Hotel Brokers International (HBI)
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Hotel Brokers International, with 35 offices and a nationwide sales force of approximately 120 brokers, is the country's largest organization specializing in lodging real estate. HBI was founded in 1959, by a group of hotel brokers and owners, who recognized a need in the real estate market for improved business and professionalism.
The purpose was to refer business opportunities to one another in order to augment existing business levels. This gave members and their clients access to new markets throughout the country through a cooperative effort and a referral network. HBI was responsible for approximately 50 percent of all U.S. hotel transactions and dominates all segments of hotel brokerage from budget to limited-service, from mid-market to upper first-class.
Today, hotel owners seeking the highest possible return in the marketplace for their hotel investment, list their hotels exclusively with an HBI broker. Through innovative marketing programs, they develop the highest possible buyer interest which ultimately results in more competitive bids, thereby facilitating higher prices and faster sales.
The listing broker is the conduit to gain the expertise and outreach that can only be provided by a nationwide organization with 35 offices. Instead of distributing details of a newly listed property to a single local office or small network, an HBI broker, with the permission of the seller, can immediately transmit the hotel's exclusive listing information to 120 broker specialists across the country. These HBI brokers review and target the property against the known histories of their local, regional and international customer bases of thousands of hotel real estate buyers.
Sellers listing exclusively with an HBI office receive the most extensive support in the industry. HBI broker specialists prepare detailed professional marketing plans and recommend creative selling strategies, applying years of experience to today's market conditions. HBI offices, with the approval of the seller, can offer participation in the industry's most extensive, high-impact advertising program.
It stands to reason that if HBI sells more hotels, it has more hotels for sale. And when buying a hotel, the more properties there are to choose from, the more likely a buyer is to find the right hotel at the right price in the most timely manner.
To assist the thousands of hotel buyers domestically and internationally who acquisition opportunities, HBI brokers utilize the organization's proprietary Computerized Listing Service, a vast and continuously changing inventory of exclusive listings. On any given day, buyers can request detailed information about more than 300 hotels for sale.
In 1994, HBI, in conjunction with the University of Texas at Austin, created the Certified Hotel Broker (CHB) program, the only certified professional hotel real estate brokerage program in the industry. The curriculum was modeled on the best aspects of other certification programs, including CCIM, MAI and CHA. The 70-plus-hour course covers the full range of specialized hotel real estate topics from the economics of the lodging industry to leading edge hotel marketing programs. More than 45 HBI brokers have begun or completed the course, the equivalent to a master's degree in hotel real estate.
For the third consecutive year, HBI's TransActions Industry Leadership Council has played a key role in expanding the knowledge base of hotel real estate.
Leadership Council members are opinion leaders who work in all aspects of hotel real estate - such as hotel franchise and management executives, consultants, lenders, appraisers, tax abatement specialists, title insurers, and others.
The National Hotel Investors Marketplace is the newest innovation created by HBI brokers to bring buyers and sellers together. This imaginative marketing program provides buyers with instant access to a nationwide menu of hotel properties in a single day, as well as all the information hotel real estate investors need to move forward in their investment decisions.
Jointly conducted by HBI and Hotel & Motel Management, the industry's largest bi-monthly magazine, the one-day forum is sponsored by LaQuinta and other leadership council members.
Each session begins with presentations by Leadership Council members who provide industry updates about franchising, financing and investment opportunities, followed by HBI brokers who through multi-media presentations furnish details about 20 to 25 selected, mid-market properties. In addition, attendees may inquire about the full 300-plus property inventory in the exclusive HBI Computerized Listing System.
After the presentations, investors can talk directly to listing brokers, hotel franchise executives and lenders. This unique opportunity provides interested hotel investors with virtually all the information to move forward quickly on hotel buying decisions.
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