Whisky Hotel Hollywood: An EB-5 Hotel Project for a U.S. Green Card, Positioned for World Cup and Olympic Demand
August 19, 2024 · EB-5 · 9 min read
Los Angeles is about to host the world’s two biggest sporting events — the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics — and the city expects millions of international visitors, with a corresponding lift for its hospitality sector. Hotels close to the venues, among them the Whisky Hotel, an EB-5 hotel project in central Hollywood, stand to benefit directly from that visitor wave.
Los Angeles is about to host the world’s two biggest sporting events — the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics — and the city expects millions of international visitors, with a corresponding lift for its hospitality sector. Hotels close to the venues, among them the Whisky Hotel, stand to benefit directly from that visitor wave.
What the World Cup and the Olympics mean for the hotel sector
The Paris 2024 Olympic closing ceremony took place on the morning of August 12, 2024, and the Olympic flame passed to Los Angeles. The city will now host two of the world’s premier sporting events in succession: the 2026 World Cup and the LA 2028 Olympics.
Cities that have hosted the World Cup and the Olympics have generally seen substantial economic benefits, particularly in tourism and hospitality. During the 2022 World Cup, Qatar’s hotel market saw a sharp lift in room rates; on the figures cited in the source, occupancy at many hotels ran close to 100%, the average daily rate (ADR) reached 3 times its normal level, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose by nearly 400%. The source puts the revenue associated with the tournament at more than US$7.5 billion. Similarly, after London hosted the 2012 Olympics, the city’s tourism and hospitality sectors recorded positive results: again on the source’s figures, international arrivals during the Olympic month rose 8.3% year on year, advance hotel bookings increased by more than 9%, and average room rates rose by roughly 15–20% over the course of the event.
The pattern in host cities suggests that an event on the scale of the World Cup or the Olympics raises a host country’s profile and can generate meaningful revenue for the hotel sector, supporting sustainable economic growth in the years that follow. Hosting the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics is expected to bring a large wave of visitors to Los Angeles. The organizing committee for the 2028 Olympics has set an operating budget of up to US$6.9 billion, and the source reports further billions for works tied to the 2026 World Cup; the two events are forecast to draw millions of visitors from around the world. Hotels close to the main venues, including the Whisky Hotel, are therefore well placed to benefit from that demand.
Whisky Hotel: a central Hollywood location
The Whisky Hotel is a seven-story, 132-room boutique hotel in the heart of Hollywood, California, at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Wilcox Avenue. A distinctive whisky theme runs through the design, and the interiors are finished to a luxury standard, giving guests an upscale experience at the center of the global entertainment industry.
The hotel’s whisky-themed bar and restaurant make for a space that is contemporary but comfortable, and that works equally well for meetings, for socializing and for a serious food and drink program. A rooftop lounge and bar look out over the city, a place to unwind and take in the Hollywood skyline.
The Whisky Hotel sits close to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and many other well-known attractions
The location puts the Whisky Hotel in reach of visitors arriving in Los Angeles for the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, as well as the year-round flow of Hollywood tourists. It sits at the junction of major thoroughfares, within walking distance of the TCL Chinese Theatre, the Dolby Theatre, the Hollywood Museum and the Hollywood Bowl, where many of Hollywood’s set-piece events are held, and with road connections out to the larger stadium venues elsewhere in the Los Angeles area. That accessibility also broadens the hotel’s appeal to guests who want to be in the middle of Hollywood while the city is at its busiest.
Investing in the Whisky Hotel EB-5 project: a route to a U.S. green card for your family
The regional center sponsoring the project has received USCIS approval of Form I-956F, Application for Approval of an Investment in a Commercial Enterprise, the project application used under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. That approval allows investors in this offering to file Form I-526E, and it is binding on USCIS when those petitions are adjudicated, except in the circumstances set out in law — among them fraud or misrepresentation, a material change affecting eligibility, or a material mistake of law or fact. It is not a guarantee that any individual investor’s petition will be approved. It is also an EB-5 project located in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA), which is what sets the qualifying investment at US$800,000 rather than the standard US$1,050,000, and it sits in the heart of Hollywood, close to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and other well-known attractions.
As reported by IMM Group in August 2024, construction was more than 90% complete and the hotel was expected to open in Q1 2025. On the project sponsor’s figures, the project accounts for 637 jobs, equivalent to 31.8 jobs per EB-5 investor. The statutory test is that each investor’s capital must be credited with the creation of at least 10 full-time positions for qualifying employees — a term that covers U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and other immigrants authorized to work in the United States, but not the investor or the investor’s spouse or children. A project-level surplus of this kind is supporting evidence for that test, which USCIS applies when an investor files Form I-829 to remove the conditions on the green card; it does not satisfy the requirement automatically.
IMM Group reports that the project’s appraised value exceeds the combined bank and EB-5 debt, and that the EB-5 capital is secured by the hotel together with a further property owned by the developer. The offering documents should be reviewed for the date and author of that appraisal, and for where the EB-5 capital ranks against the senior bank debt in the repayment waterfall. The project also sits within reach of the venues for the 2 events — the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics — which the developer points to in assessing the hotel’s commercial prospects. On that basis, raising new capital or selling the project in order to repay the EB-5 capital at maturity is presented as a feasible route, although, as with any EB-5 investment, repayment is not guaranteed.
Under U.S. law, EB-5 capital must remain at risk throughout the required sustainment period, and neither a green card nor the return of capital can be guaranteed. Within that constraint, IMM Group considers that the Whisky Hotel addresses the EB-5 program’s requirements for the immigration petition and that its collateral package and stage of completion make it an option worth considering for investors seeking U.S. green cards for their families. We would encourage you to review the offering documents with independent EB-5 counsel before you commit.
If you are considering a U.S. green card through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, contact IMM Group or leave your details below. Our experienced advisors will provide detailed guidance and help assess the prospects of your case. We will keep your personal data confidential and use the information you provide only to advise on your family’s case.
