Exit & transactions
Hotel exit and transaction advisory
An exit is won or lost before the asset reaches the market — in the data room, the contract pack and the three assumptions a buyer will test first. We prepare the owner’s side of that.
The decision
The three questions this engagement answers
What is the buyer actually buying?
Not the hotel — the cash flow, the contract and the land. Each carries its own discount. We identify which one is driving the price gap before you concede on any of them.
Which contract clauses will be used against us?
Change-of-control, pre-emptive rights, key money, termination costs and brand-approval conditions are where deals reprice or die. They are cheaper to find before the data room opens.
Sell now, hold, or reposition first?
The answer depends on where you are in the capex cycle, what the contract allows and what the marginal buyer will pay for the next three years of cash flow. We model the three.
Deliverables
What you get
- An exit-readiness review: the ten areas a buyer’s diligence team will test, and where the owner is currently exposed.
- Contract and consent check: everything that has to be negotiated with the operator or brand before a change of control.
- A defensible information pack: normalised historical performance, the operating model, capex history and a maintenance liability view.
- Valuation triangulation: income capitalisation, price per key and replacement-cost cross-checks, with the assumptions stated.
- Buyer positioning: which buyer type is likeliest to pay the highest price for this asset, and why.
- Support through diligence and negotiation, on the owner’s side of the table.
| In scope | Not in scope |
|---|---|
| Exit readiness and data-room preparation | Acting as a licensed real-estate broker or agent |
| Contract and consent review | Legal conveyancing and title transfer |
| Valuation triangulation and pricing strategy | Statutory valuation certificates |
| Buyer positioning and marketing narrative | Tax structuring and accounting advice |
How it runs
Stages, timing and output
| Stage | Duration | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Readiness review | Weeks 1–3 | Where the asset, the data and the contracts will be attacked. |
| 2. Remediation | Weeks 3–8 | Fix what is cheap to fix before the market sees it. |
| 3. Pack and positioning | Weeks 6–10 | The information pack and the story a buyer will pay for. |
| 4. Process support | To close | Diligence queries, negotiation and the owner-side view of every concession. |
Fees
Fixed fee, agreed in writing before work starts.
Quoted after a scoping call, based on the asset, the number of counterparties and the evidence available. No hourly billing, no success fee, and no commission from any operator or brand. Smaller assignments have a separate fixed-fee product.
- Independent No operator commission, no referral fees, no brand relationship that pays us. The absence of that fee is why the advice can be blunt.
- Twenty years in the region Asset-level experience with hotel groups and investors, including business development and asset management roles in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
- Published method We publish our method, our HMA framework and our calculator — including the limits of each, not only the benefits.
Questions owners ask
Questions owners ask before engaging
Do you act as a broker?
No. We are not a licensed brokerage and we do not take a percentage of the transaction. That separation is deliberate: an adviser paid on completion has an interest in completion.
How long does exit preparation take?
Six to ten weeks for a well-run single asset. The variable is not our work; it is how quickly contract consents and historical data can be assembled.
Should we fix performance before selling?
Only where the fix is credible, quick and visible in the numbers a buyer will underwrite. Otherwise you are spending capital to improve a price you have already decided to accept.
Can you help if we are only considering a partial sale?
Yes — including sell-downs, recapitalisations and joint ventures, where the same contract and information issues apply.
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