Current proposal
The main policies cost less, and the numbers compare fairly to last year once you read the old policies. The total is not complete until the umbrella and excess are priced. These are the items that decide the renewal. Short names used below: GL is general liability (guest lawsuits), WC is workers' comp, EPL is employment claims, BPP is contents, and the schedule (SOV) is the list of values we insure at each hotel.
Umbrella and excess
Not pricedThese policies pay after the first $1,000,000 of a big lawsuit is used up. There is no carrier, limit or price for them in the packet. Travis's email says they are "being finalized separately" and that, "with claims activity as well as where the excess market has moved for hospitality," he is "restructuring the limits on these layers rather than accepting the terms as offered." Last year we had MS Transverse for $1,000,000 above the first $1,000,000, then ACE for $10,000,000 and Fireman's Fund for $15,000,000. Total cost $166,333.95. If he wants lower limits, we decide, and the loan agreements set the floor. S1, S10, S14
Property price
StrongPrice down 7.26%. Values insured up 2.77%. The rate falls 9.76%, from $0.3026 to $0.2731 for every $100 insured. The broker's old total of $280,951,414 equals our schedule ($274,786,120) plus Cowboy's building increase ($5,638,000) plus a lost-income increase ($527,294), to the dollar. We still need the Cowboy paperwork. Building values were cut $7,995,590 at HI Westchase, Freedom, Aggie and Hookem. See the 110% rule under Terms. S2, S4, S13
Lost income (business income)
ImprovedThis pays lost income when a hotel cannot operate. The limit rises from $38,660,819 to $54,440,639, and it now keeps paying for 90 days after reopening instead of 60. The limit is the sum of each hotel's lost-income number, and those same numbers set the GL price. Regular payroll is not covered. The final policy must show $54,440,639. S2, S3
Liability and claims
NoticeThe first liability policy still pays up to $1,000,000 per event. The open Rudolfo Garcia claim ($1,526,964.03 reserved) happened 11/07/2024 and sits on the 2024-25 Atain policy. This renewal cannot pay it. The question for Travis is whether the 2024-25 ACE umbrella has been told about it. Garcia and the McKinney elevator lawsuit (now asking $250,000 to $3,000,000) are why umbrella prices are going up. S2, S16
Workers' comp
ExplainedPrice up 23.05%; payroll up 10.22% against the broker's old figure. Proposal pages 24-27 show why: the base price went from $29,449 to $45,959 as payroll grew, the class 9052 rate fell from 0.52 to 0.484, our claims score improved from 0.66 to 0.62, and the discount Texas Mutual gave us last year (-$4,421) was taken away after six WC claims in 2025-26. Ask Texas Mutual to give some of the discount back. S3, S4
Paperwork to fix
CorrectThe long proposal shows a pollution figure $1,000 higher than the summary; the summary's $17,643.55 matches the old policy but leaves out Hookem's $1,048.90. Errors in the packet: "Hookem Hotel LP" and "Brazos Land Development LLC" are the wrong legal names; Rodeo is listed as a sole proprietorship on WC; property and GL location numbers 12 and 13 are swapped; Cowboy and World are classed 45190 (under four stories) but have four and five floors. S3, S10, S13
The umbrella and excess are the decision. Last year's cost sets the bar.
