Let me put it bluntly: There’s a window in upmarket hospitality that’s open — but not for long. Legacy assets are commanding record-shattering valuations. The right buyers are ready, and they’re already buying. The terms are yours to shape. But only if you act before the moment closes.

If you’ve built something exceptional—a singular vision, handcrafted with soul and sustained by intention—this is your moment. Not because I say so. Because the market is screaming it. Passion-led hospitality assets are trading at valuations we’ve never seen before. Buyers are sophisticated. Capital is aligned. Liquidity and legacy can finally sit at the same table.

But only if you act.

I know, I know. Every advisor says it’s “a great time to sell.” Every real estate agent, every broker, every banker. Always. Even in a dumpster fire. But that’s not what this is. This moment isn’t typical. It’s rare, it’s real, and it gives you something you almost never get: leverage.

Right now, today, owners of exceptional hospitality assets have the power to choose the buyer. You have the power shape the deal. You have the ability protect the thing you’ve built. You have the option to walk if it doesn’t feel right.

But here’s what drives me crazy:  Watching extraordinary properties stall—not because the world lacks interest, but because the people who built them can’t bring themselves to let go—until it’s too late.

And if you wait until it’s too late, it means missing out on once-in-a-generation valuations. Or worse, it means someone unworthy of your legacy ends up taking the reins.  Or worse still, someone with no reverence for what you’ve created ends up in control—and you’re forced to stand by, powerless, as they dismantle it piece by piece.

So for those who need a wake-up call, here’s your five-point owner’s manual for not screwing this up:

Wake the hell up. This moment will pass. You will not see another like it. Not in your lifetime. Not in this configuration. Not with this kind of capital at the table.

Un-crazy yourself. Your property is not worth double what the best buyer would ever pay. Your board will not magically become high-functioning if you just wait it out. The realities of time will not stop marching forward. If you’re waiting for clarity to arrive on a silver platter, you’re already late.

Get aligned. Whether it’s the husband who still wants to play hotelier, the heir who’s never had to run a business, or the meddling outsider who thinks he knows better—you must get everyone in the room rowing in the same direction. That includes the spouse, the kids, the chair, the board.

Lose the ego. I see it over and over: grown men acting like threatened boys, torpedoing generational outcomes just to win an ego war; or worse, deny reality. If you recognize yourself here, congratulations. You’re the problem.

Act like a steward, not a king. A true steward knows when to pass the torch. A king in decline doesn’t. He clings to the throne, blind to the rot setting in, convinced the kingdom will hold without a future—and convinced he alone can deliver it. That’s not legacy. That’s denial.

What you’ve built is rare. It’s not just beautiful, or historic, or profitable. It’s whole. It’s authored. And the people who want to buy it? The ones you should be talking to? They don’t just want to own it. They want to be entrusted with it.

If that word lands with you—entrusted—then you know what to do.

And if it doesn’t, well… go ahead and wait. Just don’t be surprised when the best offers vanish, and the only buyers left are the ones who don’t give a damn.

This is your moment.

Don’t waste it.