How to Prepare a Hotel Acquisition Brief

Name the countries, cities or regions you will consider, and say how firm each one is. "Lisbon or Porto, city centre only" is more useful than "Portugal". If coastal or island locations are acceptable, say whether seasonal trading is acceptable too.

Exclusions help as much as preferences: a location you would never consider saves time on every hotel there.

Give a range of keys (lettable rooms) rather than a single number, and mention any facilities you need or want to avoid, such as conference space, a spa or a full-service restaurant. Scale shapes staffing, operating model and the pool of hotels that could fit.

An indicative budget range is used to filter, not to negotiate, and it should not be shared beyond the sourcing discussion without your permission. Say whether the range includes expected capital works or covers the purchase alone.

State how you intend to run the hotel: operate it yourself, appoint a management company, keep an existing brand, or lease it to an operator. This decides whether existing management, franchise or lease agreements are welcome, acceptable or a reason to walk away.

Say also whether you need an operating hotel with trading continuity or would prefer vacant possession.

Describe the condition you can accept, from ready-to-trade to full refurbishment or repositioning. If you have a view on the level of capital works you could fund, include it. Sellers' information on condition is a starting point for your own surveyors, not a conclusion.

Explain when you could proceed, who makes the decision and what approvals are needed on your side. A buyer that can move quickly with a small decision group is a different proposition for an owner than one that needs board approval and external financing.

Beyond the criteria, it helps to say how you can buy (the property directly, the owning company, or either), whether you have owned or operated hotels before, and who may be told your identity, and when.

Do not send identity documents, bank details or proof of funds at this stage. Those belong later, with your own advisers, once a specific opportunity and the introduction terms are agreed.