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HOTEL DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT

Shawn Amsler
sa136@nyu.edu
Course Number: REAL1-GC.1065.001/DEVE1-GC.1065.001
Fall 2020
Semester Start: September 2, 2020
Semester End: December 9, 2020
Meeting Time: Wednesdays, 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm
(No class on Wednesday, November 25)
Location: Room 11 West 42nd Street, Room 1018
Office Hours: By Appointment (email to schedule a meeting)
Course Prerequisite: Real Estate Finance, Valuation of Real Estate Projects

Course Description:
As a real estate asset class, hospitality properties are among the most complex and multifaceted,
but they are also among the most dynamic. Critical to successful hotel investment and development
is a strong grasp of the broad range of factors that influence decision making, including due
diligence, planning and design considerations, and financial performance.

This course will explore the development process for hospitality properties from inception to
operation and disposition, as well as methods of valuation and drivers of demand for a variety of
property types, including downtown, suburban, boutique and resort. Students will become familiar
with income analysis for food and beverage, retail components, spas and golf courses. Additionally,
the course will introduce students to fundamental concepts of design psychology and
considerations, as well as the space allocation and programming of public areas, guestrooms, back-
of-house areas and amenities. Case studies and interactive assignments will be used to illustrate
best practices, as well as the conditions under which certain properties thrive while others decline.

This course will be of particular interest to students who plan to pursue careers in hotel
development, repositioning or management, either at the direct asset level, or indirectly as
hospitality industry lenders or investors, as well as to those who simply wish to gain a better
understanding of this unique asset class.

Course Structure/Method:
This course meets in person, once a week, at 11 West 42nd Street, Room 1018. Each session will
involve a lecture and an interactive class discussion. As described under Course Expectations, each
student will be expected to complete homework assignments, reading assignments, a midterm
exam and a cumulative final exam. Students will also complete a comprehensive hospitality
development term project and an accompanying presentation to the class.
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This course involves extensive use of NYU Classes. Access requires your NYU Net-ID and e-mails
will be sent to your NYU e-mail address. In addition to the assigned textbooks, various additional
articles and reports, or excerpts thereof, will be also be posted to NYU Classes under Resources.
Modifications to this syllabus may be made throughout the course. Any modifications will be
announced in class and posted on NYU Classes.

Course Learning Outcomes:

At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to:

 Describe various hotel concepts and hospitality property types

 Understand how successful hotel development projects are executed
 Perform a financial valuation for a hotel or resort, including the analysis of income streams
from food and beverage, retail components, spas, golf courses, and other sources of revenue
 Identify the drivers of demand for a variety of hospitality property types
 Understand the design and programming considerations for public spaces, guestrooms,
back-of-house areas and amenities
 Explain the conditions under which certain properties thrive while others decline
 Understand the role of the developer in placemaking and value generation for hospitality
assets

Required Textbooks

Harper, David; Hotels and Resorts, an Investor's Guide (First Edition); Routledge; 2016.

Penner, Richard; Adams, Lawrence; and Robson, Stephani; Hotel Design, Planning and
Development (Second Edition); W.W. Norton & Company; 2012.

These books will be available at the NYU Bookstore or on Amazon.com

In addition to the above textbooks, selected reports, articles and excerpts on specialized
topics and case studies will also be assigned.

Communication Policy:
NYU requires all credit students to communicate through NYU email. Please send any questions or
other information to sa136@nyu.edu. Inquiries will be returned within 24 hours during the
business week.
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Course Expectations:
A midterm exam, a cumulative final exam, reading assignments, homework assignments, and
comprehensive hospitality development term project and oral presentation are required.
Additionally, case studies will be assigned, followed by interactive class discussions. The
requirements for each assignment will be discussed in class and posted on NYU Classes.

Course Attendance and Participation Requirements:

SPS requires class attendance. Prompt class attendance and active class participation are required
on a regular basis. Active class participation includes coming to class on time, fully prepared with
thoughts or questions pertaining to weekly topics for class discussion. Each student is responsible
for staying apprised of all announcements, revisions, assignments, reporting any difficulties
(including all missed classes or partial classes) and appropriate class conduct.

A portion of your overall grade will be determined by your participation in class. The professional
work environment demands group work, collaboration, listening, and public speaking. The
continuing development and refinement of speaking and listening skills is considered an important
part of this course. Students will also be evaluated on how they interact with their peers in the
classroom, as well as on the thoughtfulness and insightfulness of their contributions to interactive,
in-class discussions. Students are expected to have completed the reading assignments before each
class, and to be prepared to discuss these materials.

Assessment Strategy:

Class Participation (includes attendance) 20%

Homework Assignments 10%*
Term Project 20%*
Term Project Presentation 5%
Midterm Exam 20%
Final Exam 25%

*Late submissions will result in a reduction of 10% per day.

