Phoenix, May 2021 – NewGen Advisory (NGA) created a task force to help hotel owners and alternative use buyers during the pandemic. The initiative tapped expertise from multiple industry experts to help hoteliers safeguard their investments and increase the number of dwelling options for the depleted housing market.
NGA’s task force team of hospitality experts engaged early and often with hoteliers as the new “norms” of COVID-19 took hold. They are leveraging relationships with municipal leaders, non-profits, and commercial real estate professionals, the NewGen Advisory task force curated buyers from other industries for hotels primed for conversion. While multi-family housing dominates the transaction volume, alternative uses range as far as pet resorts and self-storage.
“Few hoteliers could have foreseen the sustained impact to operations, asset value, and capital markets just a year ago,” said NewGen Advisory’s founder, Dan Rama. “The NGA task force was able to provide value to the hospitality industry as well as support low and middle-income families during the economic halt that followed the pandemic.”
With twelve conversion transactions closed since the inception of COVID-19 lockdowns, the NewGen Advisory task force has seen hotel conversion projects span from transitional housing for US veterans to market-rate housing in up-market locations. Ryan Bodine, Senior Vice President at NGA, said, “working with cities and non-profits to address housing needs for at-risk populations allowed for a win-win transaction that maximized value for the hotel owner while providing the buyer a below-market key cost, minimal CapEx, and robust building amenities.”
The NGA task force will continue its work to assist hoteliers and conversion property owners. Plans include recruiting additional municipality leaders to represent a full scope of US geographic regions and the nuances of each.
Task Force Members:
Suraj Bhakta, Chief Executive Officer and Legal Counsel
Dan Rama, Principal and Designated Broker
Kyle Walker, Co-Founder and Principal
Mike Carroll, Chief Operating Officer
Ryan Bodine, Senior Vice President