Last year we paid $1,301,471.49 in total ($1,135,137.54 for the main policies plus $166,333.95 for umbrella and excess). If the new umbrella and excess cost under $232,109.60, we pay less in total than last year. A price near $166,334 is fair to ask for. If it comes in above about $200,000, or with lower limits, new exclusions, or limits below what our loans require, get a separate sealed quote on just these two policies and do not share the broker's numbers. S8, S14
| Line | Old price | New price | Change | Change % | What it means | Change | Change % | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property | $850,220.00 | $788,502.00 | -$61,718.00 | -7.26% | Best line. The lower rate beats the higher values. | |||
| GL, liquor, HNOA | $204,352.99 | $193,708.75 | -$10,644.24 | -5.21% | Same basis both years. Old policy: $175,000 + $6,125 terror cover + $3,050 fees + $8,932.49 tax + $73.67 stamping = $193,181.16; plus Hookem $11,171.83 = $204,352.99. The rate per $100 of sales is flat ($0.3525 to $0.3558); the price fell because the sales numbers fell. | |||
| Workers' compensation | $19,570.00 | $24,081.00 | +$4,511.00 | +23.05% | Payroll grew and last year's discount was removed. Rate and claims score both improved. | |||
| Pollution | $17,643.55 | $19,029.14 | +$1,385.59 | +7.85% | Broker's old figure leaves out Hookem's $1,048.90. With Hookem it is up $336.69, or 1.8%. Long proposal is off by $1,000. | |||
| Cyber | $8,864.00 | $8,864.00 | $0.00 | 0.00% | Same price; terms not shown. | |||
| EPL and crime | $34,487.00 | $35,177.00 | +$690.00 | +2.00% | Small increase; crime limit doubled. | |||
| Main policies | $1,135,137.54 | $1,069,361.89 | -$65,775.65 | -5.79% | Not the full total |
Values and prices in one table
Old values use the last schedule we have. Old prices use the final 2025 split for the first 14 hotels plus Hookem's own paperwork. The broker's extra $25,754.82 is shown on its own. It breaks down as GL $6,425.16 (tax and fees the broker never split by hotel), WC $5,563 (payroll updated mid-year), property $13,993 (matches the Cowboy building change) and pollution -$226.35.
2025 Travelers schedule plus the Hookem add-on.
Our schedule + Cowboy building $5,638,000 + lost-income cover $527,294, exactly.
+5.08% vs our schedule; +2.77% vs the broker's.
| Hotel | TIVPrior / proposed | PremiumPrior / proposed | PremiumPrior / proposed | Property change | GL change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel paperwork we have | Prior$274,786,120Proposed$288,735,644+$13,949,524 · +5.08% | Prior$1,109,382.72Proposed$1,069,361.89-$40,020.83 · -3.61% | -$47,725.00 | -$4,219.08* | |
| Broker's extra, not split by hotel | — | Prior$25,754.82Proposed$0.00-$25,754.82 | -$13,993.00 | -$6,425.16 | |
| Broker's totals | Prior$280,951,414Proposed$288,735,644+$7,784,230 · +2.77% | Prior$1,135,137.54Proposed$1,069,361.89-$65,775.65 · -5.79% | -$61,718.00 | -$10,644.24 |
Property is priced at one flat rate on values both years ($0.3043 then $0.2731 per $100). GL is one flat rate of $0.3558 per $100 of sales at all 15 hotels this year. So every hotel's change comes from its values or its sales, not from hotel-specific pricing. Totals leave out umbrella and excess. Contents (BPP) are unchanged at every hotel. Cowboy's old value is the August 2025 figure; if the $5,638,000 building increase was added mid-year, its row overstates the change.
How to read the hotel rows
- GL overall: this year GL is one flat rate, $0.3558 per $100 of each hotel's sales, at all 15 hotels. Last year the split was uneven, from $0.181 (Vintage Park) to $0.797 (Razi) per $100. Every big GL change in the table is that split being fixed, not the carrier changing prices.
- Razi and Vintage Park: Razi's GL falls 57.6% because last year it was charged $19,063 at $0.797 per $100. Vintage Park rises 87.2% because last year it was charged $8,986 at $0.181. Against one flat rate, Razi's partnership paid about $10,900 too much GL and $9,100 too much umbrella/excess last year; Vintage Park paid about $7,900 and $6,700 too little. That is money between our partnerships, not carrier pricing.
- Building cuts: HI Westchase -$3,100,001 (now $185.00 per sq ft), Freedom -$2,257,653 ($185.00 per sq ft), Aggie -$1,542,880, Hookem -$1,095,056. These cuts are why those hotels' property prices fell. Under the 110% rule they also cap what the policy pays.
