AWH starts fund with $20M

NEW YORK CITY – Recognizing ongoing market volatility, hospitality investor AWH Partners has launched AWH Strategic Income Fund, LP, a $20 million private real estate fund focused on acquiring income-generating hotels by using a proprietary intelligence platform to identify under-valued hospitality assets poised for long-term growth.

The fund from New York City-based AWH Partners as well as legacy investors and friends of the firm is now open to other accredited investors and positioned to grow to $100 million, according to AWH.

AWH plans to commit $5 million to $15 million per deal across five to 10 transactions, serving as a controlling equity partner in most investments. Investment targets include hotels facing refinancing pressure or owner fatigue due to elevated interest rates, inflation or capital markets illiquidity, leading to unexpectedly long hold periods for current owners.

The AWH Strategic Income Fund is structured to provide steady cash flow and long-term capital preservation. It intends to balance income generation with capital stability, catering to investors prioritizing both financial resilience and sector-specific opportunities.

AWH stated that a key driver of asset selection will be its technology platform that tracks and analyzes more than 600 hospitality markets. Properties affiliated with premium brands as well as established independent brands will be preferred as AWH said they offer higher occupancy and greater revenue stability.

This initiative is being led by AWH Co-founders and Managing Partners Chad Cooley, Jon Rosenfeld and Russ Flicker. The company was founded in 2010 and has invested more than $2 billion in hospitality real estate.

“Ongoing market volatility presents strategic opportunities to acquire income-generating assets at attractive valuations,” Cooley said. “It's the perfect juncture to launch this fund, as our in-house technology platform, which has been years in the making, now enables us to quickly identify and capitalize on opportunities in the hospitality sector that might otherwise be overlooked.”

“Hospitality is one of the few real estate asset classes where yields have expanded significantly,” Rosenfeld added. “We are seeing stabilized hotels trading at cap rates 100-200 basis points wide of their historical valuations. These levels, when borrowing costs are consistently 100 basis points or more inside of cap rates, offer attractive current income, especially when paired with the capabilities of Spire Hospitality, our subsidiary hospitality management firm.”

“Our intention is to capitalize on this unprecedented investment opportunity that promises to yield exceptional buying opportunities for the next two to three years,” Flicker said.