Learn how to buy or buildyour first boutique hotel,on a live build site.
Three days in Blue Ridge with Blake Dailey, an operator running a $30M portfolio of eight boutique hotels. You walk two of his resorts, one mid-build and one at the finish line, see the real budgets, and leave knowing whether to buy or build, with a 90-day plan.
Two resorts, two stages of a build
Sessions happen in the event venue at Willow Falls. After each one, you walk out and see it on site.
Willow Falls Resort
22 acres on a private lake, with a wedding and event venue and new luxury cabins going up through the winter. This is where every session happens.
- Walk the build sites with Blake
- See the site plans, permits, and GC bids
- Learn where the budget goes when plans change
The Ellijay Resort
Blake's newest property, a short drive from Willow Falls. You tour it on Saturday to see what a build looks like once it's done.
- See a finished build up close
- Compare it to the site you walked on Friday
- Ask what Blake would do differently
Renderings shown. Both properties are active projects.
Four sessions, both paths
Each one is a working session, not a lecture. You learn the method, walk out to see it on site, then apply it to a deal of your own.
The Build Side
Site plans, permits, the design-build process, and what a GC bid actually looks like. How the build gets sequenced so three or four things move at once, and where the budget goes when the site plan changes.
Opening the Books
The real build costs and the financials. What a property earns, what it costs to run, what the debt looks like, and where the money comes from beyond renting rooms, which is the part most people miss.
The Buy Side
How to find a deal worth doing, how to underwrite it, and how to fund it to get it closed, including seller carry, partners, and creative structures when the bank says no.
Choose Your Path
Both paths side by side against your capital, your market, and your timeline. You build your buy box and your 90-day plan on your own situation, with feedback in the room.
What the three days look like
A Thursday night kickoff, two full workshop days with property tours, and a Sunday morning to wind down. Lunch and dinner are provided Friday and Saturday. You handle travel and lodging.
- ArriveGet into Blue RidgeCheck into your lodging.
- EveningKickoff partyMeet Blake and the room.
- MorningBreakfast on your own
- 10:00 AMThe Build SideSite plans, permits, GC bids.
- MiddayLunch, provided
- AfternoonOpening the BooksBuild costs, operating numbers, debt.
- Late PMWillow Falls build-site walkStand in the cabins going up.
- EveningDinner, provided
- MorningBreakfast on your own
- 10:00 AMThe Buy SideFinding, underwriting, funding.
- MiddayLunch, provided
- AfternoonChoose Your PathYour buy box and 90-day plan.
- Late PMEllijay Resort tourSee a finished build.
- EveningDinner, provided
- MorningYoga and pickleball
- MorningNetworkingLast conversations with the room.
- DepartCheck out
Blake Dailey
While still active duty in the Air Force, Blake bought his first short-term rental. Then he kept buying. Eighty units in, he realized more Airbnbs meant more cleaners and more headaches, not more freedom.
So he changed the model. Today Blake operates a $30M portfolio of eight boutique hotels across multiple markets, a hospitality company doing $6M a year with 25 employees, and he has hosted tens of thousands of guests.
He started Hotel Launch to hand operators the path he had to figure out the hard way. He still runs the portfolio. Everything taught at this workshop, he is doing right now.
Who belongs in the room
This workshop is built for operators ready to act, not browsers collecting information. Read both columns honestly before you reserve a seat.
This is for you if
You have real estate experience and you are ready to move on a hotel.
- You are an experienced real estate or short-term rental investor with 10 or more units.
- You come from commercial real estate or an adjacent industry and want into hospitality.
- You have a hotel deal in front of you right now and need a second set of operator eyes on it.
- You already own a hotel and you are ready to scale to the next acquisition.
- You want to skip the expensive solo learning curve and act on a path that works.
This is not for you if
No judgment. It just means the timing is not right yet.
- You have never owned a piece of real estate. Start with a unit first.
- You want income with zero operational involvement. A hotel is a business, not a bond.
- You want someone to find and run the deal for you.
- You are here to collect information and will not act on it for another year.
The room is full of people already doing this
You will not be the only one in motion. The operators around you have closed deals, and the numbers below are why this works.
What's included, and what it costs
One ticket. The Thursday kickoff, every session, both property tours, the workbook, and lunch and dinner Friday and Saturday. You handle travel and lodging.
General Admission
- Every main session and breakout across both workshop days.
- Two guided walks with Blake: the Willow Falls build sites and the Ellijay Resort.
- The workshop workbook that builds your buy box, markets, funding path, and 90-day roadmap.
- Networking at the Thursday kickoff party, every lunch and dinner, and Sunday morning yoga and pickleball.
- Lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday.
Fly into Atlanta and rent a car, or drive in. Book your own lodging in Blue Ridge, Ellijay, or East Ellijay. Room block details come with your confirmation.
Before you reserve a seat
I've been to real estate events before and left with notes I never used. Why is this different?
I don't have a hotel deal yet. Should I still come?
Can I really learn enough in three days?
What does the ticket cost, and what's included?
Where is it, and how do I get there?
Is lodging included?
How big is the group?
Buy it or build it. See both before you decide.
Three days on a live build site in Blue Ridge. Thirty seats. December 3-5, 2026.