Investing In The Guest Experience - Keith Brenan- Defining Hospitality - Episode # 153

As an advisor, helping guide your clients to the project of their dreams can be challenging yet rewarding. Here to shed light on the advisory process is a Principal and Managing Director at Weitzman, Keith Brenan! 

Keith joins Host Dan Ryan to discuss the nuances of investing in hospitality properties, and some of the many considerations that clients may have. Keith also shares the difference between institutional and mom and pop investors, the best way to mix hospitality and office space, and how to pick the perfect amenities. 

Takeaways: 

• While hospitality touches on many different aspects, at its core, it is about welcoming and understanding. Hospitality is about the ability to welcome into a space and exceed their expectations in terms of what they expect from human interaction. 
• Hospitality as an investment class presents some unique challenges. As your tenants are essentially checking in and out on a daily basis, quality amenities alone don’t cut it. To truly make hospitality excel as an investment, the human element must be there.
• Advisors see two typical types of investors, institutional and mom and pop investors. Institutional investors are typically assessing if they want to get involved with hospitality, while mom and pop investors already have a vision and need help implementing it. 
• Having the right amenities makes a great project. By tying the value of the amenity to the development of the building creates a cohesive experience for guests. Unique amenities serve as a focal point for guests when choosing a place to stay. 
• Many investors are not only considering the current role of a hospitality asset, but how the building may need to transform over the years. As topics like adaptive reuse become more popular, more investors are looking for flexible assets. 
• When mixing hospitality and office space in a single building, hospitality needs to be on the top half, however, elevated lobbies present unique challenges. Consider how guests enter the building, and simplify the path they take to get to the lobby. 
• As an advisor, your main role is to show people all the details and help them make an informed decision. While telling someone no on a project can be disappointing, it’s better than letting someone go down a path towards eventual failure. 

Quote of the Show:

• “It's a way of welcoming and it's a way of understanding. It's providing human interaction often in a physical space.” - Keith Brenan

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-brenan-cre-61222811/ 
• Website: https://www.weitzmanusa.com/ 

Shout Outs:

• 1:32 - Aggie Zamir: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aggie-zamir-a750982b/ 
• 1:33 - ALIS: https://www.burba.com/ALIS 
• 29:38 - Marriott: https://www.marriott.com/default.mi 

Ways to Tune In: 

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419