Get Found

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Ross Walker is revolutionizing the real estate industry through accessibility

The lobby inside FOUND Chicago.

MORE PEOPLE ARE traveling the globe than ever before in what could be described as a constantly shifting mass migration, and over the past decade, sharing economy sites like Airbnb have altered travelers’ expectations abroad (and inadvertently altered entire residential real estate markets, but that’s another story). Many voyagers have eliminated the old-school model of hotels from their plans entirely, seeking a less expensive, less homogenized, but more local experience, often in co-living solutions.

A suite inside FOUND Chicago.

Enter Found Hotels, a part of a new network of hospitality and co-living properties conceived by Ross Walker of Hawkins Way Capital and the real estate magnate Lew Wolff. By taking on properties whose value may have eluded other investors—and often preserving historic assets in the process—the Found network is creating modest but well-designed hostelries with accommodations ranging from shared rooms that take the old hostel concept to a new level to compact but cool private rooms with baths in a style narrative that carries throughout the chain nationwide. [Found’s portfolio is approaching 4,000 beds across 13 major US cities currently backed by $500 million of equity funds for continued expansion.

Entrance to Dupont Circle Embassy Inn by FOUND.

Each property has co-working spaces, lounges and dining options that range from communal guest kitchens to in-house dining, depending on the location. You can discover Found locations in San Diego, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Boston and Chicago. Found consists of three sub-brands; beyond Found Hotels, there’s Found Study and Found Residences, both aimed at student and millennial accommodations, with locations in New York, Miami Beach and UCLA, to name a few.

The lobby inside Dupont Circle Embassy Inn by FOUND.

With central urban locations, economies of scale and buying real estate right, keep Found’s rates completely affordable, and so in exceptionally expensive cities like San Francisco, this is a boon to adventurous travelers and young professionals. Located near the Four Seasons Hotel, a new Found is poised to open this fall
on Mason Street in San Francisco’s Mid-Market neighborhood, a prime location, easily walkable and just blocks from the art and architecture destinations surrounding Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, SFMOMA (renovated and expanded by Snøhetta) and the Contemporary Jewish Museum (designed by Daniel Libeskind.)

A community space inside Dupont Circle Embassy Inn by FOUND.

Also nearby are music venues like the Warfield and the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, which are surrounded by neighborhood food options like the justifiably famous (but inexpensive) Tù Lan for Vietnamese or the nearby Ferry Building on the waterfront. Also ready to open is the new Found in Santa Monica and other properties such as the Found Oakland (Residences) and Hawaii are still in development.

A suite inside Dupont Circle Embassy Inn by FOUND.

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