Geolo Capital's Strategic Pivot: How a Hospitality Developer Transformed Into a Structured Finance Player

After successfully exiting Two Roads Hospitality through a sale to Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Geolo Capital made a decisive strategic move to reshape its business model. Rather than retreating from the hospitality sector, the John Pritzker family office chose to double down—but with a new approach. The company introduced a dedicated structured finance vertical, signaling a fundamental shift from pure development to providing mezzanine and preferred equity solutions for third-party hospitality partners.

From Developer to Capital Provider: Geolo Capital’s New Direction

The transition wasn’t theoretical. To validate this new business model, Geolo Capital closed two substantial transactions that demonstrated the investment thesis in action. In partnership with JMI Realty and Fenway Capital Advisors, the firm committed capital to Alila Marea, a 130-room luxury oceanfront resort being developed in Encinitas, California. Simultaneously, working with Portman Holdings, Geolo finalized an investment in an ambitious adaptive reuse project that would transform a 1950s Atlanta building into the 216-room Kimpton Buckhead.

Alila Marea: The Decades-Long Vision Materializes

Few projects capture the intersection of geography, brand positioning, and financial opportunity quite like Alila Marea. Located on a 4.3-acre oceanfront bluff in Southern California, the property represents more than just another luxury resort—it will become the second Alila property in North America, complementing Geolo’s existing Ventana Big Sur property. The resort’s “barefoot luxury” positioning sets expectations: three food and beverage venues, 11,000 square feet of event space, and unobstructed Pacific Ocean views. When the property opened in 2021, it filled a void in California’s luxury resort market, backed by investors who understood the destination’s long-term appeal.

Buckhead’s Lifestyle Hotel Renaissance

Atlanta’s Buckhead submarket has historically concentrated on corporate hospitality and traditional business travel accommodations. Geolo Capital and Portman Holdings identified a gap: premium boutique properties that could serve the affluent leisure and extended-stay market. Their solution involved acquiring and comprehensively renovating Sobu Flats, an eight-story condominium building dating to the 1950s. The redevelopment project would reimagine the structure as a 216-room Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants property, featuring a garden pool, rooftop lounge, and three distinct dining venues positioned to capture Buckhead’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals and affluent demographic.

What This Means for the Hospitality Finance Landscape

According to Ben Gottlieb, Principal at Geolo Capital, the selection of these two properties reflected a deliberate strategy. Both offered opportunities to deploy capital alongside operating partners with proven track records in their respective markets. The Georgia project specifically targeted an undersupply in Buckhead’s boutique hotel segment, while the California development addressed decades of planning and permitting delays to finally bring a flagship property to market.

Building Momentum: Geolo Capital’s Investment Portfolio Trajectory

Since 2005, Geolo Capital has accumulated a multi-billion-dollar portfolio spanning ground-up developments, adaptive reuse projects, and historical restorations. The company’s partnership network reflects institutional-grade finance: Goldman Sachs & Co., Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and numerous real estate specialists. Beyond Alila Marea and Kimpton Buckhead, Geolo Capital’s pipeline included the Thompson Hotel in Washington, D.C. (opening January 2020) and a $300+ million mixed-use development in Austin, Texas featuring both a Thompson hotel and multifamily residential components. Combined with its partnership with Wanxiang America Real Estate, Geolo Capital had deployed more than $700 million into U.S.-based real estate projects, positioning it as a significant player in hospitality finance rather than merely a developer-owner.