Put to: Luigi Major and Chad Sorensen.
Why it matters to buyers: HVS’s July 13, 2026 development-cost survey explicitly cautions that its averages and medians should not determine actual project costs or property values. It also warns against treating the survey as a year-to-year cost-change tool. That makes it a screening reference, not a substitute for a property budget. (hvs.com)
Draft framing of a good answer: Separate deferred maintenance, life-safety or accessibility work, recurring replacements, brand requirements and discretionary repositioning. Request scope, quantities, pricing dates, responsibility, timing and confidence for each item.
Include professional fees, permits, freight, storage, installation, operating supplies, contingencies, disruption and reopening expenditure where applicable. Ask how room closures affect both available inventory and revenue assumptions.
Require a reserve roll-forward showing opening cash, contributions, permitted releases and expenditure. Do not deduct both a reserve contribution and the same reserve-funded expenditure from owner cash without reconciling the funding source.
Sharp follow-up: “Which critical-path item is not yet supported by a survey, design or contractor quote?”
Evidence to request: Technical reports, costed scope, procurement schedule, downtime model and monthly funding-gap calculation.
Interview status: No expert response has been recorded.