BUSINESS MODEL
Explore the Details
Ansel Hotel Co. seeks to be a recognized brand in the hospitality industry with multiple locations offering the same standards of excellence and elegance across each of our properties.
Explore more of the mission and the plans to achieve that below:
SERVICE OFFERINGS
ACCOMMODATIONS
Gated
Entry
As guests arrive, they enter down a winding, gated drive providing visual and figurative separation from their day-to-day world while indicating the exclusivity and privacy of the experience beyond.
Inviting
Lobby
Guests are greeted under the porte-cochere of a lobby building serving as a gathering spot for the property and a living room throughout their stay while the breezeway purposefully frames a view & shelters an outdoor living area.
Private Lodges
Each guestroom is a modern, freestanding lodge placed to immerse guests in the surroundings utilizing floor-to-ceiling walls of glass while employing the natural qualities of the site itself to provide separation and maintain privacy.
AMENITIES
Food & Beverage
• Guests start their day in the lobby or on their own balcony with a full coffee menu and prepared breakfast selections that highlight local flavors.
• In the evening, the honor bar in the library allows guests to choose from a sommelier-selected beverage menu throughout their stay.
Unique
Adventures
• Trails traversing the property allow guests to explore, rest with a picnic basket of local fare, or coordinate with the innkeeper and take the basket on the road as they head out to nearby preserves, parks, streams and lakes with Ansel’s paddleboards in tow.
Luxury on Demand
• Innkeepers’ relationships make it possible to coordinate personalized experiences. Yoga at sunrise, guided fishing at area hotspots, in-room massages after a day out, private chef-prepared meals with a view, and heli-transport options are all available to tailor each guest’s stay.
CONCIERGE SERVICES
Local Guides
The Ansel Local Guides program allows guests to experience the absolute best of a concierge level experience without waiting on a concierge. In each location, noted, local experts team with Ansel’s sommelier to help oversee a seasonal selection of food and beverage options on property while providing recommendations for dining, shopping and experiences both on property and off.
Ongoing partnerships mean if a couple is coming for a winter weekend, their skis and equipment will be delivered and waiting in their room before they arrive. If a father and son are coming for a fishing adventure, the area’s most experienced fishing guide can be scheduled to arrive with gear in tow to practice in the property’s own river or ponds before heading out to their favorite secret spot.
After leaving the property, guests will receive quarterly newsletters with updated information from the Local Guides on area events, new partnerships and collaborations, as well as seasonal cocktail recipes to try at home… or as soon as they come back to stay again.
SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES
Off-Site Construction
• Allows for significant waste reduction
• Eliminates exposure to weathering, mold, and allergens
• Reduces transportation and packaging of materials
• Significantly minimizes physical impact on natural features
On-Site Solar & Water
• Eliminate dependence on lengthy utility lines in remote locations
• Improve guest comfort through more balanced temperature and humidity controls
• Reduce waste of treated water for landscape uses
• Return clean water resources to aquifers
Products & Procedures
• Minimize packaging, transportation, and waste
• Use local produce to reduce dependence on pesticides and processing
• Create accountability for producers and educational opportunities for guests
• Provide means for reuse and recycling of packaging
ART & ARCHITECTURE
Ansel & Van de Röhe
The name “Ansel” has references to noted nature photographer, Ansel Adams and is derived from an Old English word meaning “God the Protector.” Ansel Hotel Co. seeks to honor each of these derivations.
Adams’s photographic work allows viewers to encounter natural wonders that many would never have the opportunity to see. In the same way, Ansel Hotel locations immerse guests into places of incredible natural beauty while quite literally becoming places of refuge and protection among wild and rugged landscapes.
The modern minimalist design references the International Style made famous by Van de Röhe, Johnson, and Neutra. It contrasts with the surroundings without being imposing or visually dominating. Utilizing raw steel, stained wood, and stone conveys strength, permanence and protection while connecting to the natural elements of the site and providing a sense of warmth that guests will never want to leave.
OPERATIONS PLAN
REVENUE STREAMS
Room
Rates
• Premium pricing reflects the luxury, exclusivity, and the level of service provided.
• Utilizing AI resources allows for dynamic pricing that is responsive to area supply, demand, and competing lodging.
• Locations are selected to reduce seasonality
Next Level Services
• Pre-booked packages are made possible through property management software systems that integrates them into the booking process.
• “Transactionless upgrades” are made possible through concierge level service and guest-oriented software systems.
Local Partnerships
• Relationships with local artisans, guides, and chefs allow Ansel Hotels to offer exclusive packages and experiences that create additional revenue while maintaining a relatively small staff.
