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The Hotel Investor Playbook
Welcome to The Hotel Investor Playbook, hosted by real estate investor and hospitality operator Michael Russell. Michael is the co-founder of Malama Capital and Howzit Hostels, and has built a personal real estate portfolio exceeding $20 million.
With an operator-first mindset, Michael brings a practical perspective to hotel investing. On the show, he breaks down what it actually takes to scale from short-term rentals into boutique hotels, covering deal sourcing, operations, capital strategy, and risk.
Each week, Michael shares real lessons from the field as he builds toward a $400 million real estate business, giving listeners an honest look at the decisions, challenges, and strategies behind the growth. Subscribe and follow along as he documents the journey in real time.
Podcasting since 2024 • 75 episodes
The Hotel Investor Playbook
Latest Episodes
The Revenue Expert Managing $125M Says You're Leaving 40% on the Table | Jasper Ribbers E74
Jasper Ribbers went from trading equities on Wall Street to traveling to 100 countries as a digital nomad, funding it all from a single Airbnb apartment in Amsterdam. Today, he manages pricing strategy for over $125 million in annual short-term...
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39:35
What Hotel Investors Can Steal From a Land Investor Who's Done 400 Deals | Brent Bowers E73
What does a land investor who's done 400+ deals have to teach hotel investors? More than you'd expect.In this episode, you'll discover how the same principles behind finding off-market sellers, creating value through entitlements, and bu...
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40:26
An Overlooked Strategy That Makes $7M Hotel Deals Actually Pencil | Ben Wolff E72
Fear of making the wrong move is why most aspiring hotel investors never get started. And ironically, that hesitation is costing them more than any mistake ever would.In this episode, you'll learn how one developer went from zero hotel e...
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51:13
Former Hotel Analyst Built AI to Fix the Problem He Lived Every Day | Ziggy Hallgarten E71
If you're still tracking your hotel pipeline in Excel and spending two hours screening each deal, you're working harder than you need to. Ziggy Hallgarten lived with that frustration as an analyst, so he built the solution.In this episod...
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43:22
How to Scale to 4 Hospitality Properties Without Raising Millions in Capital | Sam Degenhard E70
What if there's a way to scale a hospitality portfolio without having to own the real estate? For operators looking to grow quickly without raising millions in equity or navigating complex bank financing, the OpCo-PropCo model offers a compelli...
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55:57