- Cowboy and Hookem: Cowboy's +21.7% value row is likely overstated; its building went from $16,998,000 to $22,636,000 and that change matches the broker's old total to the dollar. Hookem's price falls 11.9% on values down 10.2%; its 2025 GL add-on was priced near $0.21 per $100 and now moves to the flat rate. The $1,705 gap between Hookem's carrier bill and the broker's invoice is still unexplained.
- Sales numbers: the GL sales number for each hotel is the same as its lost-income number on the schedule. Against the 2024-25 audited revenue, Aggie (1.46x) and Rodeo (1.31x) look high; Freedom (0.91x) and IC Hotels (0.90x) look low. The 2024-25 GL audit added $74,199 when projected revenue of $33,193,525 was audited at $44,185,117. S15
Terms that matter
The property policy is mostly the same as last year and better on lost income. The proposal also has exclusions and sign-up conditions that should be part of the sign-off, not left in the fine print.
Property terms
- $100,000,000 is the most the policy pays for any one event.
- $25,000 deductible for most losses and for water damage, per location hit.
- Wind and hail deductible: 5% of value in high-risk areas, 3% elsewhere, at least $250,000 per building.
- $10,000,000 flood and earthquake limits; $1,000,000 in Zone A flood areas.
- $25,000,000 to meet new building codes after a loss (Ordinance and Law).
- Lost income starts paying after 24 hours; extra expense after 48 hours. Regular payroll is not covered.
- 110% rule (margin clause): for any one building or its contents, the policy pays at most 110% of the value we list on the schedule. We cut building values by $7,995,590 at four hotels for 2026-27.
Liability terms and sign-up conditions
- First liability policy: $1,000,000 per event, $2,000,000 per year; $5,000,000 cap per listed location.
- GL deductible $10,000; liquor deductible $5,000.
- Not covered: construction or renovation beyond routine maintenance, human trafficking, punitive damages, communicable disease, PFAS, wildfire, and pollution.
- To bind we must sign the ACORD and terror forms, give vendor certificates, update the hired/non-owned auto form, and confirm no shelter locations.
- GL keeps 25% of the premium even if canceled; fees are not refunded; GL and WC get audited. GL is priced on the lost-income numbers as gross sales.
- Last year's umbrella and excess forms: MS Transverse follows the first policy and adds a communicable-disease exclusion; the ACE/Fireman's Fund program adds abuse or molestation (minors) and communicable-disease exclusions. Check the new ones exclusion by exclusion.
Source: S3.
How last year's renewal actually moved
Marsh gave us a real option to switch. We forwarded Marsh's full proposal to Travis, and Travelers cut another $102,000 from its own first property quote. Marsh helped, but its claim that it saved us more than $500,000 compares against the wrong starting number and is not proven. Marsh had asked us to keep its proposal private; Rahil forwarded it to Travis the next morning, and Marsh later called the process a "stalking horse." That shapes how we can use Marsh this year.
Travis's August 12 figure: 11 hotels on $180,359,205 of value. Marsh's table put the full-year 14-hotel price at $1,306,194 on $258,009,354.
Already $199,397 below the old price before Marsh presented.
Property plus terror cover after Liberty took the wind layer in-house.
Another $102,000 below its first quote and $22,249 below Marsh on paper.
Sources: S4, S7, S8. Marsh and Travelers did not insure the same values. Marsh's revised total was $262,570,131; Travelers' first schedule was $254,076,120. Ellard's final split had no final schedule, so a lower price does not prove a lower rate.
What last year proves
- We forwarded Marsh's proposal to Travis, and Travelers moved another $102,000.
- Marsh's $500,000+ claim only works if you start from Marsh's own number, not from Travelers' first quote. It is not proven savings.
- Travelers ended $22,249 below Marsh on paper, with a $25,000 water deductible versus Marsh's $250,000, but on different values. On rate they were about tied: Marsh $0.3029 per $100 on $262,570,131 with terror cover; Travelers $0.3043 on $254,076,120.
- The first final split left out pollution and swapped two entities; Ellard fixed it the next day. Payment terms were flexible, but no written finance deal surfaced.
