The briefs · Folios I–VII

Read before you bid.

Seven museum-weight Harbor by Signalry briefs for a GM, an owner, and an IC that will not be flattered by jargon. Print them. Mark them. Then open the estimate. Not an appraisal.

1. I

   The four approaches

   How hotel valuation actually works

   Income, cap rate, DCF, sales comparison, and cost — Harbor by Signalry framing for a GM, an owner, and an investor. A labeled worksheet, not an appraisal.

   14 min

2. II

   The percentage that is really a price

   Cap rates, explained — and misunderstood

   NOI definitions, going-in versus terminal, and why a hotel that looks “cheap on cap” is often expensive on honesty.

   12 min

3. III

   Ops, brand, FF&E, PIP, ground lease, management

   Hotel due diligence — the checklist a CIM hopes you skip

   A buy-side walk through the files that actually kill deals. Written so a GM can brief an owner in one sitting.

   16 min

4. IV

   From thesis to kill-switch

   Buy-side playbook

   How a hotel buyer should move: thesis, broker, underwriting, walk, IC, and the written permission to say no.

   11 min

5. V

   Prepare, then choose the room

   Sell-side playbook

   How an owner prepares a hotel for sale: ops truth, data room, broker selection, and the story that survives a buyer’s night-audit sample.

   12 min

6. VI

   Affiliation is a cash-flow choice

   Soft brand, franchise, independent — and the value story

   How a flag, a soft brand, or no brand at all changes distribution, reserves, PIP, buyer set, and the number you can defend.

   13 min

7. VII

   Debt is a partner with a clock

   Financing hotel acquisitions

   CMBS, balance-sheet, agency-adjacent, and seller paper — what a hotel buyer should understand before a term sheet feels like a compliment.

   12 min

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