Building The Foundation For Better Deals: Bisnow Escape And Ascent Executive Retreats

In commercial real estate, deal-making is an art, not a science. While there is no set formula for how to close a deal, one thing all CRE professionals can agree on is that networking is a key ingredient.

Networking is at the core of Bisnow’s mission to inform, connect and advance the CRE industry to do more business, and we are always searching for unique ways to bring people together — whether over a cup of coffee in New York or with a cocktail in South Beach.

Every November, Bisnow gathers CRE's top executives, decision-makers and titans together for two retreats focused on networking, education and relaxation at 1 Hotel South Beach. The Escape retreat unites CEOs, presidents and partners looking to broaden their horizons and make lasting connections, while the Ascent retreat is targeted toward senior executives and decision-makers rising in the ranks of CRE.

The hand-selected attendees have the opportunity to participate in unique networking sessions, hear keynotes and engaging content from thought leaders like Tim Grover, a performance coach who worked with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, and Pamela Meyer, the nation's leading expert on how to spot deception, and enjoy everything from mezcal tastings to boat tours. The agenda is designed around facilitating deals, learning best practices from CRE trailblazers and simply having fun.

Sondra Wenger, head of commercial real estate for the Americas at CBRE Investment Management, is a frequent attendee of Escape and attended last year. She said that speed deal-making helps quickly target who she wants to speak with further.

“I think Escape provides the best of both worlds, because it gives you an opportunity to go deep with individuals, and to identify the people that makes sense for you to circle back with,” Wenger said. “If you meet somebody you didn't have enough time to speak with at the speed deal-making, you can always get their information and connect with them later. I have made a lot of connections with potential deal partners, whom I've stayed in touch with over the years as a result of these quick interactions.” 

Ascent and Escape attendees agree that the retreats offer a unique opportunity to form the types of connections that just can’t be mimicked in the digital world. From speed deal-making — where debt and equity providers are paired with operators and developers and given three minutes to pitch a deal before moving on to the next person when the whistle sounds — to tribe sessions, where groups that have been hand-curated by event organizers meet for in-depth conversations, there are few CRE events that offer more chances to lay out the foundation for building successful deals.

The Davis Cos. Vice President of Investments Rachel Edwards was a tribe leader at last year’s Ascent. She said that the curated attendee list helped ensure that her entire time was spent meeting the right people for building lasting business relationships. 

“The selectiveness of the event is what makes it attractive,” Edwards said. “Unlike other events with a more of a mix of deal-makers and service providers, Ascent provides opportunities to meet other decision-makers who are doing deals and putting deals together. It helps with having conversations that are more direct.”

Vice President of Escape and Ascent Sean Donahue said in the year leading up to each retreat, the Bisnow team gathers referrals and applications for new attendees. Each potential attendee is thoroughly vetted and has to meet with a member of the curation team to ensure they fit the specific profile for an invitation to participate. 

The month before the retreats is spent curating each individual attendee's experience, holding meetings and phone calls with each person to hone in on their goals and target the firms they are most hoping to build relationships with at the event. They use this information to build out tribe sessions, dinner placements and every aspect of the agenda, with the goal of additional opportunities for everyone to forge new relationships leading to deals.

"The continued success of the retreats starts and ends with the caliber of attendees participating,” Donahue said. “Our team identifies an attendee’s specific role within their firm, investment criteria, market and product type, profile of people they are looking to meet and other factors to ensure we can provide them and their firm a high ROI. We also want to ensure that their presence is accretive to the overall experience of the group as a whole.”  

Formativ founder and CEO Sean Campbell attended this past year’s Escape retreat. He said that the event is about more than just having a project in mind and seeking a capital partner to finance it. It’s about creating lucrative connections with other attendees.

“For me, some of the highlights were around the breakout sessions and small gatherings, where CRE leaders can feel the candidness and openness that they may not normally have in a conference environment,” Campbell said. “The authentic interaction among the participants and speakers makes Escape unique.”

CRE leaders also had participated in meaningful conversations about how to create a successful business long-term, said Rexford Industrial LLC Chief Investment Officer Patrick Schlehuber, who attended Escape last year. 

“Many of the conversations I had were about that bigger picture and about trading best practices on how to build a successful business, from navigating HR challenges to how people approached returning to work,” Schlehuber said. “I got the most value from listening to other people's challenges, and how they dealt with them successfully, or in some cases, unsuccessfully, and learned from them.”

In addition to the much-needed face time with others, Escape and Ascent attendees also get the opportunity to attend the type of speaker sessions they would not normally gain access to at a traditional CRE event. 

Lincoln Equities Group President Joel Bergstein, who is a frequent attendee of Escape, said the speaking engagements that stood out the most were those that felt indicative of the future of CRE.

“The highlight of Escape is usually the high quality of speakers, and the fact that they’re typically ahead of the curve,” he said. “I walked out of the room at one Escape speaking session and realized that Bisnow has been able to look forward and forecast what direction the industry is going in.”

Wenger said that the most impactful topics include those that addressed leadership in a holistic way and focused on enhancing skills, such as negotiation, evaluating personality traits and how to enhance and make the most of time spent.

“Escape offers a deeper experience by focusing on growth and addressing topics that are not typically covered at real estate conferences,” Wenger said. “Executives have an opportunity to explore deeper topics such as leadership skills, mindfulness, personal life, health and essentially how to be a better human.”

In the end, Escape and Ascent attendees walk away equipped with new contacts, new approaches to business and the skills needed to continue to close more deals, something that Donahue said is at the core of the retreat.

"The mission of these retreats is for like-minded executives to build new relationships, share ideas and best practices and find new deal partners in an 'anti-conference' setting,” Donahue said. “Creating an environment to foster personal growth and professional growth while wearing shorts and flip-flops with other CEOs results in an experience unmatched in the industry."

Registration for 2023 Escape and Ascent retreats are now open. Click here to apply for the Escape retreat. Click here to apply for the Ascent retreat.