Oct. 29, 2025

How This New Broker Closed a $7.5M Hotel Deal Just 4 Months Into Her Career

How This New Broker Closed a $7.5M Hotel Deal Just 4 Months Into Her Career
Spotify podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player iconApple Podcasts podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player icon

In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Secrets, Aviva Sonenreich sits down with Sky Velez to talk about how niching down can fast-track success in commercial real estate. From breaking into the hospitality sector with zero experience, to closing a $7.5 million hotel deal just four months into her career, to overcoming imposter syndrome and building credibility fast, this conversation is packed with real-world lessons for anyone looking to stand out and win bigger deals in 2025.

1
00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:06,040
This week on Commercial Real
Estate Secrets, we have Sky

2
00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:09,680
Velez.
Sky is a commercial real estate

3
00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:14,280
broker out of Bethlehem, PA.
Sky, thank you for being on the

4
00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:16,560
show today.
Thank you for having me, I'm

5
00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:20,520
excited to be here.
I'm excited to have you context.

6
00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:24,360
Sky's husband is a badass broker
who I became friends with from

7
00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:28,240
the Internet a few years ago.
Sky has since jumped in with two

8
00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,400
feet and I'm really excited to
hear about your journey.

9
00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:36,600
Sky for the listeners, tell us
about who you are and how we got

10
00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:40,680
here today.
OK, so I'm newly licensed in

11
00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:46,720
December, but I'm not super new
to the CRE world because about

12
00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:51,920
six years ago I was working in a
casino cocktail serving and my

13
00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:53,480
amazing husband.
What?

14
00:00:53,480 --> 00:00:56,360
Well, back story, I was pregnant
with our first son.

15
00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,280
So this was like, yeah, 6, about
six years ago.

16
00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,560
He's like leave the casino.
Like you can stay home with the

17
00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,120
baby.
And I'm like bet, like that's

18
00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,200
exactly what I want to do.
So quit my job.

19
00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,160
But he was about five years into
real estate now.

20
00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,720
So I was just helping him on the
back end like wherever I could.

21
00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:18,480
Like he was teaching me.
I'm helping with contracts,

22
00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,920
prospecting, like we're
canvassing with my big belly.

23
00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:25,160
We're like walking around from
like in shopping centers, just

24
00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:28,720
like wherever I could help.
But I never adopted that as my,

25
00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:30,680
like, I didn't feel like that
was my career.

26
00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:33,560
Like that was like his thing.
And I was like kind of helping

27
00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:37,040
where I could.
So time goes on and I'm like

28
00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,000
ready to go back to work.
I end up back at the casino, a

29
00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,080
cocktail serving.
This was about two years ago.

30
00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:46,960
And after some time there, I'm
like, this is just like, I'm,

31
00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,040
I'm not feeling fulfilled.
I'm not, I'm putting so much

32
00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:54,680
energy and so much work into
something that's like it's not

33
00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:56,720
giving much back.
I'm like, what can I do that's

34
00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:00,040
going to like fuel the family,
cater to the family more like I

35
00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:01,880
want to be a part of like the
family business.

36
00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,720
Like I want us to be like more
of an empire instead of like me

37
00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:07,760
putting my energy somewhere in
him, putting his energy

38
00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:09,400
somewhere.
So I just had this like

39
00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:11,280
download.
It was like 2:00 AM one night.

40
00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:12,960
I'm home.
I think Robert was away.

41
00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,040
I have this like download.
It's like get license.

42
00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:20,960
I'm like, should I looking up
like real estate school?

43
00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:23,080
I did try to get license in the
past.

44
00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:28,720
I tried to do like an online
course and it was just I I went

45
00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,200
through it, finish it and I just
never took the test.

46
00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,640
Like I was like, OK, so I'm
like, let me run this back, let

47
00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:35,880
me do this again.
I know like years ago.

48
00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:40,840
So get licensed and it's
December and I'm like, OK,

49
00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,320
great.
Like I answered the call like

50
00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,840
now what I'm like do I, am I
gonna do retail?

