After 25 years in the healthcare industry, I made a significant career change.
While I had much success in healthcare, I decided to turn my money-making hobby — or what some call a “side hustle” — of investing in real estate into my full-time profession. I started investing in real estate as a path to building true wealth, generational wealth, beyond just saving money in a traditional retirement account. I knew this was a way to close my wealth gap, one that exists both across race and gender.
With that in mind, in 2017, I retired from one career and began an entirely new adventure, one as a full-time real estate investor and developer. I slowly built a portfolio of single-family rental properties while working in healthcare. My journey began small, with the purchase of a two-bed, two-bath condo, and grew to over 20 houses that I renovated and rented for passive income and future capital gains. I then set my sights a little bit bigger, seeing the potential in hotel ownership. In 2016, I purchased my first hotel, and while there have been a few obstacles along the way, there have been many more rewards. Since then, I have made it my life’s work to help other women become hotel owners and developers.
When I began the journey to add hotels to my real estate investment portfolio, I knew this new endeavor would involve a tremendous amount of hard work and determination, as well as a certain amount of risk. But what I was not fully prepared for were the myriad barriers that stand in the way of women breaking into the overwhelmingly male-dominated world of real estate development.
While exact statistics on female-owned hotels are hard to come by, a 2020 report by Castell Project — a nonprofit dedicated to promoting women in hospitality — and the American Hospitality & Lodging Association’s Women in Lodging forum showed that men are 10 times more likely to be promoted to principal/partner or president than women. In 2020, women held 5% of CEO positions, the same percentage that was reported in 2012.
What are some of the barriers to ownership and how can we break them?
According to the National Association of Realtors, only 30% of real estate investors in America are women, and while women are breaking into the market, most are staying on in the residential side, not getting into the commercial side of things, which is where the real money is to be made. Why is this? The reality is that there are barriers and inequities that create some road blocks for women attaining commercial holdings, hotel ownership included, and those are far-reaching. They range from biased lending practices, limited availability of capital, limited networking opportunities, and social and cultural stigmas.
Gender Biases in Lending Practices
Unfortunately, those in control of the capital have unconscious and implicit biases that lead them to believe investing in female owners is inherently riskier than investing in male owners. The reality is that over the course of history, men have historically been the owners and therefore have the track records investors are looking for.
With this in mind, investors do not know how to underwrite the risks when women — who may have different experiences, financial profiles and professional backgrounds — are involved. They are unsure how to evaluate a woman’s ability to be successful, and rather than create other means to assess those risks, they make decisions to pass on the opportunity to provide capital altogether. If they do decide to invest, they draft loan terms that make it much more challenging for women to succeed during downturns or to make a deal in the first place. These limitations make it difficult for women to seize deals when an opportunity presents itself.
Limited Access to Networking Opportunities
Another factor that contributes to the wealth gap between men and women is the lack of access to networking opportunities. Women often have fewer opportunities to meet potential investors, lenders and other key players in the hospitality industry. They may face barriers such as social stereotypes, lack of mentorship opportunities, or a lack of connections in the industry. This can make it difficult for them to find the resources and connections needed to secure loans for hotel purchases.
Without access to these opportunities, women may struggle to grow their businesses or to secure the funding necessary to purchase hotels.
Cultural and Social Stigmas
While the stigmas of the past have evolved, the impact of the past does still exist, with women expected to take on the majority of the responsibilities of caring for children and the home.
Speaking from my own experience, I intentionally limit my travel and time away from home, despite having an amazing husband who takes great care of our son when I am away. I feel the pull of being away versus home, which means I don't attend all the conferences and other events that would put me in places to optimize and grow my network. Networking is how we open doors, connect with capital and close deals.
While it may seem as if there are an overwhelming amount of hurdles in our way, there are steps within the industry that can be taken (and are) to better position women to break into the market. We will explore each of these in detail over the next several months.
Tracy Prigmore is the founder of TLTsolutions, a real estate acquisitions and development firm. She is also the founder of She Has a Deal, a real estate investment platform and ecosystem that is creating new pathways to hotel ownership and development for women.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or CoStar Group and its affiliated companies. Bloggers published on this site are given the freedom to express views that may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussion within our reader community. Please feel free to contact an editor with any questions or concern.