Most boutique hotel operators are leaving serious money on the table, not because of bad locations or bad products, but because of bad marketing fundamentals that nobody told them about.

In this episode, you'll hear exactly how one operator diagnosed a 40% occupancy problem and fixed it, taking her Bozeman boutique property to 80% occupancy with a $3,000 monthly marketing budget.

A sixth-generation Montanan who started running a historic hotel at 23, sold her first property after 18 years for a strong return, and now generates $800 to $1,200 a night at a 13-cottage luxury retreat, joins us to share what she learned the hard way. Hillary Folkvord's approach to brand-building, revenue management, and sensory guest experience has turned roadside properties into some of the most talked-about boutique stays in Montana.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why fighting OTAs is costing independent operators bookings, and what to do instead
• The three sensory touchpoints that drive repeat guests and word-of-mouth referrals
• How a $7M renovation mistake on a 1950s motel changed how she evaluates every deal today
• The napkin math framework her family uses to stress-test any acquisition in under an hour
• Why 100% occupancy is not actually a good thing, and what to aim for instead
• How to build a brand that drives bookings even when you're not the face of it

If you're building a boutique hotel and still figuring out your marketing stack, your brand, or how to stop being the bottleneck in your own business, this episode is required listening. Hillary's been through it all, and she's not holding back.

If you found value in this episode, take 30 seconds to leave us a review here. It helps more people find the podcast and keeps us bringing on great guests.

Connect with Hillary Folkvord:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-folkvord-b777b313/

Website: https://www.ladyh.life/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hillaryfolkvord/

Connect with Michael on Instagram or LinkedIn.

Email Us at info@hotelinvestorplaybook.com

Visit the Hotel Investor Playbook Instagram

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What happens when you find a deal that could change everything, but you've drained your bank account just to close it?

In this episode, you'll hear exactly how one operator went from cleaning parking lots to owning the building, and what that journey taught him about risk, focus, and building a business that doesn't need you in it every day.

A vertically integrated hospitality operator who built an 84-door portfolio across two countries and is now pursuing a 140-key historic hotel in Sardinia, Italy, joins us to share how he thinks about scaling from short-term rentals into boutique hotels. Emanuele Pani's path from maintenance guy to multi-market operator is full of hard-won lessons most investors learn too late.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why STR investors drastically under-budget when they buy their first hotel (and what it actually costs)
• How to find off-market deals by doing something most investors won't
• The capital stack strategy for financing a hotel deal in Europe as a U.S.-based investor
• Why the first hire matters more than the first system when scaling operations
• The shiny object mistake that slowed his growth for 4 years and how to avoid it
• How to structure a hybrid hotel and residence model to reduce acquisition risk

If you're serious about making the leap from short-term rentals into boutique hotels, this episode will save you from the most expensive assumptions investors make on their first deal. Don't skip the part about what breaks first when you try to scale.

If you found value in this episode, take 30 seconds to leave us a review here. It helps more people find the podcast and keeps us bringing on great guests.

Connect with Emanuele Pani:

Instagram: @epani.mindset

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emanuele-pani-0b2970105/

Connect with Michael on Instagram or LinkedIn.

Email Us at info@hotelinvestorplaybook.com

Visit the Hotel Investor Playbook Instagram

Invest with Malama Capital

Submit a deal

Most people assume you need outside investors, a big budget, or a prime location to build a profitable hospitality brand. This episode proves otherwise.

In this episode, you'll learn exactly how one builder went from working as a contractor to owning a luxury micro resort that nets over half a million dollars a year, with no syndication, no partners, and no fancy market.

A builder and founder who bootstrapped a five-cabin luxury brand from $90,000 out of pocket joins the show to break down how he did it. Chris Broomfield built Evergreen Cabins in a town of 3,000 people in rural New York, starting with a piece of land bought from a friend and materials scraped from his contracting jobs. Today, the brand has a couple of hundred thousand Instagram followers, a 40,000-person email list, and a portfolio valued at nearly $6 million.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why sweat equity can outperform raising capital, and what the math actually looks like when you build it yourself
• How a single guest's TikTok generated 7 million views and booked the property out for three years straight
• The pricing mistake that likely cost Chris $200,000 to $300,000, and how to avoid it with dynamic pricing tools
• How he went from 100% Airbnb-dependent to nearly 90% direct bookings using a $100 lead magnet and email marketing
• Why he turned down investor after investor, and what that decision means for his eventual exit at a $10M target
• The 10% savings rule he now teaches his 14-year-old son, and why he believes anyone can do this

If you've been sitting on the idea of building a micro resort or boutique hospitality concept and keep telling yourself you don't have enough capital to start, this episode will either light a fire under you or call your bluff. Don't miss Chris's breakdown of exactly what it costs to operate five luxury cabins, and what it really takes to get to a $500K gross income without a single outside dollar.

If you found value in this episode, take 30 seconds to leave us a review here. It helps more people find the podcast and keeps us bringing on great guests.

Connect with Chris Broomfield:
Website: evergreencabins.co
Email: info@evergreencabins.com
Instagram: evergreen_cabins

Connect with Michael on Instagram or LinkedIn.

Email Us at info@hotelinvestorplaybook.com

Visit the Hotel Investor Playbook Instagram

Invest with Malama Capital

Submit a deal