51
00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:51,200
Am I gonna do industrial?
Am I gonna do like offices?

52
00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,200
Like like wasn't feeling any of
it.

53
00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,000
And I'm like, I didn't feel like
I could do multifamily cuz I

54
00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,400
felt like that was Rob's face.
I'm like, as cool as it would be

55
00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:04,480
to be missus multifamily, like I
wanted to shine like my own

56
00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:07,440
area.
So this part is like so

57
00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,840
embarrassing.
Robert, he's mentoring me.

58
00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:14,600
He hands me off this kind of
like off market deal.

59
00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:19,840
It's freestanding like retail,
tenant occupied movie theater,

60
00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:22,240
off market.
They're looking to sell.

61
00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,440
So I'm like, OK, retail cool.
So I'm reaching out to every

62
00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:29,000
retail owner that I could trying
to see like who's going to buy

63
00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:30,080
this building?
Who's going to buy this

64
00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,040
building?
This is the embarrassing part.

65
00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,800
I ChatGPT because I like I felt
like I exhausted all of the

66
00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:39,240
retail people.
Like no one was really like

67
00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,840
getting back to me.
Like I'm like, who else?

68
00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:47,200
Who else would buy this and
ChatGPT says reach out to

69
00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,560
hospitality.
I guess because this have like a

70
00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:52,040
rush movie theater had a
restaurant reach out to

71
00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:57,080
hospitality News flash, no hotel
owner wanted to buy this movie

72
00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,800
theater obviously, but I was
new.

73
00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,400
I was like naive and I didn't
even think twice about it.

74
00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:06,920
I start, I start reaching out to
every hotel owner that I can and

75
00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:10,640
they were so responsive.
They didn't want it, but they

76
00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:15,080
were so responsive and so like
just engaged and, and willing to

77
00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:17,399
have the conversation.
So, and I was already coming

78
00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:20,959
from that hospitality, like
cocktail server service

79
00:04:20,959 --> 00:04:23,440
industry, like I felt like I was
already kind of in that space

80
00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:25,520
even though it's like so
completely different.

81
00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:32,040
It just felt familiar to me.
So yeah, I just ran with it and

82
00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:38,600
ended up finding a hotel that
was willing to sell kind of, and

83
00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:42,160
about 4 1/2 months after getting
license was able to close my

84
00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,760
first deal.
OK, talk about your first deal,

85
00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:50,760
because it's insane.
So it was a local Fairfield Inn,

86
00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:54,680
$7.5 million.
It was, they bought it

87
00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,520
unencumbered of the brand.
Marriott was not renewing.

88
00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:02,920
So that was my first call.
My first call ever was with this

89
00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:07,040
very large investment firm.
And they didn't tell me that I

90
00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,720
could sell it for them.
They said we're going to put

91
00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,640
this on the market in February.
And I said, well, what if I

92
00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,400
bring you an offer and they're
like, we're not listing this

93
00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:17,960
with you, we're going to list
this with CBRE.

94
00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,120
If you bring us an offer, like
we'll look at it, but like

95
00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:24,160
basically no.
But I took it as a yes.

96
00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:28,120
Let it be.
Yes, it sounds like they want me

97
00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:30,640
to sell it like it's giving like
they want me to sell this.

98
00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:36,840
So Roberts, like, let's call, he
had a contact which was like the

99
00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:40,280
largest operator in our region.
So he's like, let's call them.

100
00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:44,400
And they just from the first
call, like they wanted it, like

101
00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:46,440
it just felt so seamless.
Wow.

102
00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:50,080
It the deal died about three
times, don't get me wrong.

103
00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:55,360
But I mean, Robert always says
every deal dies approximately 3

104
00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:57,360
times.
So I, I didn't get discouraged

105
00:05:57,360 --> 00:05:59,600
when it would die.
I was like, OK, like maybe this

106
00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:04,040
could come back.
But yeah, it was a journey of

107
00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:09,360
about 4 1/2 months and it ended
up closing May 8th, $7.5

108
00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,440
million.
Wow.

