For hotel owners, launching a new property or renovating an existing one is a high-stakes endeavor. Many assume hiring a general contractor and architect is enough to keep things on track.
In reality, without an owner’s representative, projects often face costly delays, ballooning budgets and competing priorities that threaten both revenue and brand reputation. An owner’s rep is the safeguard. A partner whose sole mission is to protect the owner’s vision and investment.
In hospitality, timing is everything. A delayed opening can mean millions in lost revenue, while poor planning can impact guest satisfaction for years.
What is an owner’s rep?
An owner’s representative serves as the owner’s advocate throughout the entire project lifecycle. Unlike architects or general contractors who focus on design or execution, reps oversee the big picture, including budgets, schedules, contracts, compliance and stakeholder alignment.
Owner’s reps mediate between stakeholders such as owners, management companies, designers, contractors and brands. They keep the project financially viable by ensuring design and build decisions align with return on investment goals. They also streamline communication to resolve conflicts and enforce accountability. A general contractor may build what’s drawn, but the owner’s rep ensures what’s being built makes both operational and financial sense.
Why hospitality projects need an owner’s rep
Hotel projects are uniquely complex, and the risks hotel owners face are significant. Even minor delays in approvals, say, deciding between two sofa colors or other on-paper minor details, can cascade into weeks of lost time. Meanwhile, overlooked compliance issues or missed permit deadlines can derail schedules altogether.
Owner’s reps minimize these risks by setting realistic expectations for budgets and timelines from the start. They drive the process and secure timely decisions to avoid costly stalls as well as managing compliance across permitting, brand standards and local jurisdiction requirements. When they are brought in midstream, they often course-correct troubled projects by addressing incomplete documentation, overwhelmed investor groups or misaligned stakeholders.
Owners and operators rarely have the time or specialized expertise to manage a hotel project while running their core business. Owner’s reps fill that gap, ensuring no detail slips through the cracks. By the time a project enters construction, an owner’s representative has already developed accurate cost estimates to set a realistic budget, selected the right contractor to keep the schedule on track, and documented each step to ensure the project meets its goals.
Ideally, an owner’s rep is engaged during the project’s conception, allowing them to provide expertise on potential challenges early on and guide the project toward success, but an they can also be brought on after a hotel project is already in motion.
Unique challenges in hospitality projects
Unlike other commercial real estate sectors, hospitality involves balancing multiple stakeholders — each with their own very distinct priorities. Owners are focused on ROI, brands prioritize guest experience and aesthetics, and operators want efficiency and low maintenance costs. Without a neutral party, these priorities can easily conflict.
Owner’s reps also play a key role in rebranding and renovation projects, where tight timelines and evolving guest expectations leave little margin for error. From integrating sustainability measures to ensuring Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, they help properties modernize without jeopardizing budgets or schedules.
Value beyond the build
The benefits of an owner’s rep don’t end once the ribbon is cut. Their oversight provides peace of mind that one team is dedicated exclusively to the owner’s goals and bottom line.
They add value by tracking the project’s critical path to avoid delays. They maintain airtight documentation for compliance and investor transparency. They keep teams aligned, which reduces miscommunication and disputes, and they transfer hospitality-specific knowledge to less experienced ownership groups or asset managers.
When millions of dollars and brand equity are at stake, relying solely on a general contractor and architect isn’t enough. An owner’s rep isn’t a “nice to have.” They are the linchpin of successful hospitality projects.
By setting clear expectations, enforcing accountability, and aligning every decision with financial and operational goals, owner’s reps turn ambitious visions into efficient, profitable realities. The smartest move hotel owners can make is to engage one from day one, before the first shovel hits the ground.
Erica Killam is a director at MGAC, a consulting company with expertise in project management and construction. She is based in Washington, D.C.
This column is part of ISHC Global Insights, a partnership between CoStar News and the International Society of Hospitality Consultants.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CoStar News or CoStar Group and its affiliated companies. Bloggers published on this site are given the freedom to express views that may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussion within our reader community. Please feel free to contact an editor with any questions or concern.