The Power of Experience

The hospitality industry is unique among real estate asset classes

While usually considered as one of the major real estate asset classes, hotels, resorts, timeshares, vacation ownership, fractionals, private residence clubs and other hospitality uses are operating businesses that "happen" to be situated on real estate. That is where similarity to other real estate asset classes begins and ends. Chasen Capital works with investors, developers, financial institutions and other industry participants to recognize opportunities, clarify vision and implement tailored made solutions which don't come "off the shelf".

Expertise

Chasen Capital is a full service boutique consulting firm specializing in the hospitality and vacation ownership industries. Our practice is unique in that we only accept a limited number of companies/assignments annually and tend to be focused on larger national situations. We tailor solutions to each assignment. Our partners have worked at some of the largest consulting and hospitality companies in the world. We do not do cookie cutter assignments and you work with senior members of the firm. The individual you talk with is the service partner for the assignment and will be the primary contact for the term of our involvement.

While our company specializes in litigation assistance and acquisition due diligence we take on other work where we feel we can add exceptional value. Value added is a key philosophy to our approach on every assignment. On the litigation front, we have addressed major complex commercial litigations at the individual plaintiff or defendant level, class action level and in valuation actions brought in Delaware Chancery Court.

Our Performance

Our performance is largely undisputed.  Typically, many of our litigation assignments do not make it all the way to Court once we issue our opinion.  Of the last 4 major assignments in the last 12 months, shortly after expert opinion and deposition, the law suits have been favorably settled to our clients benefit.  While all litigations have risk, a solid team helps to mitigate risk and increase the probabilities of a desired outcome.  Some of our recent successes include:

 

  • Winning tens of millions of dollars and rescission on behalf of fractional owners whom have wanted to exit their fractional and timeshare contracts;
  • We have saved large hospitality organizations over potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in potential out of pocket payouts when they have been sued for taking the company private at inadequate consideration,
  • We have been instrumental in breaking numerous management contracts without incurring the onerous break up fees and expenses.

MANAGING PARTNER

Jon R. Simon

Chasen Capital Advisors, Inc.

​​Jon R. Simon, has a long and accomplished background in the hotel and vacation ownership industries where he has advised some of the largest U.S. investment funds, hospitality and gaming companies and high net worth individuals.

Mr. Simon started his career at KPMG where he was elected to the partnership at the age of 31, making him the youngest full equity partner in the United States.  At KPMG he headed the firm’s hospitality and real estate consulting practice for the Southeast US, Latin America and the Caribbean focusing on hotels, mixed use resorts and shared ownership.  He also served as a national acquisitions partner serving senior roles in some of the largest hospitality industry acquisitions.

In 1997, Mr. Simon was recruited by Starwood Capital to be CEO of WorldStar Resorts, a hospitality investment company dedicated to the Vacation Ownership Industry.  In that capacity, Mr. Simon quickly grew the company from a start-up to over $100 million in annual revenues and 250 employees by the end of its first full year of operations.

After leaving Starwood, Mr. Simon was one of the 5 founding principals of a late stage private equity fund oriented to the hospitality industry where he also assumed the role of Chief Investment Officer.  In his first full year, Mr. Simon oversaw the underwriting and closing of over $150 million of direct investments, representing over $500 million of asset value.

Mr. Simon graduated from the University of Florida, Magna Cum Laude, with a degree in Quantitative Methods for Business from the School of Finance in the College of Business.  He was previously or is currently a member of the Urban Land Institute, the American Hotel and Motel Association, American Resort Development Association, where he was a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Finance Committee.  He is a Founder and Young President of Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida.   Mr. Simon is a regular speaker at the NYU Hotel Industry Conference and the American Lodging Investment Summit based in California.  He has authored numerous articles on the hospitality and vacation ownership industries, and recently published an article on the vacation ownership industry for Institutional Investor.

Let us help you!

Phone: 310-989-6788

Expert Witness for the Real Estate Hospitality Indusry