109
00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:16,480
I just, you know, talk to a lot
of people, everybody, you know,

110
00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,880
we think back on our first deal,
I don't hear a lot of high

111
00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:22,840
anything like that.
So I was very excited to see

112
00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:26,120
that your successes and hear
about your successes because

113
00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:31,440
that's the reality of this
business is Sky's the limit.

114
00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:34,080
Yes.
Oh, I like that.

115
00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:39,360
I like that.
How do you underwrite a hotel

116
00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:45,080
property?
So typically a hotel buyer,

117
00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:49,240
they're going to want the price,
the asking price to be about 3

118
00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:53,480
times the revenue.
That's kind of like a rule of

119
00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:55,800
thumb.
Like if I get financials and I

120
00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:59,640
see that they're asking three
times the revenue, I'm like, oh,

121
00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:03,480
OK, this we might have a deal
here, but it's hard right now

122
00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:08,960
like with interest rates and
just, there's so much going on

123
00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:10,760
just in the market and things
like that right now.

124
00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,960
A lot of times like sellers are
asking for like 4 times or more.

125
00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:19,360
And if that's just not feasible
typically for the the hotel

126
00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,960
buyer, especially with like cost
of goods and things like that,

127
00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:27,560
anytime a hotel is transitioning
owners, they're the brand is

128
00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:30,280
going to ask them for a pit for
a property improvement plan.

129
00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:33,800
So not only is it going to be
the cost of what it's going to

130
00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,360
be to purchase the hotel,
they're going to have to put

131
00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,520
some money into the hotel to
make sure everything is, you

132
00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:43,080
know, up to up to par with what
the brand wants.

133
00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,920
So that's typically what I'm
looking for is like 3 times,

134
00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:53,680
yeah.
So since you closed out your

135
00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:57,960
first hospitality deal in May,
have you gone just head first

136
00:07:57,960 --> 00:07:59,880
into hospitality?
What it?

137
00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:01,240
What does it look like since
then?

138
00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:06,680
Yeah, I think for me, I'm not
someone that can be dabbling in

139
00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,440
all types of avenues like I, my
brain needs to learn as much as

140
00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:14,360
I can about One Ave. and just
kind of go full speed ahead into

141
00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:17,560
that.
So I've just been continuing to

142
00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,800
search for deals.
I, I like to do things off

143
00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:23,000
market.
I kind of found like fun in

144
00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,800
that.
So I'm just kind of working with

145
00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:29,480
off market buyers and seeing
what kind of deals I can come

146
00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:30,920
across.
Drum up.

147
00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,400
Yeah.
You came in at an interesting

148
00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:38,120
time because it's like it's ugly
right now.

149
00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,159
Like I was on the phone, a guy
called me the other day.

150
00:08:41,159 --> 00:08:45,280
He said, I want to let you know
I quit brokerage after 13 years

151
00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:51,400
and I'm a 1031 guy now.
And that, I mean, aside from

152
00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:55,680
you're seeing a fallout of like
first year, second year, third

153
00:08:55,680 --> 00:08:59,200
year brokers, to hear someone
who's been doing it for that

154
00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:03,080
long throwing in the towel
because of how excruciating this

155
00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:09,200
market is was eye opening to me.
You started in an interesting

156
00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:13,680
time where it's hard to, it's
extremely competitive.

157
00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:20,040
Seller expectations do not match
interest rates or buyer

158
00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:22,400
expectations, right?
All these sellers got an

159
00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:28,800
appraisal from 2022-2023 and the
numbers are not the same here in

160
00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:32,680
2025.
And people think that real

161
00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:38,400
estate only goes up, and it
does, but it takes longer for

162
00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,240
some periods of times, product
types, whatever.

163
00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:43,840
So it's an interesting time for
you to get into the biz, but I

164
00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:49,960
think it's really interesting
that you niched aggressively and

165
00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:51,520
I think it's the right thing to
do.

166
00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:57,280
All we do is industrial.
So I don't get calls about

167
00:09:57,280 --> 00:09:59,440
multifamily.
I don't want calls about

168
00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,040
multifamily.
And no, it's smart.

