Masters of Moments

About Masters of Moments

Masters of Moments involves conversations with top entrepreneurs and business leaders about hospitality, Real Estate investing, and company building. We explore the ideas, strategies, and approaches that brought them to where they are today. This podcast is for you if you are a seasoned investor, an upstart entrepreneur, or someone looking to break into the real estate and hospitality investing world. Jake Wurzak is the CEO of DoveHill Capital Management and Wurzak Hotel Group, a leading vertically integrated hospitality investment platform. Since 2011, he’s led the investment of $1.5 billion in hotel assets throughout the country. Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JWurzak Take the Hospitality Real Estate Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/ Subscribe to the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzvzdJASDiEXhV9VhkaEoWA Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://dovehillcos.junipersquare.com/portal/view_lead_capture_form/MzhmOGE4MTUwMjZhNDZkNmU1MGE0NmYwOTdhZjk2MzAxYzE0MjIzMGdBV1ZEUUFBQUFBQUFBQW9UVzhJVFdzTlRrNkpkSlF1 DoveHill: www.dovehillcos.com

Publisher

Jake Wurzak

Category

business · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Feb 2023

Latest episode

25 Feb 2026

Latest episodes

74 of 128 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   25 Feb 2026TRANSCRIPT

   How to Develop Profitable Boutique Hotels - Ethan Orley - Managing Partner at Oliver Hospitality

   Managing Partner Ethan Orley discusses with Jake Wurzak his journey into boutique hotel development, highlighting the importance of creativity and disciplined real estate underwriting in building distinctive properties, in this interview.

2. 

   4 Feb 2026TRANSCRIPT

   How Omni Aligns Real Estate, Operations, and Guest Experience - Kurt Alexander - President of Omni Hotels & Resorts

   In this episode of Masters of Moments, Jake Wurzak sits down with Kurt Alexander to unpack how Omni Hotels has built a differentiated hospitality platform by staying deeply rooted in ownership, operations, and long-term thinking. Kurt shares his unconventional path from accounting and investment banking into hotel operations, including the formative experience of working every frontline role at Omni early in his career. The conversation explores why hospitality is fundamentally about people, how ownership mindset shapes better decision making, and what it takes to build hotels that feel both authentic to their destination and durable over decades. They discuss: Kurt’s transition from finance into hospitality and the lessons learned from working in frontline hotel roles Why Omni’s owner-operator model drives better operational, design, and capital allocation decisions How in-house design, construction, and food and beverage teams create differentiated guest experiences The role of programming, amenities, and experiences in winning group, leisure, and business travel What Omni has learned from joint venture partnerships, challenging deals, and long-term capital stewardship Links: Kurt on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wkurtalexander/ Omni Hotels & Resorts - https://www.omnihotels.com/ Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on X: ⁠https://x.com/JWurzak⁠ 1 on 1 coaching with Jake: ⁠https://www.jakewurzak.com/coaching⁠ Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: ⁠https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo⁠ Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:48) - From finance to frontline (00:05:37) - The calling of hospitality (00:09:49) - Omni's unique ownership model (00:17:07) - Design and construction innovations (00:27:18) - Programming for group and leisure travelers (00:34:08) - Competing in the hospitality industry (00:37:25) - Omni's brand identity and signature experiences (00:39:12) - Independent positioning of Omni Hotels (00:39:48) - Leveraging loyalty and unique experiences (00:41:04) - In-house culinary expertise and challenges (00:43:45) - Balancing culinary innovation and simplicity (00:45:46) - Adapting to market demands in f&b (00:52:06) - Creating a culture of ownership and excellence (00:55:52) - Incentivizing leadership and sales teams (00:58:33) - Omni's business model and financial strategy (01:02:15) - Lessons from jv partnerships (01:05:01) - Navigating challenges and learning from mistakes (01:07:31) - The importance of long-term thinking in hotel investments (01:09:37) - Favorite hotels and closing remarks

3. 

   7 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Wrapping up 2025: Wins, Losses, and Predictions for The Hospitality Industry

   In this solo year end episode of Masters of Moments, Jake Wurzak reflects on the highs, lows, and hard lessons from 2025 across his hospitality portfolio and broader business journey. He walks through recent acquisitions, operational wins, and exits, while candidly unpacking mistakes around debt timing, goal setting, and team management. Jake also shares how shifting guest preferences, declining RevPAR, and rising costs are reshaping the hotel industry, and why experiential and luxury assets continue to outperform. The episode closes with a forward looking view on 2026 and what has him re energized about hospitality. He discusses: Key wins from 2025 including the White Barn Inn acquisition, early distributions, and high ROI operational improvements Lessons learned from debt maturities, refinancing risk, and how market timing can dictate outcomes Mistakes around goal setting, performance measurement, and acting too slowly on underperformance Why experiential and luxury hotels are outperforming amid declining RevPAR in other segments How changing guest behavior, supply constraints, and brand dynamics are shaping 2026 opportunities This episode is especially valuable for operators, investors, and entrepreneurs looking for an honest, experience driven perspective on navigating cycles in hospitality and building with intention. Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on X: ⁠https://x.com/JWurzak⁠ 1 on 1 coaching with Jake: ⁠https://www.jakewurzak.com/coaching⁠ Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: ⁠https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo⁠ Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:15) - Highs of 2025: acquisitions and successes (00:07:03) - Lessons learned and mistakes made (00:17:02) - Looking ahead to 2026: trends and predictions (00:28:57) - Conclusion and exciting news for 2026 (00:29:51) - Closing remarks and podcast information

Inside a recent episode

How to Develop Profitable Boutique Hotels - Ethan Orley - Managing Partner at Oliver Hospitality

Published 25 Feb 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] It's like it's apples and oranges and so you have to sit there and go, I think I can get an extra hundred bucks in ADR. I think I can because look at this city over here so we're always talking to our market study groups and say hey, you're not gonna find what you're looking for here but look at what we've done in these cities and then look at what this person did in this way. And they can stretch a little bit and then the next step is leap of faith. That's the second part. And the third part is basis. And so you really never know and so the best thing to do in real estate is to either buy cheap or build at a price point where if you had to get out, you can get out. […]

Who has been a guest on Masters of Moments

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Ethan Orley
• Sean Hehir
• John Grossman
• Charles Paloux
• Adam Crocini

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

81,265

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

35 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

19 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 82 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

100

Social presence

0

YouTube

85

Engagement

77

Contact Masters of Moments

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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