Creating Moments in Unique Stay Hotels - Ben Wolff - Co-Founder of Onera

Ben Wolff is building, operating and managing $65M in experiential hospitality real estate. He is the co-founder and developer of Onera, a luxury treehouse resort in Texas Hill Country. Onera is the first public REIT hotel exit of a glamping resort. Ben is also the founder & CEO of experiential hospitality marketing and management firm StayOasi.

Prior to Onera, Ben grew Blink Hospitality a short-term rental (STR) management company from 8 to 200 units under management in 18 months. He is a McKinsey alum and his first business was an events & promotions company in college. Ben is also an avid golf tourist and is on a mission to play all top 100 courses in the world.

On this episode, Jake and Ben discuss: 

- Utilizing overseas talent

- Walkthrough of a development

- Building Onera

- Fundraising

- Utilizing social media and influencer marketing

Links:

Ben on Twitter - https://twitter.com/uniquestaysguy

Ben on Substack - https://stayoasi.ck.page/newsletter

Stay Onera - https://stayonera.com/

Connect & Invest with Jake:

Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzak

Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/

Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo

Topics:

The intersection of Tech and Real Estate & Ben’s career

(00:02:26) - Is there a flaw with urban short-term rentals?

(00:08:53) - Being lean vs. skimping

(00:13:14) - How to utilize overseas talent for hospitality

(00:15:46) - Creating moments with limited on-site staff

(00:18:32) - What are the biggest opportunities you see right now in the industry?

(00:20:19) - How has the modern traveler changed?

(00:21:50) - A la carte housekeeping services

(00:24:15) - Onera’s thesis

(00:31:17) - Walking through a development

(00:44:48) - How do you think about scaling?

(00:46:43) - Utilizing influencer marketing and social media

(00:53:17) - The importance of emphasizing direct booking

(00:58:27) - Ben’s plans for a jungle landscape concept

(00:59:56) - What inspires you for design?

(01:00:54) - What are you targeting from a cost, basis, and yield standpoint on a property?

(01:02:49) - What are the biggest risks to your margins as you grow?

(01:04:48) - Raising capital

(01:07:33) - The Spirit of Sophia Hotel

(01:10:00) - How’d you get a REIT to enter this asset class?

(01:16:23) - Where do you see booking going in the future?

(01:18:17) - What are the most common mistakes you see in this industry?

(01:19:47) - DIY hacks

(01:24:27) - What is your favorite hotel?