We were lucky to catch up with Clinton Ramsden recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Clinton, thanks for joining us today. Along with taking care of clients, taking care of our team is one of the most important things we can do as leaders. Looking back on your journey, did you have a boss that was really great? Maybe you can tell us about that boss and what made them a wonderful person to work for?
Prior to working in real estate development, I was a naval officer. My last job in the Navy was serving as the military aide to a high-ranking naval officer, Rear Adm. Charlie Brown, at the Department of Defense headquarters in the Pentagon. The admiral’s days were characterized by making high-level decisions that had significant consequences, weighing the sometimes natural competing interests of the uniformed and non-uniformed Defense Department leaders, and navigating the intensely complex inter-agency process in D.C. My role included managing his schedule, handling all of the logistical elements of his day, and at times communicating on his behalf with both his internal staff and external partners.
Of all of the traits that I admired about Admiral Brown, the one that stands out the most was the constant patience he exhibited with everyone, especially the lowest-level staff members. He would routinely meet with government officials who were appointed by the President of the United States and the highest-ranking military officers in the nation. But, regardless of the importance of his personal responsibilities, he never made a staff member’s time or sense of worth feel insignificant. As the admiral’s scheduler and the one responsible for ensuring his day ran efficiently and on-time, even I would personally feel the strain. But he never allowed the hectic and overwhelming nature of his job translate negatively to one of the lower-level members of his organization. He made time for those who asked for it. And their sense of value to the organization was positively impacted.
In the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship where we never have enough time and we put our personal and professional credibility and resources on the line each day, it can be easy to overlook the importance of making time for those who work within our organization. Also, not all members of the staff have the visibility to see each complexity that the owner or the one in charge can see. If the leader of an organization is overly consumed with his or her obligations and shortens interactions with fellow members of the organization, he or she runs the risk of diminishing their sense of importance to the team, even when entirely unintended.
Regardless of the size and complexity of the challenges Admiral Brown faced, he also made time to hear the concerns of his subordinates. This enhanced their passion for the work they performed and endeared Admiral Brown to those under his command.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2011, my first job was flying helicopters for the Navy. Then, I transitioned to working as a communicator for the Navy. As a communicator, I would write speeches for senior officials, perform spokesperson duties alongside media partners who covered the Navy, develop and implement communication strategy; and my last job in the field was serving as the military assistant to the lead spokesman in the Navy. In both fields – aviation and communication – and in all positions, I developed a unique and diverse skill set that serves me well today in my current position as a real estate developer and operator.
My business partner and I started investing in multi-family real estate during our first helicopter squadron tour after completing flight school. We liked flying helicopters, but for two entrepreneurially-minded individuals in their early-20s we realized that the Navy would likely be a pathway to our professional purpose, not the final purpose itself. Our first investment was a four-unit multi-family building near the beach in 2013. We emptied our savings and checking accounts to source the down payment to purchase the property. That’s when our first-hand and informal education in real estate ownership would begin.
We initially aimed to invest only in residential multi-family buildings because they produced more free cash flow than single-family residences in most cases. We tried to create value by making aesthetic exterior changes and improving the management of the building. This allowed us to bring the rental rates in line with what the market commanded, and the tenants’ appreciated our immediate responsiveness. A couple years later, we felt confident enough in our management techniques and real estate knowledge to acquire another multi-family building. This closing was made complicated by the fact that both my business partner and I were deployed on Navy ships at the same time. I ended up sending in the signed closing documents when we pulled into port in Hong Kong. Weeks later we would learn that the purchase was finalized and we owned our second apartment building.
At the same time, we had begun developing a reputation as individuals who were seriously committed to forming a long-term real estate investment portfolio, so our friends asked if they could participate. We let a few close friends invest with us, which allowed the company to purchase real estate that otherwise was beyond the combined purchasing power of just my business partner and me. Several years later, our real estate portfolio included approximately 30 beachside single-family homes, two apartment buildings, and two commercial hospitality properties.
Our hospitality properties were both located in the same town as our alma mater, Annapolis. Spending four years in Annapolis gave us the first-hand knowledge that the hospitality options were limited in the luxury segment of this idyllic town. We were also witnessing in real-time a growing shift in tourism trends that prioritized a boutique hotel instead of a typical chain hotel to complement their authentic travel experience. So, we made the decision to sell our single-family residences that we had purchased during the first eight years of our company’s history and reinvest into the Annapolis hospitality market. Fortunately, the strategy seems to be paying off. We now have two active boutique hotel properties in Downtown Annapolis and three others in various stages of development.
