Officials of She Has A Deal (SHaD), a real estate investment platform that creates pathways to hotel ownership and development for women, announced the winners of its event held Saturday.
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. Five teams 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 grand prize winner was Celeste Companies, the company named used by individual pitcher Emma Claire Spring. Spring was awarded $50,000 in deal equity through SHaD Prosperity Fund I, a vehicle for investing in women-led hotel projects. A graduate of Washington State University, Spring pitched a Delta Hotel conversion located in Chantilly, Virginia. The existing property would undergo a renovation to add meeting space and an American-style casual dining concept. As part of her pitch, Spring went through the process of negotiating key money and identifying a management company with whom she would work.
Second place, a cash award of $5,000, was awarded to Eden Investment Management, made up of Angel Deng and Kayleen Fan. The Viewers’ Choice award, voted on by the livestream audience, was given to PEN Investments, comprised of Nadia Cismesia, Polina Shavrina, and Emma Toppi from Michigan State University.
Applications for the 2022 pitch competition will be accepted starting June 24, 2021; the deadline to apply is September 15.
Photo: Courtesy of She Has A Deal
