Pay It Forward: 'Begin In Operations. Having A Working Knowledge Of The Industry Is Invaluable.'
"Don’t be afraid to ask questions, take initiative and be passionate."
Sean Kreiman, VP of asset management at CHMWarnick
Sean Kreiman is VP of asset management at CHMWarnick with a focus on Hotel Real Estate. At CHMWarnick, Kreiman assists the asset management team to identify opportunities to enhance hotel operating performance and asset value.
What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle in your particular role/? How have you overcome those obstacles? One of the more rewarding aspects of the hospitality industry is how dynamic it is, given the operating nature of the business. In turn, that is also one of the biggest challenges of my role which requires continual monitoring of conditions and reassessment of strategies in order to improve financial performance and optimize asset value. I have been able to continue to develop and learn from strong mentors, as well as foster collaborative relationships with the operators I work with and together, the sum of the whole is greater than its parts when it comes to tackling issues and working toward a common goal.
What about your current role at the company are you most happy with? I have enjoyed the opportunity to work on very interesting and rewarding projects such as overseeing the redevelopment and repositioning of the former W in Washington D.C. and most recently assisting with opening multiple high-end, lifestyle products in markets such as Charleston, Denver and Philadelphia. These projects have provided the opportunity to continue to learn and be challenged while also working with some of the brightest and most talented hotel operating teams and ownership groups in the industry.
What is the best piece of advice that has helped you succeed?
Some of the best advice has also been the most simple – don’t be afraid to ask questions, take initiative and be passionate.
I have found that if you are willing to put in the effort and raise your hand – especially when going outside your comfort zones – you will be rewarded.
People respect initiative and when they know someone is giving it their all they tend to want to help. When new analysts or interns come on-board, and this question comes up I almost always recommend that they put their hand up and ask questions – at this point in their career there is no such thing as a dumb question.
Would you advise any younger person to begin a career in CRE? I’d highly recommend the CRE industry – and hospitality in particular – for someone focused on developing their career path so long as they are passionate. The hospitality focus within CRE is both exciting and unique with many ways to garner experience and enter the industry. One can enter via an operational path where you are presented with the opportunity to gain hands-on functional experience through working in a hotel, resort, or restaurant, or through the investment and transactional side of the industry. The path recommended to me, and one I have shared with others, is to begin in operations. I have found that having a working knowledge of the industry is invaluable as it has provided insight into the day-to-day operation that better allows me to discuss strategy and gain alignment from operating partners and brand leaders.
Please share an initiative that you are working on that you are most proud of. Working on the redevelopment of the iconic W hotel in Washington DC from 2017 through 2019 was a pivotal project in my career. As a firm, we had the opportunity to plan and execute a $52M renovation based on the investment goals of our client, who recently exited at an attractive basis. The project was incredibly rewarding and provided me the opportunity to work alongside some of the best builders, architects, project managers, hotel brands and designers as we finished with a truly fantastic product.
In your opinion what take-a-ways did we learn from the COVID crisis? Essentially overnight, hospitality, the sector for which I am focused, experienced a complete change to our business model and, as an industry, we are still learning how to move forward. The obvious negative impacts – demand, labor and supply chains – will continue to be affected in the near-term but will eventually return to some new version of normalcy. In the meantime, an exciting aspect of the recovery is the rapid, strategic changes we are making to an operating model that historically were much more difficult and slower to implement. We have learned that this industry, and the people that are a part of it, are resilient and that guests still desire the ability to travel and derive unique experiences. We are uniquely positioned to provide these experiences while still making changes to the operating model that will allow for increases in asset value, ultimately yielding more development and investment in hospitality real estate.
Find more CRE career advancement tips and inspiring stories from Industry Leaders in our Pay It Forward Series.