169
00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:06,720
It works really well for us so.
Yeah, I do think it's important

170
00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:10,120
to niche down and just become an
expert in that area.

171
00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,040
Like I remember when I was
getting licensed, I was like the

172
00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,400
only one who was saying I was
going to be doing commercial.

173
00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:20,800
And the instructor was like, why
are you categorizing yourself to

174
00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:22,320
that?
Like you could do so much more

175
00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:27,200
if you do residential.
And I'm like red flag because no

176
00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:29,960
shade, but he's like a
residential agent who's all

177
00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:31,640
like, I guess dabbles in
commercial.

178
00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:34,160
And I just feel like some and
like, you know, everyone's going

179
00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:37,320
to do what they want to do.
But I feel like I don't want to

180
00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,000
be doing a disservice by
dabbling in a million things.

181
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:44,240
Like pick something, learn your
expertise, and just like, roll

182
00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:46,080
with that.
I'm right there with you.

183
00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:50,560
So how are you getting in touch
with with people?

184
00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:53,360
What's your I?
I've talked to Rob about this.

185
00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:56,840
How?
How do you find to cut through

186
00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:00,280
all the mania to get in touch
with the right people?

187
00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,760
I contact people a lot through
e-mail and I find usually my

188
00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:08,640
emails, sometimes I have to do a
little bit of digging.

189
00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:12,720
I like to use Co star a lot, but
sometimes like if you get that

190
00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,840
bounce back e-mail of oh, this
e-mail is not no longer in

191
00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:19,400
service like I'm on true people
search like I'm like kind of

192
00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:21,320
hunting for a phone number and
e-mail.

193
00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:25,440
Any any way to get into contact?
I've thought about just like

194
00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:28,480
popping up at hotels because I
feel like sometimes the

195
00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,920
operators are there a lot it
depends on like what kind of

196
00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,440
operator they are.
I haven't been brave enough to

197
00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:37,480
do that just yet.
But you never know, Sometimes

198
00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:40,920
you might have to just pop up.
You will.

199
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:42,320
You'll get there.
I get it.

200
00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,840
Are you only trying to transact
right now in Pennsylvania or are

201
00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:53,160
you thinking of expanding?
And right now, I do have more of

202
00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:58,200
a focus in PA, but I've had
buyers reach out that they're

203
00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,000
looking in other areas.
So if I have a buyer that I know

204
00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,560
is like a strong buyer and they
want in a in a certain target

205
00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:08,360
area, I have been kind of like
reaching out and seeing what I

206
00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:12,800
can find in that area as well.
I have a friend here in town.

207
00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:17,440
I should probably connect you.
She is maybe like two or three

208
00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:21,880
years into the business and she
essentially did the same thing

209
00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:27,040
like she realized when she was
contacting hospitality owners

210
00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:32,880
that So the interesting thing
about Denver where I live and

211
00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:36,360
warehousing, it's like the most
common product type anybody

212
00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,440
wants is a warehouse in Denver.
So our owners are really

213
00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:41,480
fatigued by brokers reaching out
to them.

214
00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:45,200
So we have to get really
creative with how we right

215
00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:47,760
approach people.
Whereas my friend Amanda and it

216
00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:52,640
and it sounds like you have
realized, oh, we can like

217
00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:58,200
there's so far fewer people
contacting hotel, motel,

218
00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:02,160
etcetera, owners that it's
easier to get a hold of them.

219
00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,560
What advice would you give a
first time commercial real

220
00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:09,680
estate broker listening to this
podcast?

221
00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,280
I think someone that's just
starting out, I think there's is

222
00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:18,760
power in being maybe new and
fresh to it.

223
00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:21,800
Kind of how with like the
ChatGPT, like I just kind of ran

224
00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:23,400
with that.
If I was more seasoned, I would

225
00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:27,120
have said a hotel owner is never
going to buy that, like never

226
00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:28,800
going to buy a movie theater,
you know what I mean?

