An Interview with John Schultzel

The BLLA Team sat down with John Schultzel, Chief Growth Officer at Olympia Hospitality to chat about the upcoming Boutique Hotel Investment Conference taking place on June 5 at Florence Gould Hall in NYC.

BLLA: What are you hoping to get out of your participation in the Boutique Hotel Investment Conference?

JS: One of the great aspects of boutique lodging is the constant focus on creativity and innovation.  I look forward to listening and learning from a wonderful collection of individuals who are thinking about the future of the industry.

BLLA: How did you come to enter the hospitality industry?

JS: My mother was the consummate hostess for friends and family.  She enjoyed creating settings of warmth and comfort for people.  I think she imparted that on me, and it led me first to restaurants and then to hotels.  The next thing I knew, I was at The Hotel School.

BLLA: What is the mission statement of your company?

JS: As written, it is to become a premier hospitality development and management company.  Beyond the actual statement, our company really focuses on earning the loyalty of the best and brightest people in the industry to help us achieve in whatever we do.

BLLA: What does boutique mean to you?

JS: ‘Boutique’ to me is the ability to adapt and customize to any surrounding or set of needs.  Oftentimes, we call ourselves a ‘boutique hotel company’; not because we are active in boutique properties, but instead because we adjust our approach to people and projects to optimize performance.

BLLA: What are the top three trends that you see in the boutique hotel investment space?

JS: The prominence of leisure demand since COVID has made boutique hotel investment far more attractive even to institutional investors.  Another trend related to this is developing experiences that allow for professional needs to marry with leisure pursuits.   This applies to space planning, design, and tech applications.  Lastly, a top trend continues to be leveraging technology so that guests to engage with hotels however they want to.

BLLA: Why do you believe boutique hotels are a good investment?

JS: The notion of a standardized hotel experience at any location is truly passe.  This and future generations of travelers will continue to choose ‘local’, ‘authentic’, ‘customized’, and so on.  Invest where travelers want to be – boutique hotels.

Come see John Schultzel speak on a panel we call “Scaling Boutique Properties: Growth Strategies That Work” alongside Ben Rafter of Springboard Hospitality and Lily Hu of Crescent Hotels & Resorts on June 5 at Florence Gould Hall in NYC!

Register for your tickets today!

This article was originally published on the Sincerely, BLLA blog