Our company is unique in that we not only acquire and develop these properties, but we also manage the high-end hospitality concepts that we deliver to the market. We grew the company first in size by acquiring a large number of properties, but have shifted our growth strategy to focus on size and scalability. The management lessons we learned while managing dozens of single-family homes are helpful today while managing larger commercial properties, and we have gained insight into the economies of scale associated with investing in larger buildings.
Today, the members of our young and scrappy company spend most of our time forming a reputation for hospitality excellence by providing a world-class travel experience for guests who visit Annapolis, while the other half of our time is spent managing the development process of the next several properties that we will incorporate into the hospitality group.
The path from investing in multi-family apartment buildings to hotel development and management has been nonlinear, but also not as unpredictable as it may seem. As two middle-class people with jobs that paid just fine, we did not have the access to financing that would have allowed us to start purchasing the buildings that we own today. While our total asset base would surely be more valuable if we had, the lessons we learned along the way continue to serve us well and have led to the maturation of our development and managerial skill sets. Today, we are confident that the hardest taught lessons are now behind us, and the company’s best days are right in front of us.
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
My business partner, Cody Monroe, and I met while we were both students at the U.S. Naval Academy. We later would be roommates as we fulfilled our service obligation as naval aviators. During this roommate period is when we began discussing our broader personal and professional goals.
Having both graduated from the Naval Academy, we naturally had some similarities in terms of ambition, values, and experience. However, we were most aligned in our desire to pursue an entrepreneurial endeavor one day. Both of us had the chance to be around business growing up, and we realized we both were captivated by the idea of working for ourselves. We never devised a charter, ten-year plan, or any other formal document that would chart the path for the next several decades. We trusted each other enough to know that we would work as hard as we could, abide by our shared code of ethics, and make informed investments to positively change our station in life.
Fortunately, our personal relationship has strengthened as our professional relationship has aged. I consider Cody to be my best friend and most trusted confidant, and I thoroughly enjoy working alongside him each day even when the hours are long and the weekends are also for work. We push each other to be better managers by debating decisions professionally and calmly. We disagree at times, but also try to avoid being disagreeable.
We also share naturally complementary skill sets. This has allowed us to fill in capability gaps and moderate our approaches to complex challenges. While our specific strengths can vary, we share a burning passion and relentless ambition to succeed. In times of economic prosperity and times of financial challenges (like the COVID-19 pandemic), I’m glad Cody is my partner.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
When our company purchased our first two Annapolis hospitality properties in 2019, we were aware of only some of the challenges that lay ahead. First, we purchased two former bed and breakfast properties in December of 2019, only several months before the COVID-19 pandemic would shutter the world of travel for the foreseeable future. We had a vision of what we wanted these formerly underperforming properties to be, but asking a bank to finance construction of a hospitality property in 2020 was a non-starter. So, we began the process of completing our first construction project paying for all of the work ourselves.
After nearly twelve months of construction, our company was prepared to open the doors to 134 Prince – Luxury Boutique Hotel in Downtown Annapolis. Of course, in early 2021, mitigating the health risks associated with travel was our primary concern; but we also needed to make a positive impression for travelers visiting the hotel for the first time since its reconceptualization. Fortunately, that impression started forming during the construction phase when we partnered with the top interior designers, craftsmen, and hotel infrastructural system consultants who would form the framework for the world-class guest experience. We would learn shortly after opening that guests noticed the quality finishes and attentiveness to detail that we committed to upholding.
When the hotel finally opened in January of 2021, we were not only contending with traveler unease; but we were also competing against large chain hotels that were attracting loyal guests. We decided that the only way we could conceivably compete with some of the largest names in the travel industry would be to offer an unmatched concierge service that would ensure the needs of each guest were met entirely. We decided that our goal was to provide the most memorable, elegant, and bespoke travel experience a guest could encounter anywhere in the world. The way we would achieve this would be by customizing each guest’s visit to their
personal preferences and anticipating their every need. While some in the industry offer service, we offer hospitality. We anticipate the traveler’s needs and provide a level of service that transcends even the highest standards in the hotel business.
Today, we routinely make transportation arrangements, confirm restaurant reservations, and design customized travel itineraries for our guests. There is no guest request that is too small or too large. The reception has been universally positive, and we have formed a reputation as a hospitality group that overlooks no detail. Our guests deserve no less, and our reputation reflects the immense amount of care we give each guest of the hotel.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.134prince.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clint.ramsden/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clinton-ramsden-50a62092/