227
00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:35,080
So I think just like going for
it and just believing that you

228
00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:38,440
can learn, putting aside the
imposter syndrome because that's

229
00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:41,680
a huge a huge one too, is just
like, do I know what I'm doing?

230
00:13:41,680 --> 00:13:44,440
Do I know what I'm talking about
as I'm reaching out to these

231
00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:48,440
owners who own like multiple.
I think just like being

232
00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:52,440
confident and just going for.
It, it's really interesting,

233
00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:56,800
like our business is a business
where historically it's been

234
00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:01,760
like fathers teaching their
sons, but recently, you know, I,

235
00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:05,600
I'm seeing a trend of fathers
teaching their sons and fathers

236
00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:09,880
teaching their daughters.
And then just like, you know, we

237
00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:12,760
have this in common our, our
significant others.

238
00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:14,320
I brought my husband into the
business.

239
00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:18,720
Your husband brought you into
the business and suddenly you're

240
00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:20,360
it's exactly like what you're
saying.

241
00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:24,120
It's like there's a whole new
eyes on this business, there's a

242
00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:28,400
whole new perspective.
Then couple that with the

243
00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:32,720
Internet and it's like, you
know, there's a lot of work to

244
00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:37,200
be done in terms of figuring out
the ways that we can use the

245
00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,960
Internet and navigate brokerage,
buying, selling, leasing,

246
00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:45,360
etcetera.
But we're just getting started

247
00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:49,400
and there's, like you said, new
fresh faces and opportunities.

248
00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:53,960
And I am overwhelmed by the
change that's coming because

249
00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:58,000
it's, like I said, like the
fathers taught their sons, you

250
00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,680
know, you hit the Rolodex, you
hit the golf course, and that

251
00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,760
works.
But now people are looking

252
00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:06,600
around, going, wait a second,
there are other ways to do this.

253
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,160
And here, 7 and a half million
dollars later for your first

254
00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:15,640
deal, here we are.
Yes, absolutely.

255
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,120
And I think just the demographic
of commercial real estate in

256
00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:23,800
general, like I don't see, I
guess I see some women I love if

257
00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:26,600
I see like a woman doing
commercial, I feel like a lot of

258
00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:28,920
times like when I said I'm
starting in real estate, people

259
00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:31,200
are like, oh, you're going to
sell houses like that's great.

260
00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:34,240
Like a lot of times like the
demographic you're seeing that's

261
00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:38,360
selling commercial real estate
is not like you or I, you know

262
00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:40,600
what I mean?
And I think that there's

263
00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:44,200
something fresh about that, too.
And I think it works really well

264
00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:47,160
for, you know, some are
hesitant, but a lot are very

265
00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:49,840
open to it.
And you just work with those

266
00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:51,800
people, double down and work
hard.

267
00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:55,240
And it's crazy what happens in
this business with a little bit

268
00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:57,840
of effort.
Yes, absolutely.

269
00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:00,920
So.
So have you gotten Rob to do

270
00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:03,200
hospitality at all or he's still
sticking to?

271
00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:07,680
He's going to stick with his
multi family thing.

272
00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:13,360
Yeah, I think if I ever need
help, like he's there, I'm

273
00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:17,440
obviously like he's my mentor,
so it's nice to have him at the

274
00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:19,800
right at my fingertips if I need
him.

275
00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,880
But at the same time, I think
it's good that we have our own

276
00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:26,240
like we're going to be working
together.

277
00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:28,240
We both work from home most of
the time.

278
00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:31,680
So we're together all the time.
I think it's good for us to kind

279
00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,840
of target our own thing, but
it's in the same kind of realm.

280
00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:41,200
So and he just like he lives,
eats and breathes multi family

281
00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,840
like he loves it.
He loves it and I love that for

282
00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:46,440
him.
And I'm starting to feel the

283
00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:50,160
same way about hospitality.
I'm just getting so into just

284
00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:54,840
the whole hotel operation and
just the people and the all of

285
00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:58,880
the things that go into it.
So I think we both are on like a

286
00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:04,760
good little path for ourselves.
I I agree, you have to look up,

287
00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:07,160
there is a gentleman by the name
of Sam McVey.

