An STR operator's $4 million bet on building a boutique hotel in Colombia | Tim Hubbard E76
What does it actually cost to build a boutique hotel from scratch in a foreign country? More than you think, and not just financially.
A short-term rental operator running 220+ properties across 40 cities is now three years into building a 20-unit boutique resort in Medellin, Colombia. No bank financing. A licensing process that restarted from zero. And a price tag is climbing toward $4.5 million. Tim Hubbard joins the show to walk through every layer of this project with total transparency.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- The real cost breakdown of a ground-up international hotel development and why it ballooned past initial estimates
- Why foreign investors can't get bank financing in Colombia, and how Tim structured the deal without it
- How a licensing change wiped out months of progress and what it taught him about developing abroad
- The partnership structure that made this project possible, and what Tim wouldn't have attempted alone
- How his virtual management company, Corzly, operates 220+ STRs across 40 cities at 5-10% fees
- Where AI is actually delivering results in hospitality operations today, and where it still breaks down
If you've ever visited a city and thought about building something there, this episode is the honest version of what that journey actually looks like.
Connect with Tim Hubbard
Website: https://corzly.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-hubbard-str/
Podcast: https://strriches.com/
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