Director, Hospitality

Department:

We are Walker & Dunlop.  We are one of the largest providers of capital to the commercial real estate industry, enabling real estate owners and operators to bring their visions of communities — where people live, work, shop, and play — to life. We are committed to creating meaningful social, environmental, and economic change in our communities.

Department Overview

Our EMEA experts deliver exceptional debt and equity solutions across the commercial real estate spectrum, combining deep capital markets expertise with local EMEA real estate knowledge to maximise returns and minimise risk for our clients.

Walker & Dunlop's EMEA Hotels Investment & Sales practice provides institutional-grade hotel brokerage, sell-side advisory, debt and equity placement, and M&A services across the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, and the broader EMEA region. With a focus on single-asset and portfolio transactions in the £70-500m range, our team connects institutional investors, private equity, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and owner-operators with the capital and counterparties that drive exceptional outcomes.

Through our unified approach, we serve the full hospitality spectrum while leveraging Walker & Dunlop's extensive global capital network, proprietary technology, and transaction expertise to maximise value for our clients.

The Impact You Will Have

Join a rapidly growing team as Director within Walker & Dunlop's EMEA Hotels Investment & Sales practice in London.  The Director is a leadership role responsible for originating and executing hotel capital markets transactions across the UK and EMEA. Working closely with the Managing Director, the Director will lead client engagements, transaction execution, investor outreach, underwriting, and business development efforts while mentoring junior professionals and helping drive the continued growth of the platform. In a lean, high-performing team, your execution quality and commercial instincts will be visible from day one.

Primary Responsibilities

• Identify, pursue, and originate new business opportunities across hotel investment sales, debt advisory, equity placement, recapitalizations, and M&A assignments.
• Develop and maintain senior-level relationships with hotel owners, operators, institutional investors, private equity firms, lenders, family offices, and other key market participants throughout EMEA.
• Lead transaction execution from mandate through closing, including underwriting, due diligence coordination, investor marketing, negotiation support, and completion processes.
• Oversee the preparation and presentation of pitch materials, investment memoranda, financing memoranda, financial models, market analyses, and transaction recommendations.
• Analyze acquisition, disposition, refinancing, recapitalization, and strategic alternatives for clients across a range of hospitality assets and portfolios.
• Lead investor and lender outreach processes, coordinating targeted marketing campaigns and managing stakeholder communications throughout transactions.
• Evaluate market trends, capital flows, operating performance metrics, and investment opportunities within the hospitality sector to provide strategic advice to clients.
• Work closely with the Managing Director to develop business plans, market coverage strategies, and revenue growth initiatives for the EMEA Hotels platform.
• Manage multiple active mandates simultaneously while maintaining exceptional quality standards and client service.
• Lead, mentor, and develop Associate Directors, Senior Analysts, Analysts, and other junior team members.
• Coordinate staffing and resource allocation across transactions, ensuring efficient execution and professional development opportunities for team members.
• Contribute to thought leadership, industry visibility, and Walker & Dunlop brand development through conferences, client meetings, and market engagement.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• In office attendance required Monday through Friday.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree required; preference for finance, real estate, economics, hospitality, or related disciplines.
• 7+ years of commercial real estate and/or hospitality capital markets experience.
• Demonstrated experience in hotel investment sales, hospitality advisory, debt placement, equity raising, investment banking, or related capital markets disciplines.
• Proven track record of managing and executing complex hospitality transactions.
• Existing network of hospitality investors, owners, lenders, operators, and capital providers within the UK and broader EMEA market strongly preferred.
• Experience leading client relationships and participating in business development initiatives.
• CFA, MRICS, CCIM, or equivalent professional designation preferred.
• Additional European language skills (French, German, Spanish, Italian, or others) are advantageous.
• Eligible to work in the United Kingdom

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Possess a working knowledge of hotel transaction processes including due diligence, legal documentation, and closing procedures.
• Excellent financial modelling skills including thorough knowledge of Excel; ARGUS a plus.
• Strong technical understanding of hotel P&Ls, operating performance metrics (RevPAR, EBITDA, GOP), and valuation methodologies including DCF and yield-based approaches.
• Proficiency in MS Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint; ability to learn Salesforce and other company software as needed.
• Proven written and oral communication skills; capable of producing client-ready pitch materials and investment memoranda with limited supervision.
• Excellent attention to detail and organisational skills, with the ability to accurately manage multiple mandates during time-sensitive situations.
• Ability to show ownership of your work, take on challenges, acknowledge growth opportunities, and demonstrate patience when learning new processes.
• Courtesy, respect, and thoughtfulness in teaming with colleagues and other stakeholders.

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What We Offer  

• You will have the opportunity to accelerate in our rapidly growing organization.
• We’re a lean team, so your impact will be felt immediately.
• Flexible working hours, career advancement, and competitive compensation package.
• We arrange social activities to help our employees and families become familiar with each other and our culture.
• In addition to other benefits, we offer supplemental health insurance, a pension plan, and 100% complimentary and confidential mental health services.

Walker & Dunlop utilizes Workday for automated applicant tracking. No hiring decisions are fully automated, and our talent recruiting team may be reached at any time at [email protected]. You have the right to request information on the screening process. You further have the right to withdraw or delete your information at any time.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

We are committed to equity in all steps of the recruitment and employment experience. We believe in equal access to opportunities in our workplace. We do not tolerate discrimination, including harassment, based on any characteristic protected by applicable law, such as race, color, national origin, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, sex, age, disability, veteran or military status, and genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We strive to be a safe place to ask questions, build professional relationships, and develop careers.

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Please be wary of recruitment scams. An indication of a scam might be a request for sensitive or bank information at the time of application or emails coming from a non walkerdunlop.com email address. Please call us at 301.215.5500, if you have any concerns about information requested during or after the application process.