Today is a meaningful milestone for me. My new fund officially acquired Hamakua Hotel from Wellness Weekends LLC. That sentence is simple. The journey behind it is anything but, so grab a coffee, this one has a few turns.
In 2021 I set out to build what I thought was my next desire, an ocean view infinity pool at my home in Hawaii. I lined up a $1.25M HELOC at 3.5%, hired an architect, started permits, the whole thing. It was happening. Then I met the pool construction industry on the Big Island.
Six months later I had frustration, delays, and a growing suspicion that building this pool might age me faster than actually enjoying it. Around that same time, a property for sale popped up in my feed via auction. I didn’t even know that real estate auctions were a thing.
Oceanfront, massive pool, eight minutes away. The opening bid felt… wrong, in a good way. I drove over expecting disappointment. Instead I felt that unmistakable pull. The kind that doesn’t come from logic.
The pool alone was something I never would have built. Two story slide, 30 foot high dive, the whole thing felt like an adult playground. It had even been used as a set for the popular TV show “Love Island”, which from a business perspective mattered, and from a personal perspective had me already imagining jumping off things I probably shouldn’t. It was also clear the previous owner had made some bold design decisions. Let’s just say there was upside.
The auctions started. No bids in the first auction at $6.25M. The Sotheby’s sales rep told me that 82% of auctions resulted in a sale, so I was a little surprised by this, especially given the fact that I had verified that the property cost $12 million to build just 10 years earlier. A second auction with a price reduction came and went. No bids at $6M. Then, a third round at only $5.75M. Still nothing.
Now it got interesting. I was in Costa Rica with Lori, sitting by a pool of an extravagant, short term rental, not thinking about buying another one, when I get a call from Sotheby’s. I’m the only registered bidder left and there won’t be another auction.
I told them what I told them many times before, the terms didn’t work, all cash, 30 day close, not happening.
He said, “what if we let you rewrite the deal?”
So I did, poolside. I redlined the agreement into something that actually made sense, financing contingencies, longer close, reduced fees, no auction special term non-sense and sent it back with a few hours left.
Ten minutes before the auction closed, we were at the airport boarding our flight home, they called me to say they accepted everything and asked me what I would like to do. I looked at Lori, she gave me the nod. “Submit it.”
We boarded the plane and as they told us to turn off our phones, we saw our name pop up on the online auction board. Then came the countdown. Five, four, three… it was ours.
And then reality hit. I had just committed to buying a $5.75M property, now I needed to figure out how.
About a month later I’m sitting in that same pool. I had rented it for a week to try it on. At one point I felt my heart racing, not ideal, so I did the only thing that made sense. I stopped thinking and started listening.
A question came through clearly, what would make this purchase feel better? The answer that actually arose, mainly due to the scary heart palpitations, was to pull out of escrow. I realized in that moment that I didn’t want the property for me, as beautiful as it was.
A few days later, my friend Patrick Combs asked me something that stuck. He said, “what is the difference between grandiose and a grand adventure?” I didn’t know, so I asked for the wisdom he clearly was serving up just for his best buddy, who was in need of answers, not more questions. 
He replied, “Grandiose feeds the ego Eric, while a grand adventure feeds the soul.
That was it!!!! If I bought this alone, it was grandiose and would only serve my ego. If I shared it, it became a grand adventure.
So I did what, at the time, I didn’t even have a name for. I structured a syndication, invited friends as investors, and gave them the opportunity to co-own something special with me, not for me.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I raised the capital with a group of 25 investors alongside my own sizeable investment and one month later we became the proud new owners of Waterfalling Estate. I named the company Inspired Neighbors LLC. (For those that know me well, I like to give my companies special names with meaning 😎, branding be dammed 🕺).
Over the next few years we all used it, enjoyed it, fixed what needed fixing, and the property went from $5.75M in value to $10M. That was the first proof point.
The second was eight minutes away. I had purchased my own property in 2020 for $2.95M. I lived in as my primary residence, but also ran retreats from it. After just two and a half years, it appraised for $6M. Not a bad profit in less than three years. I briefly considered selling it. Instead, I saw something more though, not just a home, but a future boutique luxury hotel with amazing cuisine.
So I did it again, I formed a syndication and I deeded over my personal ownership of the property. This time I invited in about 50 investors, and we transformed it into Hamakua Hotel.
We opened July 4, 2024. First year profitable, consistent five star reviews, about $900 average nightly rate, which is double anything nearby. From a real estate perspective, it worked. From a hotel valuation perspective, I hit a wall.
Hotels are valued primarily on income, not the underlying real estate. Small property, limited keys, capped upside in the eyes of traditional buyers, even if the asset itself is exceptional and everything is going great. That disconnect bothered me, so I studied it.
There are a lot of hotel owners who take a chance on beautiful, but somewhat dilapidated properties, upgrade them with incredible care, take on debt, improve everything, and then realize they are working for the bank. High interest rates, limited scalability, and an exit market that undervalues what they created.
That is where the fund idea clicked. Instead of stealing these hotel properties from owners who did everything right, but now feel like their only option is to sell for WAY under value, I decided to disrupt the system.
I would instead, reward them for their excellence by offering to replace their greedy lenders as their new business partner. I would offer to eliminate all their debt in exchange for equity (dollar for dollar) and provide enough working capital to give the propery a chance to flourish as a hotel and make it so profitable that we would neatly fit in the traditional box for selling hotels after several years of enjoyment.
Put another way, I figured out a clever way to acquire these kinds of assets, respect both the real estate and the hotel operations as distinct from each other, improve the business, reduce the pressure, align incentives, and create value that traditional buyers eventually recognize. That became Culinary Oasis Fund I.
Today, that fund acquired Hamakua Hotel for $10M. $9M for the real estate and $1M for its hotel business. These are its fair values. We are in the process of acquiring a second boutique luxury hotel property in Italy. And here is the part I appreciate the most.
As for my Fund, every dollar raised so far, about $9.5M of the targeted $20M, has come from people I know. Friends, relationships, people who chose to go on the adventure. Many of the original Hamakua investors rolled into the fund. They didn’t have to. They chose to.
So yes, this is a milestone. But more than that, it is a reminder. Some of the best outcomes in my life didn’t start with a perfect plan. They started with paying attention, following curiosity, listening when something felt off, and occasionally having the courage to say “submit it” before everything is figured out.
There is a difference between building something that looks impressive and building something that feels meaningful. If you get that part right, the returns tend to follow.
May 1 is now one of those dates I won’t forget.
Below a few fun photos that documents this journey.
