Jorgan von Stiening, President, Palisociety

Palisociety President Jorgan von Stiening spoke with Invest: about the advantages of his neighborhood hotel company’s business strategies and how its business model has provided a unique trajectory within the hospitality industry, allowing the company to remain profitable and pursue expansion, despite contending with high costs and inflation.

Could you describe the reception Palihouse Hyde Park has received since opening in late 2023?

Palihouse Hyde Park Village was incredibly successful right out of the gate because it was the perfect location for the Palihouse brand. Our hotel company is unique in that we consider ourselves neighborhood-focused, which means we predominantly operate small-keyed hotels that are pillars of the community. Our hotels are often local meeting spots and are establishments that neighbors proudly recommend to out-of-town guests. Hyde Park Village as a location fits this narrative perfectly. 

Even before opening, we had locals stopping by excited to have a well-appointed hotel open in town and we felt tremendously supported from the minute we opened our doors. Our Hotel Manager is a long-standing company employee who moved to Florida for the role and is now completely plugged in to the local zeitgeist. 

In our opening year, we were awarded one of two Michelin One Key accolades in Tampa and have earned a top spot on Tripadvisor. To achieve these accolades so quickly is an incredible testament to the hotel and the team. 

How does your company’s proprietary point of view differentiate you from other competitors?

We’re a company with an extremely strong point of view when it comes to just about everything. What we set out to accomplish is distinctly correlated with our brand ethos of creating unique and interesting spaces and providing trusty service. Founder and CEO Avi Brosh is the lead designer and creating force for the company and the aesthetic of the brand is very much a reflection of his lifestyle and the unwavering diligence in executing his vision sets the company apart. Nearly every facet of the operation, including design, branding, food & beverage conception, social media, graphics, IT, etc. is managed internally by a robust corporate structure whose goal is to deliver value by preserving the integrity of the brand and controlling cost. 

What role does technology play in enhancing guest experiences?

We have a traditional innkeeper mentality when it comes to hospitality, which means we prioritize interpersonal interactions between our staff and our guests and emphasize unique and thoughtful touches to evoke an experience. We would never replace an important service moment, such as the check-in process, with automated technology, but rather utilize technology to make that experience better. There are many examples throughout our operation of how we maximize the efficiency of our labor model to focus staff time on guest service, where we believe it’s most valued. 

Our back-office operation is highly technologically forward. We use best-in-class third-party platforms to drive efficiencies and deliver value across revenue management, operations, accounting, operations, and marketing. As a company that’s focused on small-keyed properties, efficiency is of the utmost importance to the business model and we’ve proved that with the right mix of revenue-generating capabilities and operational efficiencies, small-keyed hotels truly drive outsized returns.  

What is your perspective on the increasing variety of hospitality accommodations, such as Airbnbs, competing with traditional box hotels?

The lifestyle lodging sector over the past several years has gone in several directions. There have been shifts toward big-box brand affiliations which dominate the lodging landscape and funnel demand in a very effective way. Others have trended toward a low-touch, low-cost direction in response to rising costs and a need to differentiate from brand-affiliated hotels.

We’ve followed neither of those paths. While we’re not immune to rising costs, we have proven that we can differentiate ourselves from commoditized hotel products and drive ADR through a proprietor-driven style and unique approach to operations. We also leverage the incredible horsepower of our centralized operating model, which allows small-keyed hotels access to institutional quality back-office operations and purchasing power. 

Could you expound upon the target demographic and describe your overall guest profile?

Growing up in Los Angeles, our brand has historically targeted creatives in the entertainment and fashion industry; however, as we’ve grown, that demographic has expanded substantially. Our core demographic skews from 30-50 in age with moderate to high levels of disposable income. 

Key to our success are our multiple brands, each of which targets different markets, demographics, and price points. For example, Le Petit Pali is our version of a bespoke, thoughtfully curated and unique bed & breakfast concept and targets some of the highest ADR markets in the country, while the Palihouse brand has traditionally targeted a slightly longer stay guest with its residential-inspired design, larger room type and kitchenette offerings. Also within the portfolio are Palihotel and ARRIVE, which are more traditional transient hotels with higher key counts, as well as an Independent Collection. 

Regarding the interest garnered by your hotels among the local business community, what is the nature of these new relationships?

Core to being a neighborhood company is supporting local businesses. We curate neighborhood guides at each of our locations featuring our favorite restaurants, bars, and shops, and we partner with various retailers in the area to expand our guest offering and promote local businesses to our guests.

At Palihouse Hyde Park Village, for example, our VIP guest amenity is from our favorite local doughnut shop, we have discounted rates with local fitness classes, and we offer in-room dining options from a neighboring restaurant. 

What challenges are you observing within the hospitality and lodging sector as a whole?

Depending on the market, the post-COVID recovery has progressed in an unbalanced way with some markets having strong recoveries while others still lagging behind 2019 performance levels. Tampa and South Florida have seen tremendous post-pandemic success and we are looking at recreating the success of Hyde Park Village in several South Florida and West Coast Florida markets.  

The obvious challenges across all markets are interest rates, and rising labor costs. It’s made the value proposition of efficient business models, like ours, all the more clear. This is a unique time in the industry, and we’ve found that the best way to navigate the unexpected complexities of the last few years is to be nimble and strategically thoughtful and to have a bit of grit.

In terms of Palisociety’s long term expansion plans, are there any new markets you are looking at expanding into?

We love Florida and are continuing efforts to expand into more markets here. We also have several new hotel openings across the country this year including ARRIVE Albuquerque and Le Petit Pali Laguna Beach, as well as others that we’re excited to share with you soon!