Look, we've all been there. You're playing as Franklin, Lester rings your phone with a "disturbing" proposition, and suddenly you're staring through a sniper scope at the Von Crastenburg Hotel. It feels like just another mission. It isn't. If you treat GTA 5 the hotel assassination like a standard run-and-gun objective, you are effectively setting millions of in-game dollars on fire.
Most players stumble into this mission way too early. They see the mission marker, they want to progress the story, and they take out the target. Boom. Mission passed. But honestly? You just missed the biggest payday in Los Santos. This isn't just about a hit; it's about market manipulation.
The Stock Market Trap Most People Fall Into
The beauty—or the frustration—of the Lester Assassinations is how they tie directly into the LCN and BAWSAQ markets. In GTA 5 the hotel assassination, your target is a guy named Brett Lowrey. He’s the CEO of Bilkington Research. Naturally, if he dies, his company’s stock tanking is a mathematical certainty. Conversely, their rival, Betta Pharmaceuticals, is going to see a massive surge.
Here is where people mess up. They play the mission before they have any real money. If you do this right after the "Fame or Shame" mission, you might have, what, $50,000? Even if you see a 50% return, you're only making 25k. That's pocket change in a game where a golf course costs $150 million.
You’ve got to be patient.
Actually, let me walk that back. You have to do the Hotel Assassination to progress the main story. It’s the only one of Lester’s hits that is mandatory for the campaign to continue. The trick is to invest every single cent from Michael, Franklin, and Trevor right before you start.
Why Betta Pharmaceuticals is Your Best Friend
Before you even drive to the hotel, open your phone. Go to the LCN exchange. Dump everything into Betta Pharmaceuticals (BET). I mean everything. Don't leave a dollar for a Pisswasser.
Once Lowrey is dead and you’ve escaped the cops, the stock starts climbing. It doesn't happen instantly. You need to wait. Go to your safehouse, sleep a few times (without saving if you’re paranoid, though saving is fine), and check the portfolio. You’re looking for a return of roughly 40% to 50% on the LCN.
Some players claim they've seen it hit 80% on the BAWSAQ in the older console versions, but on PC and current-gen, it usually hovers around that 50% mark. Sell it too early, and you're leaving money on the table. Sell it too late, and the market "corrects" itself. It's a game of watching the green numbers and knowing when to bail.
Navigating the Von Crastenburg Hit
The mission itself is pretty straightforward, but there's a nuance to how you handle it. You’re positioned in a parking garage across from the hotel. You have a timer. You have a target.
The target, Lowrey, is coming out of the hotel. He’s not alone. He’s got security. You can try to be fancy with a silenced sniper, or you can just use a sticky bomb on his car if you’re feeling chaotic. Honestly, the sniper is cleaner. It prevents a massive 4-star chase through downtown Los Santos which, let’s be real, is a headache you don't need when you're trying to get to a save point to check your stocks.
Wait for him to exit. He’s the guy in the pinkish shirt. Aim for the head. One shot.
The moment he drops, the clock starts ticking on your investment.
The Bilkington Rebound: The Professional Move
Most guides stop after you sell Betta Pharmaceuticals. They’re wrong.
There is a second phase to GTA 5 the hotel assassination that most people ignore because they’re too busy buying a new car with their winnings. After you sell your BET shares at the peak, Bilkington Research (BIL) is sitting at the bottom of a massive pit. Their CEO is dead. Their stock is worthless.
Wait.
Check the BIL stock daily in-game. It usually takes about 48 to 72 in-game hours for the stock to bottom out. Once it stops dropping, buy it. All of it. Eventually, the company recovers. It’s a slower burn than the initial hit, but you can usually net another 20% to 30% profit just by being the person who buys the dip.
Common Myths and Mistakes
I’ve seen a lot of "pro-tips" on Reddit and old GameFAQs threads that are just flat-out wrong.
- Myth 1: "You can skip this mission and do it later." No. You can't. The game hard-locks the story progression until Franklin finishes this specific hit.
- Myth 2: "The return is the same regardless of when you sell." Incorrect. The peak is temporary. If you wait a week in-game, the stock will return to a "neutral" state, and you’ll have wasted the opportunity.
- Myth 3: "Only Franklin should invest." This is the biggest mistake. Switch characters. Make sure Michael and Trevor are also putting their heist money into BET.
The scale of wealth in this game is exponential. If you start with more, you end with more. This is why many hardcore players suggest finishing the "Big Score" (the final heist) before doing any of the other Lester missions, but since the Hotel Assassination is mandatory, you just have to maximize the little bit of cash you have from the Jewel Store Job.
Technical Glitches to Watch For
Sometimes the LCN or BAWSAQ will just... break. It happens. If you look at your portfolio and it says you have 0 shares even though you just spent $2 million, don't panic. Usually, a quick save and a reload of the save file fixes the UI bug.
Also, make sure you aren't playing offline if you're trying to use the BAWSAQ for later missions. While GTA 5 the hotel assassination primarily uses the LCN (which is offline), later ones depend on the Rockstar Social Club servers. If those servers are down, your "sure thing" investment might not move at all.
The Bigger Picture: Los Santos Economics
It’s kinda wild when you think about it. Rockstar built a functional, albeit simplified, stock market into an action game. It’s a critique of corporate greed, sure, but it’s also a puzzle.
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If you treat the game like a simulator, you realize that the assassinations aren't missions about murder. They are missions about wealth redistribution. You are moving money from the hands of the elite into the hands of three criminals.
The Hotel Assassination is the primer. It’s the tutorial for how to become a billionaire. If you rush it, you're playing a shooter. If you pause, invest, and timing your sales, you're playing a grand strategy game.
Actionable Steps for the Maximum Payout
If you’re sitting in front of your console or PC right now, do this:
- Stop. Do not start the mission "Hotel Assassination" yet.
- Switch between all three characters. Open the internet browser on their phones.
- Go to LCN.com. Invest every cent into Betta Pharmaceuticals.
- Complete the mission. Kill Lowrey quickly and leave the area.
- Drive Franklin to his safehouse. Save the game by sleeping, but check the stock market before you actually overwrite your save.
- Look for the "Return Percentage." Once it hits roughly 50%, sell everything for all three characters.
- Wait three in-game days. Check Bilkington Research. If it has bottomed out, buy it, wait for a 20% recovery, and sell.
By the time you finish this cycle, you'll have a comfortable cushion that makes the rest of the game much easier to manage. You aren't just a hitman; you're a market mover. Treat the market with more respect than you treat the speed limit, and you’ll never worry about the cost of Ammu-Nation armor again.
Don't spend it all on clothes. Save it. You're going to need that capital for the Multi-Target Assassination later, where the real billions are made.