Diversity among hotel investors has been lacking, said Mary Beth Cutshall, founder and managing partner of Amara Capital, which is why she began her diversity, equity and inclusion-focused investment platform in 2018.
Amara Capital is geared toward helping high-net-worth women and other minority investors get access to hospitality and multifamily real estate deals.
Cutshall, who most recently served as executive vice president and chief development officer at Hospitality Ventures Management Group, said launching Amara Capital was something she felt was important to do.
"As a deals person in the space, I was recognizing that there wasn't much diversity when it came to hotel investors and putting deals together," she said. "If I didn't do it, who's going to do it? There are only so many of us that had that opportunity to bring deals to women investors."
In 2018, she brought in female investors for the Sheraton Jacksonville Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida.
"It was the start of [Amara Capital] really," she said.
While Cutshall's main focus at the time was her role at HVMG, in 2021 she realized the need for diversity among hotel investors became increasingly apparent, she said.
Cutshall describes the pandemic as a pivotal moment in her life, as it led her to think deeper about where she wanted to spend her time professionally.
"I decided that I really wanted to dedicate full time to finding great investment opportunities for myself and [other] investors," she said. "That's when I decided it was time for me to pivot. I'd been at HVMG for 10 years, had a great run, but was ready to have a different path and focus primarily on real estate, not just management."
Amara Capital's Evolution
Cutshall said Amara Capital was initially founded to give female investors access to deals, but she recognized it needed to expand to include all minorities of all ages. Recently there's been a wave of newer and younger investors interested in deploying capital, she said.
"The investor doesn't have to be a minority; I just want the door to be open. I want women and minority investors to get into the room to look at deals. In addition, I'm very keen toward organizations that are mindful and driven towards [environmental, social and governance] values and really walking the talk, not just saying they are," she said.
Cutshall also served as vice chair of the Castell Project, a nonprofit organization aimed at accelerating the careers of women in the hotel industry, which recently merged with the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
Cutshall said there's several ways to approach hotel investments, but her strategy is more "smaller scale."
"It's deal by deal because I'm very particular and careful about the deals that we're doing," she said. "I do not want to be in a position where I've raised a bunch of money and the clock is ticking. It's about finding the right deal, then bringing that to investors and going about it one at a time."
Within the past year, Cutshall has purchased two multifamily properties in the U.S. and is actively investing overseas, including in Portugal through a hospitality and residential fund. She said there's a lot of appetite from investors in the European Union.
Though Russia's invasion on Ukraine has been a concern and caused disruption when looking for deals abroad, Cutshall said she's still eyeing locations in Portugal.
Portugal is attractive because of its Golden Visa program, which allows individuals to have dual citizenship if they reach a certain amount of investment in real estate. It's become a dynamic country and among the top-rated locations to retire, she added.
When looking for the right deals, Cutshall describes the sweet spot as finding value-add opportunities, such as properties in need of heavy renovations. One of Cutshall's partners has significant experience with general contracting services and supports renovation projects.
"It's really about markets that have the long-run strength — I think we're flexible about the types of deals we would do; I'm not in a box. I don't have to only do a specific brand," she said. "It's finding something that still hasn't been fully realized to its potential."
In the U.S., she's currently "very bullish" on the Sun Belt markets.
While many in the industry speculated that a wave of distressed assets would hit the market, Cutshall said a majority of deals haven't been heavily discounted.
"I don't think it's going to happen to the degree we anticipated. Waiting around for that avalanche of distressed deals, [you'll] miss the opportunities that are out there," she said.
Moving forward, Cutshall said one of her main goals with this platform is to enjoy it.
"Life is short and real estate is a fun space to be in," she said.
While some other investors in the industry might pursue scale, Amara Capital's philosophy is about doing the right deals with the right people and having sound investments, she said.
"That's really my motto — enjoying life and helping others create wealth. The goal is not to be the biggest," she said.