My roots in hospitality began at my very first job in my hometown, Denver, Colorado. Prior to my college years, I had held multiple jobs throughout high school. While most of my jobs were in retail, I also worked for a catering company that managed the suites at Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado. At that time, I knew I enjoyed the hospitality industry and the joy of bringing people together! After high school, I attended the University of Denver, where I received a degree in Business Administration with a focus in hospitality management. From there I went to work with Marriott International, where I held roles in both group sales and revenue management. These roles helped prepare me for my role at HVS!

As a Senior Project Manager, a promotion that I received in 2018, my primary role is to work on hotel appraisal and consulting projects. The majority of my time is spent researching and writing appraisal reports for diverse types of properties, ranging from limited-service hotels to resort-style hotels. Weekly, I travel to markets throughout the Pacific Northwest and along the West Coast, gaining a wealth of knowledge regarding the hospitality industry.

In my two-and-a-half years at HVS, I have consulted on or appraised over 100 hotel projects. Here is a rundown of a “typical” week:

Monday

  • Administrative tasks
    • Review and return calls and/or emails
    • Make note of upcoming deadlines
    • Arrange schedule for the upcoming week
  • Make and/or confirm travel arrangements for hotel fieldwork
    • Flight
    • Rental Car
    • Accommodations (if necessary)
  • Begin preliminary market fieldwork for an appraisal of a select-service hotel in Boise, Idaho
    • Confirm receipt of request for property information; request any outstanding information
    • Review Smith Travel Research (STR) market reporting list
      • Make note of subject hotel’s potential competitors
      • Contact competitive hotels and set up interviews with General Managers or Directors of Sales
    • Review new hotel supply
      • Make note of planning office to confirm new supply
    • Research local Economic Development & Tourism offices
      • Call and email to schedule appointments during fieldwork

Tuesday

  • Administrative
    • Attend (listen in on) the monthly company call (video conference)
    • Review upcoming schedule with Portland office
    • Organize schedule for the day to prepare for fieldwork
  • Review property information documents, including a property questionnaire, hotel financials, historical occupancy and rate information, real estate tax history, capital expenditures, STAR reports, and any other documents
    • Compose all information into a master fieldwork form
    • Enter necessary information on our company’s intranet site
    • Input the subject hotel’s operating history (financials) into our models
    • Make note of any questions or concerns regarding reviewed information in the master fieldwork form
  • Review preliminary competitive set with subject hotel’s listed competitive set
    • Create a map of competitive set to use in fieldwork
    • Research property tax information for a comparative set of hotels in the market, input into intranet
  • Follow-up on appointments
    • Competitor hotels
    • Economic Development office
    • Tourism agency
  • Begin first writing section of report
    • Download property information from intranet
    • Review market discussion
  • Begin first writing section of report
    • Download property information from intranet
    • Review market discussion
      • Take notes of information for Economic Development and Tourism appointments
      • Make a list of missing information to request while in the field
  • Prepare for travel
    • Pack for trip, including business cards
    • Print out any required information, such as competitor maps

Wednesday

  • Morning travel
    • AM flight to Boise, Idaho
    • Pick up rental car
  • Neighborhood inspection
    • Drive through neighborhood, noting nearby businesses, restaurants, and land uses
  • Subject property inspection (2 hours)
    • Conduct interview through the master fieldwork form and review:
      • Physical asset
      • Historical occupancy & average rate data
      • Historical income statements
      • Competitor hotels (existing & new supply)
      • Historical & projected capital expenditures
    • Tour the subject property
      • Ask any follow-up questions throughout tour
      • Take property photos (interior & exterior)
  • Competitor hotel tours
    • Complete several 30- to 60-minute meetings with either the General Manager or Director of Sales at competitor hotels; the number of appointments will vary on each project.
    • Take pictures and tour all other competitor hotels
  • Evening
    • Return to hotel
    • Review all subject property and competitor pictures
    • Review master fieldwork form and confirm that there are no unanswered questions
    • Begin property description write-up in first section of report (Pre-Analysis)
    • Review appointments for Thursday

Thursday

  • Market appointments
    • Visit County Tax Office
      • Obtain any missing information
    • Visit Planning Office
      • Take note of all hotel building permits
    • Economic Development Office (appointment 30 to 60 minutes)
      • Review market information, such as major employers, the health of the economy, new development projects, and the outlook for the market
    • Tourism Agency (30-minute appointment)
      • Review tourism trends, market-wide occupancy levels, new initiates, and special events (both historical and upcoming)
  • Travel
    • Return rental car
    • Transfer any pictures to computer from phone or use HVS photo app
    • Start writing the market section of report (Pre-Analysis)
    • Flight to Portland, Oregon

Friday

  • Administrative tasks
    • Return any unanswered phone calls and emails while I was out of the office
    • Organize fieldwork notes
    • Submit fieldwork expenses
  • Report writing
    • Complete first writing section (Pre-Analysis)
    • Download market maps
    • Review, proof, and edit first writing section
    • Send to project supervisor for review
  • STR Trend
    • Review proposed competitive set with project supervisor
    • Order competitive set trend
  • Prepare for subject property valuation
    • Download models
    • Request competitor occupancy and average rate (ADR) information
    • Schedule review with project supervisor for early next week
  • Weekly wrap-up
    • Ensure all emails and calls are answered
    • Review schedule for following week

While my schedule can vary week to week, it is typically arranged around my travel for projects. Aside from preparing for fieldwork and completing fieldwork, I am also completing other reports and projects. This includes the valuation aspect of the report, the second writing section of the report, putting reports together, and reviewing reports prior to sending to clients. I also have completed two articles (view my articles), which reflect on experience my experience in a market and enlighten the reader on the market dynamics. To maintain this busy and exciting lifestyle scheduling is very important and helps ensure all deadlines are being met!

In addition to my appraisal and consulting work, I benefit from education through the Appraisal Institute. These classes, scheduled throughout the year, help me prepare for my certified general commercial state license exam, which can be taken after 36 months and 3,000 hours of appraisal work. These classes are part of HVS’s benefit package, which is truly unique in the appraisal world!

While my previous hospitality experience was in roles at the hotel level, HVS has helped me develop big-picture skills to view a hotel from the investment perspective. I now have the ability to analyze market and hotel trends and apply that information to determine the success of a hotel. Aside from the business aspect, HVS supports my personal goals, including the opportunity to work from home as needed, participate in community service, and be a part of professional organizations. In addition, an annual company event helps celebrates all that we have accomplished each year! Overall, HVS has provided a rewarding career in a unique part of the hospitality industry. I’m looking forward to obtaining my general commercial state appraiser license, and the doors that it will open within the company. I would recommend a career at HVS to anyone interested in hospitality, commercial appraisal, and hotel real estate!