Test whether the building can produce a lawful, operable and financeable hotel before refining the aesthetic concept. Run physical feasibility and commercial demand work together: neither a plausible room layout nor a strong market narrative is enough on its own.
| Workstream | First deliverable | What would reopen the commercial case? |
|---|---|---|
| Planning and lawful use | Written account of intended use, approvals and unresolved authority questions | Restrictions on use, operating hours, parking or approval timing |
| Building and room yield | Measured test-fit addressing access, structure, services and back-of-house | Lower viable room count or materially larger non-revenue area |
| Operations | Service model, staffing, food-and-beverage plan and guest circulation | Labour or ancillary-operation costs unsupported by demand |
| Cost and schedule | Scope-based cost plan, contingencies, procurement sequence and dependencies | Building systems, hazardous materials, long-lead items or reopening delays |
| Capital and incentives | Funding sources, draw timing and specialist incentive review | Unfunded contingency, eligibility uncertainty or delayed reimbursement |
Published development-cost surveys are context, not building estimates. HVS’s 2026 survey uses 2025 budgets from both ground-up and conversion hotel projects and warns against estimating a particular project from the aggregate figures. Obtain a scoped design and cost assessment for the actual building. HVS — U.S. Hotel Development Cost Survey 2026.
Commission an early technical stage with a clear stop/go output and exclusions. The next stage should be authorised only when the owner understands the remaining physical unknowns and the cost of resolving them. Historic status, potential incentives and hotel licensing each require their own applicability review; one approval does not establish all others.
Stage output: a conditional development brief with viable room count, operating concept, approval dependencies, capital envelope and explicit reasons to stop or redesign.