The grading criteria used to evaluate achievement in this course are in strict accordance with NYU
SPS standards. Grades for late assignments will be reduced by 10% per day. Missing assignments
will receive a score of zero. For a complete description of NYU SPS grading policies, go to
http://sps.nyu.edu/academics/academic-policies-and-procedures/graduate-academic-policies-
and-procedures.html#Grades. Some assignments in this course may be checked for plagiarism
using TurnItIn, a plagiarism detection software used to verify academic originality.
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NYUSPS Policies:

SPS expects students to attend all classes on time. Absences and/or lateness may have a negative
impact on a student’s final grade.

“NYUSPS policies regarding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA),
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism, Students with Disabilities Statement, and Standards of
Classroom Behavior among others can be found on the NYU Classes Academic Policies tab
for all course sites as well as on the University and NYUSPS websites. Every student is
responsible for reading, understanding, and complying with all of these policies.”

The full list of policies can be found at the web links below:
 University: http://www.nyu.edu/about/policies-guidelines-
compliance.html
 NYUSPS: http://sps.nyu.edu/academics/academic-policies-and-
procedures.html

NYUSPS Graduate School Grading Policies:

http://sps.nyu.edu/academics/academic-policies-and-procedures/graduate-academic-policies-and-
procedures.html#Grades

NYUSPS Undergraduate School Grading Policies:

http://sps.nyu.edu/academics/academic-policies-and-procedures/undergraduate-academic-
policies-and-procedures.html#Grades_and_Grade_Point_Averages

STATEMENT OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY. NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate strives to

promote an ethical learning environment and to ensure that all students understand the concepts of
academic integrity. This is an extremely important issue for the students' time at the Institute, but
also after graduation. Hence, all students are required to familiarize themselves with the Statement
of Academic Integrity as found at: http://www.SCPS.nyu.edu/student-affairs/graduate/academic-
policies/#SCPS-statement-on-academic-integrity-and-plagiarism . Please read the Statement of
Academic Integrity carefully and make sure that you follow it whenever you submit any work for
this course. Also realize that there are a number of penalties associated with violating the
Statement of Academic Integrity: They range from failure for an assignment, exam or course to
dismissal from the University. The Modern Researcher by Jacques Barzun and Henry Graff may
answer questions regarding when and how sources are correctly cited. All required assignments
in this course will be checked for plagiarism using TurnItIn.

DISABILITY ACCESS STATEMENT. If you are a student with a disability who is

requesting accommodations, please contact New York University's Moses Center for Students with
Disabilities at 212-998-4980 or mosescsd@nyu.edu. You must be registered with the Moses Center
to receive accommodations. Additional information can be found at www.nyu.edu/csd. The Moses
Center is located at 726 Broadway on the 2nd floor.
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Course Outline:

Session Date Topic Reading Assignment

01 9/2 Course Overview; Introduction to Hotel Penner - Foreward, Ch 1;
Development and Investment Harper - Preface, Ch 1

02 9/9 No Class (Monday Schedule)

03 9/16 Overview of Hotel Concepts: Urban Hotels; Penner - Ch 2, 3, 4, and 5

Design Hotels; Suburban Hotels; Multibranded
Hotels

04 9/23 Site and Master Planning; Hotel Programming; Penner - Ch 13, 14 and 17
Design Development; Public Space Design
Considerations

05 9/30 Guestroom and Suite Design; Administration and Penner - Ch 15, 16, 18, 19
Back-of-House Design; Development and Harper - Ch 4 and 5
Construction Considerations

06 10/7 Asset Management for Hospitality Properties; Harper - Ch 2, 3 and 6;

Ownership; Acquisition and Disposition; Penner - Ch 12
Renovation and Repositioning

07 10/14 The Valuation Process - Part I: Methods of Harper - Ch 7, 8 and 12

Valuation; Determining Site Values

Midterm Exam Due

08 10/21 The Valuation Process - Part II: Financial Due Harper - Ch 9 and 10
Diligence and Valuation Due Diligence

09 10/28 Convention Hotels; Casino Hotels; Conference Penner - Ch 8, 9 and 10

Centers

10 11/4 Resort Hotels; Vacation Ownership; Penner - Ch 7 and 11;

Residential Hotels Harper - Ch 14

11 11/11 Mixed Use Developments; Serviced Apartments Penner - Ch 6;

Harper - Ch 11 and 13

12 11/18 Golf Courses; Spas and Gyms; Penner - Ch 20;

Future Trends and Concepts Harper - Ch 15, 16 and 17

13 12/2 Final Presentations – Part I

14 12/9 Final Presentations – Part II

Final Exam Due