41) - Looking back, what were some of the questions you should have asked in your first deal? (00:12:14) - How did you structure the deal with investors? (00:12:57) - Hospitality as a complex asset (00:14:51) - Were you looking for broken RE deals early on in your career? (00:17:15) - When did you start to grow your team? (00:18:57) - What made you decide to bring management in-house? (00:21:20) - Did institutional partners start to flow in once you became vertically integrated? (00:22:04) - How has your philosophy been shaped by doing deals in markets outside your own backyard? (00:25:36) - How do you and your partner figure out what deals and markets you’ll focus on? (00:28:21) - How do you keep your acquisitions team incentivized and motivated? (00:31:45) - How do you make sure your deal pipeline is as efficient as possible? (00:32:52) - What is your strategy for 2023? (00:34:58) - Are you looking at converting Office to Hotel? (00:39:40) - Do you have separate capital for Debt and Equity? (00:42:36) - How do you make the economics work at scale? (00:45:26) - Why do you work with institutional partners vs. syndicating deals? (00:53:30) - At what point did you start viewing the management side as its own business? (00:58:31) - What’s something surprising that you’re doing in the management company? (1:00:03) - What tools are you using to maintain a pulse on the business? (1:05:22) - How do you approach hybrid work with your teams? (1:07:10) - How do you convert hotels to multifamily? (1:18:13) - What is your favorite hotel?

    1h 21m
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Trailer

5
out of 5
30 Ratings

About

Masters of Moments involves conversations with top entrepreneurs and business leaders about hospitality, Real Estate investing, and company building. We explore the ideas, strategies, and approaches that brought them to where they are today. This podcast is for you if you are a seasoned investor, an upstart entrepreneur, or someone looking to break into the real estate and hospitality investing world. Jake Wurzak is the CEO of DoveHill Capital Management and Wurzak Hotel Group, a leading vertically integrated hospitality investment platform. Since 2011, he’s led the investment of $1.5 billion in hotel assets throughout the country. Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JWurzak Take the Hospitality Real Estate Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/ Subscribe to the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzvzdJASDiEXhV9VhkaEoWA Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://dovehillcos.junipersquare.com/portal/view_lead_capture_form/MzhmOGE4MTUwMjZhNDZkNmU1MGE0NmYwOTdhZjk2MzAxYzE0MjIzMGdBV1ZEUUFBQUFBQUFBQW9UVzhJVFdzTlRrNkpkSlF1 DoveHill: www.dovehillcos.com

Information

  • Creator
    Jake Wurzak
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    97
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024
  • Show Website
    Masters of Moments

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