288
00:17:07,599 --> 00:17:15,560
He's a luxury hospitality broker
in Australia and he essentially

289
00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:20,160
like I think he said, he, he
doesn't do any transaction under

290
00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,160
60 million.
He only goes north of that.

291
00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:29,320
And it's like these iconic
hotels on the, you know,

292
00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,280
eastern, we'll say like
throughout China, Australia.

293
00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:38,960
But what I learned from Sam was
go big because the time it takes

294
00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:41,120
to do a small deal and the time
it takes to do a big deal,

295
00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:44,120
actually it generally takes more
time to do a small deal.

296
00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:47,680
So if you fish in a pond with
larger fish, you will catch

297
00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:51,440
larger fish.
And that's what I think about my

298
00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:55,960
early days as a broker, like
cold calling, like 1500 square

299
00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,720
foot warehouses.
And I'm just like, yeah, that

300
00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:03,080
was an interesting use of my
time, but.

301
00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:05,520
A learning experience, but it's
true.

302
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,800
It's like you're putting in the
same amount of effort, like you

303
00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:12,360
said, if not less sometimes to
do like those bigger deals,

304
00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:14,360
because when you're doing
something local, something

305
00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:18,640
smaller, I think they're
expecting a lot more from the

306
00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:20,200
agent.
But when you're working with

307
00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:24,600
those larger groups, like they
have someone that's going to do

308
00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:25,880
everything, you know what I
mean?

309
00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,480
Like for this hotel, I remember,
I will never forget, I'm sitting

310
00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:34,000
on this call with like this
firm's legal team, like their

311
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,560
attorneys and their vice
president.

312
00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:40,240
And I'm just like, they were
handling all of it, like I

313
00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:41,720
didn't have to do much, you know
what I mean?

314
00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:43,800
If that was a smaller deal, I
would have definitely had to

315
00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:46,080
have been.
But they kind of have their

316
00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:48,480
people to do that stuff.
And you're kind of just playing

317
00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,360
matchmaker with the deal.
But I was just like, holy

318
00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:55,840
smokes, like how did I get here?
It's the it's where you belong

319
00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:58,560
and it's a great place to be.
Yeah, absolutely.

320
00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:04,280
So, Sky for the listeners, what
is your commercial real estate

321
00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:09,600
secret?
OK, my commercial real estate

322
00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:14,720
secret.
Be open to the opportunities,

323
00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:19,040
find your people, and just allow
what's meant for you to come to

324
00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:20,560
you as well.
Amen.

325
00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:25,920
I'm right there with you, Sky.
For the listeners, where can

326
00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:29,360
they find you, Follow you?
Have you sell their next hotel?

327
00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:33,920
OK, so I am on, I guess it's not
Twitter anymore.

328
00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:40,480
It's X that is my CRE platform.
It's at Sky Velez, under score

329
00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,320
CRE.
The rest of my pages are more

330
00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:47,360
personal just because I'm still
kind of trying to navigate how

331
00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:51,760
to combine like my life with
commercial real estate.

332
00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:58,160
I'm on Instagram, under score,
Sky Velez, and my TikTok is sky

333
00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:01,360
dot BNB.
It's more of like a travel.

334
00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:06,760
Kind of page, but that's where
you can find me and take a look

335
00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:11,120
into my life.
Amazing Sky, really excited to

336
00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:16,520
see you come into this business
flourish and very excited to

337
00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:18,680
have you on the show.
So thank you for being here

338
00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:20,760
today.
Viva, thank you so much.

339
00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:22,320
It was a pleasure.
Yeah.

340
00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:25,880
And for everybody listening,
we'll see you next week.

341
00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:32,480
That's a wrap for this week on
commercial real estate secrets.

342
00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:37,040
If you found value, do us a
favor and subscribe, leave a

343
00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,680
review and share it with a
fellow commercial real estate

344
00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,200
lover.
For brokerage services or to

345
00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:45,640
connect, visit
warehousehotline.com.

346
00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:48,560
I'm Aviva.
We'll see you next week.