Team Type: Hotel

Jeff Berkman

  • Jeff Berkman is a Director in the Hospitality Investment Advisory practice at Hodges Ward Elliott.  He specializes in institutional-grade hotel and resort property transactions throughout the country. In the past 13 years, Jeff has been involved in more than $30 billion in hotel transactions including the recent sales of 1 Hotel South Beach, PGA National Resort and the Four Seasons Las Colinas.

  • Jeff joined the firm in 2007. Prior to HWE, he was a senior underwriter for the capital markets group at CWCapital. In two years at CW, Jeff was lead underwriter on over $500 million in fixed and floating rate loans. Before starting with CWCapital, Jeff was an underwriter at Mortgageramp, a division of GMAC Commercial Mortgage. In three years at Mortgageramp, he underwrote several hundred million dollars’ worth of fixed-rate conduit loans on behalf of GMAC, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup, and others.

  • Jeff is a graduate of Tulane University.

Tom McHugh

  • Tom McHugh is a Senior Vice President in the Hospitality Investment Advisory practice at Hodges Ward Elliott. Tom specializes in institutional-grade hotel and resort transactions throughout North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean, including investment advisory, debt, and equity placements.

  • Tom joined Hodges Ward Elliott in May 2021. Prior to HWE, he spent more than five years in real estate brokerage, most recently at a privately held national investment advisory firm specializing in the hospitality industry. Before transitioning into real estate investment banking, Tom worked in hospitality management at world-renowned properties for over five years in four different countries.

  • Tom holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration and completed a post-graduate Corporate Management Training Program with Kerzner International, a leading global developer and operator of destination resorts and ultra-luxury hotels.

Zach Moore

  • Zach joined Hodges Ward Elliott in 2018. He serves as Senior Vice President, facilitating dispositions, financing assignments, valuations, and other engagements. He has spent almost a decade in business development and high-level sales. In 2014, Zach strategically transitioned his business acumen and sales experience to the lodging industry. Since then, he has been involved in the execution of over $100 million in transaction volume. With a focus on Select-service hotels and portfolios, Zach has transacted in almost every region of the United States. In 2019, Zach married his amazing wife Anna Molteni of Nashville, Tennessee where they now reside and make their home.
  • Zach is a graduate of Auburn University with studies in Finance.

Nate Ries

  • Nate Ries is a Senior Vice President in the Hospitality Investment Advisory practice at Hodges Ward Elliott. He specializes in hotel and resort transactions throughout North America, including investment advisory and equity placements. Nate is responsible for all aspects of deal execution, marketing strategy, and financial underwriting.

  • Since joining the firm in 2012, Nate has been directly involved in the sale or financing of approximately 100 hotels and resorts, totaling $3 billion in transaction value. Prior to HWE, Nate worked as an analyst for Revenue Analytics, a consulting firm specializing in price optimization and revenue management for Fortune 500 companies.
  • Nate graduated with a BS in Economics from Duke University and received an MBA with a concentration in real estate and finance from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

Michael Tormey

  • Michael Tormey is a Senior Vice President in the Hospitality Investment Advisory practice at Hodges Ward Elliott. He specializes in institutional-grade full-service and select-service hotel and resort property transactions, and his primary responsibilities include financial analysis and underwriting, transaction management, and the preparation of offering memoranda and pitch materials.

  • Michael joined the firm in July 2013. Prior to HWE, he served as an acquisitions intern for Dolce Hotels and Resorts, where he was responsible for market research and feasibility analysis.

  • He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration, as well as a Minor in Real Estate, from Cornell University. Michael remains closely connected to the school as a co-leader of HWE’s analyst and internship program.

Zak Brodstein

  • Zak Brodstein is a Vice President in the Hospitality Investment Advisory practice at Hodges Ward Elliott. He specializes in institutional-grade hotel and resort property transactions throughout North America, including advisory and equity placements.
  • Mr. Brodstein joined the firm in January of 2020. Prior to HWE, he spent nearly five years as both a Guest Service and Housekeeping manager at Kimpton EPIC Hotel in downtown Miami. During his time at EPIC, Mr. Brodstein oversaw the branding transition to IHG, a full rooms renovation, and was awarded #1 hotel in Miami by “Conde Nast” during his tenure.
  • Mr. Brodstein is an alumnus of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. Zak remains closely connected to the school as a co-leader of HWE’s analyst and internship program.

 

 

Michael Brandes

  • Michael Brandes is a Vice President in the Hospitality Investment Advisory practice at Hodges Ward Elliott. He specializes in select-service hotel and portfolio transactions throughout North America, including investment sales and equity placements.
  • Mr. Brandes joined the firm in August 2021. Prior to HWE, he spent over two years at Preferred Apartment Communities, a public, multifamily REIT in Atlanta, where he was directly involved in Class A property acquisitions and loan investments totaling over $200 million. Prior thereto, he worked as an Associate at Haddow & Company, a commercial real estate consulting firm in Midtown Atlanta. Mr. Brandes was also a prior intern at HWE.
  • Mr. Brandes graduated from the University of Georgia with a BBA in Real Estate.

Rebecca Wynn

  • Rebecca Wynn is the Director of Financial Analysis within the Hospitality Investment Advisory practice at Hodges Ward Elliott. She specializes in underwriting institutional-grade hotel and resort property transactions throughout North America and the Caribbean, including investment advisory, debt, and equity placements. She also works with the junior associates in honing their underwriting skills in this ever-changing environment.
  • Ms. Wynn joined the firm in May 2000. Prior to HWE, she was also an associate at Conseco Finance Service Corp. underwriting manufactured home communities in the western United States. Immediately after undergrad she spent 2 years at Comerica Bank in Detroit MI developing commercial underwriting skills in their credit analyst program before relocating to Atlanta.
  • She earned a B.A. in Finance from Michigan State University. She recently completed a Masters of Commercial Real Estate from Georgia State University in 2019.

Lauren Habig

Lauren Habig, located in Miami, is an Associate in Hodges Ward Elliott’s Hotel Investment Advisory Group. Lauren is primarily responsible for the financial analysis and underwriting, transaction management, and the preparation of offering memoranda and pitch materials.

 

Lauren joined the firm in January of 2023. Prior to HWE, she interned for LionGrove LLC, where she focused on proforma management of their current assets across Puerto Rico and underwriting potential acquisitions for the firm.

 

Lauren graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Miami, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance, with minors in International Business and Psychology. At Miami, she was a four-year member of Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honors Society and an active leader of the Women in Business association.