The coverage lesson
The August 2025 schedule showed $51,438,408.22 of lost-income cover, but the issued Travelers policy still capped it at $33,333,525. That was an $18,104,883.22 gap. This year's $54,440,639 fixes it on paper, but the final policy must show that exact number. S4, S10, S2
Firearms cover was limited to $1,000,000 on the first policy, and last year's umbrella and excess follow that policy, so the limit carried up. Check the new umbrella and excess for the same. S10
What we decide, and what Travis owes by August 21
Four of the old open questions are answered by papers we already have (how GL is priced, the WC math, the value gap, the old pollution figure). What is left: one thing from the broker, three decisions for us, and a corrected packet.
Umbrella and excess terms
Carrier, form, each layer's limit and where it starts, price with taxes and fees, exclusions, whether it follows the first policy on firearms, assault, trafficking and disease, all 15 hotels and land listed, and why the limits are changing. Judge it against the $232,109.60 break-even (the highest price that still saves money overall) and the loan agreements.
Building values (THM decision)
Approve or put back the four cuts totaling $7,995,590 (about $22,000 of premium at the new rate), knowing the policy pays at most 110% of the value we list. Make sure the final policy shows the values we approve.
Revenue inputs (THM decision)
Each GM checks the last 12 months of revenue against the lost-income number on the schedule. That number sets both the lost-income limit and the GL price, and it is what the audit will test. Aggie and Rodeo look high; Freedom and IC Hotels look low.
Claims notice
Written proof that the 2024-25 ACE umbrella knows about Garcia and that Evanston's excess knows about McKinney, with current reserves.
Cowboy paperwork and Hookem gap
The mid-year paperwork raising Cowboy's building to $22,636,000 and the $13,993 property charge; the $1,705 gap between Hookem's $61,319 carrier bill and the $63,024 invoice.
Corrected packet and WC discount
Correct legal names (Hookem Hotels, LP; Brazos Texas Land Development LLC), Rodeo's entity type on WC, location 12/13 numbering, Cowboy and World class codes, cyber policy details, a final property policy showing $54,440,639 lost-income cover and 90 days, and Texas Mutual's answer on giving back a discount.
Evidence and method
We read the live email threads and the original attachments. Spreadsheet numbers were checked against their formulas and totals. "Proven" means a listed source shows it. Where the record does not say why something happened, we call it inference.
- S1. Travis Ellard, "Texas Hotel Management 26-27 Renewal - Program Summary - Playbook," Spark message 442003, August 13, 2026.
- S2. THM_2627_Renewal_Summary_FINAL.pdf, pages 1-3, SHA-256 51931608f3f2ba839855350b2d41ada9657cb7f3bbde89ca05e0d4857275028a; and THM_2627_Playbook_FINAL.xlsx, sheets YoY Summary, Property Schedule, Pricing Per Location and Loss History.
- S3. 26 27 TEXAS HOTEL MGMT - PROPOSAL[57].pdf, physical pages 4-33, SHA-256 208070d7dc47da572c4d2e78c29bc80284eff4251ca8e1b2ab38663214be5b02.
- S4. Travis Ellard, "Texas Hotel Management 25/26 Insurance," Spark message 68919, August 12, 2025; attached Travelers/Trisura proposal, property schedule physical pages 3-5, SHA-256 1714cbc941a747bcdb2022f029cbb65bdbccd5ae1a9d13830e14404835864970; and Copy of SOV - THM 2025.xlsx, SHA-256 e52f78d22fb8cebedbe4124fe0b4cc89ec1c0488e2b644f693e42813d31e0392.
- S5. Bradley / Marsh McLennan Agency, "Presentation Follow Up," Spark message 68766, August 20, 2025; attached executive summary, SHA-256 d8dceb3606878d38942c0950ff17eaa92f02db062e1d60272c010dc874b0e171.
- S6. Rahil forward to Travis, "Travis - see attached," Spark message 68774, August 21, 2025.
- S7. Stephen / Marsh McLennan Agency revision, Spark message 68407, August 26, 2025; attached revised executive summary, SHA-256 2f34d14ccdbf705750bee40a4b24225f5bd38d4a5a2ed87c4e6d752c846395d8.
