Julia Turner, Sarah Biggs, Riley Wheatley, and Jordan Steinman, better known as Boiler Analysts, comprised the winning team in this semester’s Dean V. White Real Estate Industry Project Competition. The competition on May 2, 2025, asked students to make a hotel purchase recommendation to Summit leadership including CEO Jon Stanner.
Students were given offering memoranda and other property specific information for five potential hotel acquisitions in the Alexandria VA, Anchorage AK, Ann Arbor, MI, Moab UT, and Phoenix AZ markets. After conducting market analyses and identifying a subset of properties most consistent with Summit’s investment strategy, students ultimately developed financial models and a pricing recommendation to support their final purchase recommendation.
Boiler Analysts was the top team among seven who participated. “Our goal was to evaluate multiple properties and identify the most feasible investment opportunity to strategically enhance Summit's portfolio,” says team member Sarah Biggs. “The project involved in-depth market research, building a detailed discounted cash flow model, and analyzing key financial metrics to assess the viability and potential returns of the investment.”
Summit is a Lodging/Resorts REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) based in Austin, Texas, and was the industry sponsor for the case competition. Summit President and CEO Jonathan Stanner earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Purdue.
