The Hotel Investor Playbook
Welcome to The Hotel Investor Playbook, hosted by real estate investors and hospitality experts Michael Russell and Nathan St Cyr. As the founders of Malama Capital and Howzit Hostels, Michael and Nathan have a wealth of experience in owning and operating boutique hotels, hostels, and other experien...
Recent Episodes
Dec. 9, 2025
The 3 Distress Signals That Make the Next 12 Months a Buyer’s Market | Suraj Bhakta E61
Is now a terrible time to buy a hotel, or the best buying window you will get this decade? In this episode, Michael sits down with Suraj Bhakta, CEO of NewGen Advisory, a national hotel brokerage that has closed deals in 44 states. Suraj explains what he is actually seeing in today’s market, from t…
Dec. 2, 2025
7 AI Tools That Let You Buy and Operate Hotels (With No Staff and No Time) | Jake Heller E60
Most boutique hotel investors are running lean. No analyst team. No data department. No six-figure tech budget. Yet the demands of buying and operating hotels keep getting heavier. In this episode, I sit down with Jake Heller...
Nov. 25, 2025
The Private Island Resort Built With Sweat, Not Millions | Odis Martin E59
Turning an international hospitality dream into reality sounds exciting, until you’re standing on a swampy patch of land in Belize, wondering how many years it will take to shape it into something guests will love. That’s whe...
Nov. 18, 2025
A Top Hotel Broker’s Guide To Getting Deals Done In Today’s Market | Hunter Johnson E58
Ever wonder why some first-time hotel buyers close deals while others keep getting stuck? This week on the Hotel Investor Playbook, Michael Russell sits down with Hunter Johnson, President of Investment Sales at US Hotel Advisors, who has worked on transactions from boutique mom-and-pops to $80M ho…
Nov. 11, 2025
How This Husband-and-Wife Duo Scaled from 5 Airbnbs to 2 Boutique Hotels (Without Burning Out) | Mitch & Katie Ehly E57
Want to know what it’s like to go from short-term rentals to owning boutique hotels while still maintaining a healthy relationship? This week on the Hotel Investor Playbook, Michael Russell sits down with Mitch and Katie Ehly...
Nov. 4, 2025
Hotel Technology You Can Install To Boost NOI | Sue Graves E56
Looking for hotel technology that can actually increase profit and reduce expenses without hiring an IT department? This week on the Hotel Investor Playbook, Michael Russell sits down with Sue Graves, founder of Experience Al...
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