An STR operator's $4 million bet on building a boutique hotel in Colombia | Tim Hubbard E76

An STR operator's $4 million bet on building a boutique hotel in Colombia | Tim Hubbard E76

From The Hotel Investor Playbook by Michael Russell

April 7, 2026 · 48 min

About this episode

Tim Hubbard discusses the complexities and costs of building a boutique hotel in Colombia.

What does it actually cost to build a boutique hotel from scratch in a foreign country? More than you think, and not just financially. A short-term rental operator running 220+ properties across 40 cities is now three years into building a 20-unit boutique resort in Medellin, Colombia. No bank financing. A licensing process that restarted from zero. And a price tag is climbing toward $4.5 million. Tim Hubbard joins the show to walk through every layer of this project with total transparency. ...

People in this episode

Host: Michael Russell

Guest: Tim Hubbard

Topics covered

  • boutique hotel
  • real estate investment
  • short-term rentals
  • construction costs
  • international business

Keywords

  • boutique hotel
  • Medellin
  • construction
  • investment
  • short-term rental

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Colombia, Medellin

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