“ Experience is the new commodity. ”

Experience is the new commodity, especially for travelers.

I think of the photos that people post as a literal reflection of what consumers want: curated, interesting, one-of-a-kind, visually delightful moments.

Hotels and properties in the development phase really need to stop and think about what they’re doing to create these experiences, moments, connections, or whatever else you want to call them long before they open their doors.

If hotels aren’t actively building in these touchpoints from day one, they’re missing out on this ever growing market of consumers who value experience over—well—everything.

When we built the Kinley brand, we were very intentional about the product we wanted to build and the consumer we wanted to attract.

We wanted Kinley to be “the living room of the neighborhood," a place people could come to live, work, and play, whether they traveled across the city or across the country.

That story informed every decision we made, every step of the way, from the design of the physical spaces to the local experiences we curated inside and outside the hotel.

If you're going to tap into the local community, you need more than free wifi. I’m talking about walking tours, artists in residence, local vendors and whiskey tastings. We even added an on-site speakeasy.

It took us building little by little, piece by piece, but always staying true to our story and that ideal customer that we were trying to attract.

I think we’ve done that successfully. When you have a great product with a great story, it makes marketing's job easy...

Okay, maybe not easy, but easier than the alternative.