What We’ve Learned from 100+ Site Visits

Our investment strategy has never been confined to spreadsheets or boardrooms. We believe the best insights are found on-site, with the team, in the guest rooms, walking the halls. Over the past decade, we’ve conducted well over 100 site visits across the country. These trips have taken us from legacy downtown hotels to off-the-highway economy assets, from properties in transition to thriving branded portfolios.

Here’s what we’ve learned and why we still believe site visits are one of the most underutilized tools in hospitality investing.

1. Culture is Real and It’s Visible

You can feel it the second you walk in.

Is the front desk engaged or distracted? Does the GM know the names of the staff? Are associates empowered to speak up or afraid to share their opinions?

Culture isn’t something you pick up in quarterly reports, but it drives everything from employee retention to guest satisfaction scores. On-site, you can spot the difference between a well-led team and one just going through the motions.

Takeaway: Culture starts with leadership. Great GMs set the tone, and great ownership ensures they have the tools and support they need.

2. The Numbers Rarely Tell the Whole Story

RevPAR growth and NOI are important, but they can hide what’s really happening at the asset level. On a visit, you might discover that recent performance is due to under-market rates, deferred maintenance, or brand mandates that haven’t yet been implemented.

We’ve walked properties where the P&L looked great until we saw the roof. Or where a slight renovation could unlock serious upside that wasn’t reflected in the underwriting.

Takeaway: Site visits reveal operational realities and physical conditions that spreadsheets can’t capture.

3. The Right GM Can Make or Break a Hotel

Across every hotel we’ve owned or evaluated, there’s been one consistent theme: leadership matters.

We’ve seen properties with modest footprints outperform larger competitors because of a GM who took ownership, rallied their team, and delivered consistently strong results. We’ve also seen well-located, well-capitalized assets underperform due to poor leadership.

Takeaway: We evaluate our operators as much as we evaluate our assets.

4. Guest Experience Is a Leading Indicator

We always take time during visits to experience the hotel like a guest would: we check in anonymously, eat on-site, walk the floors, read the reviews, and talk to team members.

You’d be surprised how often there’s a disconnect between how ownership thinks the hotel is operating and how it’s actually showing up to guests.

Takeaway: If the guest experience is off, your brand scores, your revenue, and your asset value are next.

5. You Can Spot Opportunity Others Miss

A site visit allows you to connect dots others may overlook.

You see the surrounding neighborhood’s development. You walk the nearby businesses. You realize the hotel is under-positioned, under-managed, or undercapitalized. It’s those details sourced on foot that often make the difference between a pass and a purchase.

Takeaway: Many of our best deals came from opportunities that looked average on paper, but told a different story in person.

6. Relationships Are Built Face-to-Face

There’s no substitute for showing up.

When we visit properties, we’re not just inspecting, we’re listening. We’re meeting housekeepers, engineers, and concierges. We’re asking GMs: What do you need to do your job better?

This builds trust. It creates buy-in. And it gives us the credibility to implement change when needed.

Takeaway: People are more willing to go above and beyond when they know ownership is engaged, not distant.

We'll always believe in walking the property. The best data, the best insights, the best decisions come from seeing it yourself.

100+ site visits later, our strategy has only gotten sharper. Not just because of what we’ve seen, but because of how we’ve learned to see.