Key players & your team
The owner drives the hotel project from inspiration to operation to eventual sale. However, this is not a one-woman job. In the process, you will leverage a variety of other people to bring your hotel to reality. Those people will be your partners, investors, employees, consultants, contractors and quite possibly family and friends. Although you will work with many people, there will be a core group that you will rely on – your development team. In addition to these key players, your project will engage other specialists.
Plan to interview several prospects (2 to 4) for each of these roles. It’s important to understand what they will cost and what services they will provide (or recommend). This process involves comparison shopping, negotiation and contracts or agreements. You should be comfortable that each specialist – paid or not - will give you good information and recommendations. The earlier you assemble your team, the better able they will be to provide you the guidance you need at the right time.