- S8. Ellard final premium allocation and invoices, Spark messages 68420 and 68473, August 26-27, 2025; final workbook SHA-256 526ebb04e54496376431e760060d0865dc5bdc6533e6859c56b218be54a4a67f.
- S9. Bradley objection and Rahil response, Spark messages 68422 and 68423, August 26, 2025.
- S10. Issued 2025-26 policies, Spark message 66126, October 24, 2025: Travelers property KTL-CMB-1X55185-2-25 (physical pages 4-9, BI $33,333,525, 110% margin clause); Trisura GL LBCU-0000065-00 face page ($175,000 + $6,125 TRIA + $3,050 fees + $8,932.49 tax + $73.67 stamping = $193,181.16); MS Transverse lead excess TSLBEX-0000363-00 ($1,000,000 xs $1,000,000, $60,000 + $3,000 TRIA); ACE / Fireman's Fund excess SUMB25-A-G74909218 ($10,000,000 + $15,000,000 xs $10,000,000, $25,000 SIR); Ironshore pollution ISPILLSDC1CN001 ($16,821 + $815.82 + $6.73 = $17,643.55).
- S11. Separate Howdy excess-flood proposal, Spark message 81495, $2,500,000 building limit and $6,136.07 premium, effective August 31, 2025.
- S12. August 27, 2025 financing exchange in the Ellard renewal thread and September 26, 2025 payment evidence, Spark message 67305.
- S13. Lauri Deyo, "Texas Hotel Management - Policy Endorsements Adding Hookem Hotel," Spark message 66129, October 24, 2025. Issued Travelers property Endorsement 2, SHA-256 d3db579bc5ee16e6284b2565301729e06e4fa9b614e6014edfe0ccdafaaac9f5; Trisura GL Endorsement 1, SHA-256 b8056cd226dd347642113b628b0ab8fc892735460d8b1abe84d00d8f02fa1153; Texas Mutual WC Endorsement 4, SHA-256 5be0e709cb7c0808cab6339f147355673b1259b09a2477ad5e558dfcd291687c; Travelers EPL endorsement, SHA-256 e753a47e0ca5aa1788bf2c5fa933cbbbef159397e33ae178e1f5f3275f24a715; MS Transverse umbrella and ACE excess endorsements adding Hookem (same message).
- S14. HOOKEM HOTELS - INVOICE.pdf, September 9, 2025, in THM - Accounting / 9- THM Insurance data / 31.08.25 Insurance Renewal, SHA-256 ac1ee0e6ea0c1f64313428d7b35b5b25a41fa519c3928450ae067e51da5a597c.
- S15. Travis Ellard, "Texas Hotel Management - General Liability 2024 Premium Audit," Spark message 60797, February 18, 2026 ("our current liability policies are rated on $51,438,408"); attached 2024 - 2025 LIAB AUDIT- Final.xlsx: projected revenue $33,193,525, audited $44,185,117, additional premium $74,199.
- S16. Cause number 202590067 (McKinney v. HI Hotels, Westchase elevator), amended petition forwarded to Travis, Spark message 63749, December 19, 2025: Schindler added, damages demand $250,000 to $3,000,000.
How the comparisons were built. The hotel table uses the main policies only. Hookem uses its September invoice plus the WC add-on. The broker's old total for the main policies is $25,754.82 above the hotel rows; that breaks down into GL $6,425.16, WC $5,563, property $13,993 and pollution -$226.35. The starred GL change builds a 15-hotel old figure from the $186,756.00 hotel split plus Hookem's $11,171.83; the issued Trisura policy shows the split left out $6,425.16 of terror cover and fees, so the broker's $204,352.99 is the right old figure. Old values use the issued August 2025 schedule plus the Hookem add-on, not the broker's total; the broker's total equals that schedule plus Cowboy building $5,638,000 and lost-income cover $527,294. Marsh and Travelers quoted different values in 2025, so a lower price does not prove a lower rate.