The Modern Hotelier #189: Hotel Acquisition in Colorado & Starting ILC | with Jeremy Wells & Stephen Chan
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David Millili: Welcome to The Modern Hotelier Hospitality's Most Engaged podcast. I'm David Millili. 
Steve Carran: I'm Steve Carran. 
David Millili: Steve, who do we have back on the program? 
Steve Carran: Yeah, David. Jeremy Wells is back with us author, owner of Longitude, and also owner of the Ozarker Lodge in Branson, Missouri. Yes, so welcome back Jeremy. How you doing?
Jeremy:  I'm doing great. Thanks for having me again.
Steve Carran: You bet. So. Last time we talked, uh, you just opened up the Ozarker or Lodge. What's been going on since then? 
Jeremy: Well, there's been quite a lot going on, you know, we've, since opening, it's just been about kind of, uh, ramping up that, that business and the brand and, um, stabilizing that asset over the last couple years.
So, it's been really well received by the community, by guests. Uh, we've had a lot of successes, a lot of lessons learned as well. Um, so it's, it's all been good though. And, um, so that's been going really well. And since then. Um, obviously the book, uh, that, my second book that, uh, we, we published, uh, came out Indie Hotels and then, uh, we also are now, uh, co-owners of another hotel property in Parker, Colorado.
So which we acquired in, uh, the winter in December of 2023, um, shortly after we opened the Ozarker Lodge. 
David Millili: So since we saw you back in 2023, you've launched a book and tell us more about that and what that's been like. 
Jeremy: Yeah, it's been, it's been great. You know, I, um, the Indie hotel book has really been kind of equal parts like love note to the hospitality industry and just my love for this industry is all about. And then also kind of a memoir rather of my journey through becoming a Hotelier for my first hotel through the Ozarker Lodge. And, so just kinda like what we find found is like what's important to the indie spirit? How do we cultivate that, but got a lot of great feedback. Um, you know, it's been cool to hear stories of people that have read through it and just really enjoyed it. And so, I might write another one, I'm not sure yet, but we'll see. I'm kind of. thinking through that. But, um, but yeah, it's been great to just hear, stories of that, book and how people have received it.
Steve Carran: Well, and that was your second book, right? It was your first one was The Future of Hospitality. 
Jeremy: Yeah, that one we published in 2020 right. Around COVID, which is great timing, but yeah. Um, but yeah, it was, uh, that was really cool. And that one's, uh, the book that's been used in at like Cornell University Right.
And some other graduate programs. And so that's really neat to, um, hopefully be inspiring. You know, the next generation of hospitality professionals and Hotelier and I just love the community and what it's all about. You bet. 
Steve Carran: I got both of 'em on my coffee table at home. Uh, so I'm really interested to learn a little bit more about this Parker Colorado property, my neck of the woods. How did you decide on Parker, Colorado? Yeah. 
Jeremy: Well, actually I didn't decide on Parker, Colorado. Okay. It was, uh, so what's funny is, so our partners on the Ozarker Lodge, Stephen Chan, Eric Warner with Eagle Point Hotels, they found this property actually, and, uh, it's a really unique property and, and basically the heart of Parker, Colorado.
And so they invited us into that deal with them, um, to help on the, the repositioning of the asset, kind of the, the brand building that out. And so, um, we were just honored to be a part of it and that they invited us into that. So, um, yeah, we, we took this property. It was built in 2019. Um, so it's relatively new build, uh, had gone in through a series of events with the previous owner and developer went to receivership and so we, we purchased it in the, in December of 2023. Um, it was previously called as Scent on Maine, and so we rebranded it to the Parker Hotel. And, uh, it has, uh, several really great food and beverage outlets on it. Um, some, uh, third party operators that do a great job. And, uh, lots of, uh, you know, just cool happenings around that area.
And it's a great location and it's the only independent and, uh, boutique hotel in the market. Wow. So, um, it's, you know, it's, that's been about, again, similar to the Ozarker and all hotels we want to be involved in, is really plugging into the community. Kind of figuring out who those, who those community players are, and we want to be supporting them and, and finding out ways that we can partner with them and kind of elevate the community as a whole.
So it's been interesting and fun to do. You know, I'm, I'm not from Parker. I'm not from, I'm, you know, I wasn't super familiar with Parker before we got into that deal, but learning about it, um, working with the team there locally and, um, obviously Steven and Eric and the, uh, the great work they do, it's just been really cool to see how the, all that collaboration has paid off.
Steve Carran: So the Ozarker has a roadside nostalgia, like when I went on road trips when I was younger. What's the feel for the, Parker Hotel? 
