Development Services

Representative Engagements Follow

Real estate development advisory services for hotels and resorts are the backbone service offerings of Straightline.  This is a functional area in which the Company can apply its deep knowledge to problems and opportunities identified by the client or the Company and where it can oftentimes deliver considerable value. 

Real estate developers tend to specialize in certain property types (single family residential, multi-family residential, simple commercial, complex commercial, spec industrial, build-to-suit industrial, and so on).  Taken as a whole, hotel and resort real estate is among the more complex property types.  This is the case because hotels are not just buildings to be leased out, but are operating businesses.  Further, hotels in the early twenty-first century are in about 80% of the cases brand-dependent. Therefore, Straightline frequently is contacted by competent developers who lack the hotel specialized knowledge and who are seeking out the Company's perspectives, experiences, and contact database to resolve hotel development problems.  This is particularly true in large hotels and destination resorts which, by their very nature, add layers of complexity to the development equation.  If fact, much of the work the Company undertakes relates to master-planning destination resorts, where it acts as a key member of the development team in specifying and guiding the land planners and architects.

On occasion, Straightline has acted as fee developer or owner’s representative, taking on full responsibility for development of destination resorts.  We continue to offer this service, but only on a selective basis, given the deep time and personnel commitments required.

Some of Straightline's Development Services Engagements follow...

• Tunisia: Fee development for a $425 million Mediterranean island project (hotel, casino, golf, spa, residences).
• El Salvador:  Development and Financing advisor to the owners of a proposed four or five-star resort with residential and marina components on the shores of a volcanic lake.
• U.S. Midwest: Engaged in overview critique of development plans for 312-room condo hotel, during which significant cost savings were realized due to application of prudent space planning and building envelope standards.
• California:  Identified and specified optimum real estate products and property physical space allocation by component in an entitled resort shell on the Pacific Coast.
• U.S. Rocky Mountain:  Provided full range of development advisory services to redevelopers of  an historic hotel: design programming, financing, selection of professional team, acquisition of brand, management and staffing, and naming regime.
• Costa Rica:  Engaged to develop development program for a Pacific beach resort condo hotel. Financing & Feasibility.
• West Virginia:  Early stage land planning and business planning for 92-acre resort on a river.
• Mexico:  Development of a conversion program for a Sea of Cortez condominium project into a hotel, timeshare, and fractional components.
• U.S. Rocky Mountain:  Purchase due diligence for a four-season destination golf resort.
• China:  Total Fee Development, Master Planning, Financing, and Branding for a $353 million destination resort in a feng shui valley outside of Beijing.
• Mexico:  Development of a conversion program for a condo project into hotel, timeshare, and fractional components.
• China:  Master Planning for conversion of the buildings within a very large manufacturing facility into a mixed use complex including hotel, retail, artists’ studios, and movie production studios.
  
• Nevada: Engaged as an expert in a dispute between developers concerning custom and standard real estate development practice and alter ego questions for a 2,500-room new-build hotel.
• Idaho: Advised master developer concerning business aspects for a proposed joint venture with a hotel developer for an extended-stay hotel.
• Hawaii: Acquisition and redevelopment underwriting for a $200 million purchase of a branded luxury resort.
• Suburban New York City: Provision of full master planning services and selection of project professionals for a proposed 5-star destination spa/hotel/residential (conversion of an historic mansion on 97-acres).
• California: Purchase underwriting for a select service hotel in a desert community.
• Southern California Hotel: Consultant concerning procurement practices for guestroom furniture.
  
• Texas: Provision of transaction-structuring and contract advice for a significant new construction dual-branded hotel project.