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Tracy L. Prigmore
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Hotel Investment Pitch Competition Awards $50,000 in Deal Equity
McLEAN,
VA —Officials of “She Has a Deal,” an
annual hotel investment pitch competition for early-career women, announced the
winners of its Oct. 24 event.
Over
the last year, participants completed more than 12 hours of intensive hotel
investment education to learn how to source, evaluate and raise capital for a
real hotel deal.
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| From left: Viviana Wilkins, Meaghan Carfrey, Nikki Gonzalez |
Out
of a field of 17 teams, five were selected at a virtual preliminary round to
move forward to the finals, where they pitched live to a judging panel of
top-level hotel business executives, entrepreneurs and investors.
Held at Hilton’s Innovation Gallery at the
Hilton McLean, Virginia, the event also was broadcast on the “She Has a Deal”
website.
Three
prizes were awarded.
The
Viewers’ Choice award, voted on by the livestream audience, was given to
Fernweh Partners, comprised of Meaghan Carfrey, Nikki Gonzales and Viviana
Wilkins from San Diego State University. Winners received $200 Visa
gift cards. Fernweh Partners also received second place from the judges,
with an additional cash award of $5,000 for the team.
From left: Joanne Angbazo, Kristen Collins, and Lera Covington
The
grand prize-winning team was Datcher, made up of Cornell University Baker Program
in Real Estate graduates Joanne Angbazo, Kristen Collins and Lera Covington.
Datcher was awarded $50,000 in deal equity, which makes them hotel owners.
“Hands
down, the most valuable aspect of the SHaD competition has been the meaningful
personal connections that I have made along the way,” said Lera Covington,
Datcher’s team captain.
“From
the industry luminaries that led our MasterClasses to the SHaD
coaches-turned-mentors and competitors-turned-colleagues, SHaD has provided me
with so many tremendous relationships that will last a lifetime. I can’t
wait to do deals with this network in the future!”
"The
SHaD investment roadmap allowed our team to develop a clear strategy for our
deal early in the competition," said Datcher member Kristen Collins.
From left: MBA ’19 alumnae Nancy Guzman and Marlene Reyes
“The MasterClasses and discussions with
industry leaders empowered us to take what we learned in Cornell’s Baker
Program in Real Estate and make it applicable to our deal.”
Joanne
Angbazo added, "It's been such an honor and privilege to be part of this
experience, but I tell you, we put in the work! When surrounded by such
inspiring participants, we had a surplus of motivation to push through those
long days.
"We
worked hard and wanted to deliver excellence in every way, so to be announced
winner is both humbling and empowering."
Datcher
pitched an 80-room adaptive reuse project in Detroit, Mich. The boutique
hotel would be built from an old bank building, with health and wellness
services offering inside the bank’s vaults.
“It
was so rewarding to see our vision come to life. My goal from the start
has been to increase the number of women hotel owners, and there are now three
more women on the list,” said Tracy Prigmore of TLTsolutions and founder
of the “She Has a Deal” competition. “All of our pitchers were
outstanding, so Joanne, Kristen and Lera should feel very proud.”
Applications
for the 2021 pitch competition are being accepted until November 25 at www.shehasadeal.com.
About
“She Has a Deal”
“She
Has a Deal” (SHaD) was founded to create pathways to hotel ownership and
development for women through education, networking and mentorship.
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Hilton Hotel, McLean, VA
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SHaD's signature program is an annual hotel
investment pitch competition for early-career women. Accepted pitching
teams participate in a multi-module education series that walks them through
the process of sourcing, evaluating, financing and pitching a hotel investment
deal.
“She
Has a Deal” provides a financial model to assist the competitors in their
search for the best hotel deal. It's not just a deal on paper: the
pitching teams find, evaluate and propose real hotel deals, with the chance to
win $50,000 in deal equity.
“She Has a Deal” also offers educational
opportunities for all kinds of aspiring hotel investors through a MasterClass
series and has launched an investment fund to support women led hotel
development projects.
Contact:
CHRIS
DALY
PRESIDENT
DG
Public Relations, LLC
42806
Oatyer Court
Broadlands,
Va. 20148
chris@dalygray.com | www.dalygray.com
Main:
703-435-6293
Mobile:
703-864-5553
