John Pascal: A Playbook for Growth in the Hospitality Industry

HALL Structured Finance Broker Spotlight Series

As Managing Director of Chicago-based Paramount Capital Advisors (PCA), John Pascal sources institutional capital, both debt and equity, for real estate investors and developers. Working in concert with Paramount Lodging Advisors (PLA), the sister company of PCA, John brings a wealth of expertise in the hospitality industry to serve his clients. As a result, John has facilitated a handful of hotel development transactions for HALL Structured Finance (HSF) over the years.

Deep-Rooted Expertise

Before PCA, John worked in acquisitions for Heitman Financial, an institutional investment advisor, and subsequently worked for a senior housing owner/operator, Horizon Bay, acquiring senior living facilities and also heading up operations as co-COO. John then became a Principal at JMB Financial Advisors, putting his background in finance and acquisitions to great use as a capital advisor to real estate companies for all product types, including retail, office, industrial, multifamily, self-storage, hospitality and senior housing.

John’s experience and commitment to serving his clients led to his next role as Managing Director of Paramount Capital Advisors (PCA), a real estate investment advisor providing capital solutions for acquisitions, developments and construction in multiple asset classes. During his time at PCA, John has witnessed firsthand how the shift from banking to private lending has shaped the hospitality development industry.

Broker Insight

For John, the key to successfully sourcing capital is to find sponsors with a proven track record, skin in the game, solid experience and a good balance sheet, while also looking for a viable project with a strong business plan. John admires HALL Structured Finance’s (HSF) entrepreneurial and flexible approach in the construction lending industry and has worked with HSF to secure financing for several projects. One, a difficult adaptive reuse project in Downtown Atlanta that is now a successful Home2 Suites, and two others in the Southeast that had barriers that made traditional financing difficult: a Hampton Inn in Kennesaw, Georgia and a Hampton Inn & Suites in Riverview, Florida.

According to John, “HSF distinguishes themselves from other private lenders in that they try to figure out a way to get deals done, rather than focusing on how a deal won’t work. HSF will look at deals in secondary markets with sponsors that may not have the balance sheet or the experience that other lenders may require.”

At PCA, John typically sees deals with flagged hotel products – such as Hilton, Marriott and IHG – that are located in strong hotel and tourism markets across the United States. However, the company is not bound to only these product types; PCA also provides customized capital solutions for apartments, office, retail, office space and more.

Home2Suites by Hilton in Downtown Atlanta

What’s Next?

John has a cautiously optimistic outlook for the construction industry moving forward in 2020 and continues to see an increase in private lenders in the hospitality sector. He foresees thoughtful growth in markets across the United States without a supply surplus and with multiple demand generators and believes the industry will continue to strategically grow this year.

With his previous experience in the real estate industry, acquiring and financing every product type, John and his team plan to continue growing and expanding PCA nationally by servicing their client’s needs first with the most cost-efficient capital.