Jeremy: Yeah, so the Parker is a lot different than the Ozarker, you know, being built in 2019. It's, a new, construction. Um, it's, about three stories tall, 51 rooms. It's more of a boutique kind of, approachable luxury type, uh, product.
Whereas the Ozarker, like you mentioned, is kind of this, um. Uh, roadside revival, um, very just like root rooted in the Ozarkers community and all of that. So very different type of product, different type of clientele. And, uh, so it's, it's, you know, but us being branding guys, me and Dustin, through longitude, you know, that's what we do all day long is trying to.
Pinpoint who is that audience? Who's our target? What do they care about? How do we reach them best? So it's always a fun challenge to kind of think through that, even if it's not something that's, right up our alley or that we're familiar with. We're, um, we kind of have that process and how we approach that with each project that's great. It's been cool to do that for the o the Parker Hotel as well. 
David Millili: So let everyone know how they can get in touch with you, how they can purchase your books and how they can find out more about your properties. 
Jeremy: Yeah. So you can get in touch with me. Uh. Probably the easiest way is through longitude branding.com, um, on LinkedIn as well.
I love to connect with people on there. Um, and then, uh, you can find out more about our properties, the Ozarker lodge.com and the parker hotel.com and, uh, you can kind of find out if you're in the area, come, we'd love to have you and host you and it'd be a great time. That'd be great. Yeah. 
Steve Carran: Today we have on Steven Chan from Eagle Point Hotel Partners.
Thanks for sitting down with us. Steven, how you doing today? I'm good, thank you. Good, good, good. Steven, can you tell us a little bit more about Eagle Point Hotel Partners? 
Stephan: Sure. Eagle Point Hotel Partners is a hotel investment platform focused on boutique and independent hotels. We've got about a dozen properties across the country.
We've deployed over $700 million of capital in hospitality. We've done, uh, any, uh, ground up development. We've done value add repositionings. We've been known for doing a lot of conversions of older, uh, properties and reinvented them into new, new, um, uh, exciting hotels. 
David Millili: And tell us like, what's new, what new projects do you have?
What do you have upcoming or what have you just done recently? 
Stephan: We've recently, we've, converted, in Branson, um, the Fall Creek into the Ozarker Lodge, and we've won two, design awards for that, and it's going bank gangbusters. We also purchased a property in, Parker, uh, Colorado, just outside of Denver and that was from the bank. Uh, and we, it was developed in. Just before COVID and unfortunately it just went into foreclosure and, um, prior to us, uh, getting involved and we purchased it for $8 million for a $24 million asset. Wow. Uh, yeah, so very good deal. It's just the, you know, workout like we are focused on independent boutique hotels and soft brands.
We've also been heavily involved in Arbus Hospitality, which is a management company entity that's kind of in stealth mode, but now coming out of it, you'll hear more about it in the next few quarters. So we're really excited about that. And then we are very happy to hear ILC continues to grow and we know with the platform there, so we're, um, we're focused on, uh, you know, more independence.
Steve Carran: Yeah. Keeping busy. 
Stephan: Yeah, for sure.
\Steve Carran: So you've been an ILC or for pretty much since day one. What sets ILC apart from other events? 
Stephan: That's a great question. ILC would say it's like, when we first thought about it, way back when is like we thought that that was where the puck was going to in terms of like, this is like a dozen years ago, over a dozen years ago.
And we felt like independence where, where people wanted experiential, people wanted to understand how things work. And the challenge of it has been, you know, on one side that's where the consumer loves. Going and, and designers and, and, but now the institutional side, which is really kind of backs all these projects, right?
Whether it's financing or equity, they don't, they're always like, well, we wanna know the, you know, the Marriott and Hilton formula, because that's like, that's what they know and understand. But the, we know now even more so that the market. Really loves independent hotels and they seek it out. And especially after COVID, where it's about experiential, right?
And so we created ILC so that people can come together to really kind of understand and collaborate and share ideas and to be inspired. And so. ILC isn't just mentioned about a, deal conference, nor is it just a design conference, nor is it just, uh, you know, purchasing. It's kind of everything and above.
And so we want to have people be inspired, learn and make connections and friendships. And so I think we've been able to do that. 
David Millili: Absolutely. That's great. So Steven, tell people how they can get in touch with you, learn more about Eagle Point. 
Stephan: Sure. So Eagle Point, we have a website, eaglepointhotels.com you can reach me at schan@eaglepointhotels.com and we love to hear, we're also on LinkedIn and Twitter. 
David Millili: That's great. Well, that does it for another episode of The Modern Hotelier Hospitality's Most Engaged podcast. Coming to you from Chicago, ILC CONfab. Thank you.