• Morning yoga, in-room massages, fishing guides, ski instructors will all be on call.
Brand Collaborations
• Partnerships with exclusive brands and suppliers for linens, furnishings, and consumables produce opportunities for guests to purchase the products found on site.
• Point of sale systems allow seamless purchases to be delivered to a guest’s home before they return from their stay.
Unrivaled Beauty
• Each property must provide notably significant, natural elements that create the opportunity for guests to be immersed in the landscape around it and reflect the grandeur of its creator.
Remote
Proximity
• A fine balance exists between finding solitude and isolation while maintaining proximity to excellent dining, cultural events, adventures, transportation and staffing and hubs.
• Locations must be protected from adjacent property development
Sustainable
Utilities
• Construction techniques and technologies allow Ansel Hotels to function without connections to city services.
• Significant consideration must be given to the availability of water and ability for wastewater treatment without detrimental impacts.
SITE SELECTION
MARKETING CHANNELS
Frictionless
Website
• A visually appealing, mobile-friendly website with detailed property information, booking capabilities, and an experiential emphasis is essential.
• Direct bookings reduce costs per transaction and avoid guest fees while providing additional avenues for upgrades and add-ons.
Booking Platforms
• More than 60% of remote/rural lodging is booked through OTA’s. Significant presence on these sites is crucial.
• Integrations with property management software allow for seamless bookings and guest management creating earlier hospitality and service opportunities.
Social
Media
• Guests respond to stories and desire to create their own. Social media allows targeted sharing of locations, craft and culture while creating vision for what guests can experience.
• Utilizing products from craftsmen and brands with existing followings capitalizes on their recognition while maintaining excellence.
Direct Marketing
• Ansel Local Guides create an accessible, ongoing avenue to share regular updates, local events, and opportunities that maintain engagement via email and social media.
• Publications like The Scout Guide, Wild Sam and other luxury publications cast a broad net and increase brand recognition.
STAFFING
Expectations
• Memorable hospitality separates the brand from others. Doing so requires staff with a deep desire to serve and creativity to attend to each guest.
• The small key count and on-demand services reduce the number of staff necessary to provide tailored service allowing each location to operate with 1 full time and 2 part time staff members.
Qualities
• The Ansel Innkeeper role necessitates a highly relational, renaissance person willing to serve a variety of personalities.
• Modern software allows for intuitive property management removing tedious roles from staff and freeing them to focus on guest experience.
Training
• Appropriate staffing provides the most critical element of the guest experience.
• Ansel Hotel staff must have innate qualities however standard operating procedures and true hospitality training allow them maintain brand standards.
DESIGN
Modern Minimalism
Streamlined, low-profile buildings with minimalist modern designs allow the natural elements of the site to take precedent over a grand edifice. Unlacquered steel, stained wood, and natural stone soften the sleek lines and make the structures warm and welcoming while walls of glass eliminate visual separation from the landscapes beyond.
Sleek Elegance
Guests catch glimpses of the lobby and lodges as they wind through the property before the extended, cantilevered roof of the lobby's breezeway draws their eye to the incredible view beyond. The design allows ensures the views are continuously highlighted and enjoyed from private balconies and king sized beds.
BUSINESS STRUCTURES
LEADERSHIP
Jessica Dupuy
Advisory Board
A sommelier, prolific author and the Food & Wine Editor for Texas Monthly among
others, Jessica provides a depth of knowledge rarely seen.
Eric Goldreyer
Advisory Board
As the founder of several successful OTAs and owner of Sage Hill Inn, Eric brings
invaluable wealth of technical industry understanding and expertise.
MANAGEMENT & MEMBERSHIP
Operating Entity
• Ansel Hotel Co. will exist as an operating, holding company with Parker Stuckey, the company’s founder, serving as the managing member.
• An advisory board of tenured industry professionals will help shape the direction and decision making.
Location Subsidiaries
• Individual locations will exist as separate entities. Ansel Hotel Co. will serve as the managing member among any number of investors as general members.
• Locations benefit from the broader brand, shared marketing, etc. while maintaining financial independence.
Decision Making
• Ansel Hotel Co. will hold the authority and responsibility to make business decisions necessary to run the daily operations of the company including significant financial commitments.
• Quarterly reports and meetings provide for accountability and input from general members.
CAPITAL & RETURNS
Capital Investment
Each member’s ownership interest in a particular location will be proportional to their capital contribution relative to the total contributions for that location.
Preferred Return
Each member shall receive a preferred return of 10% per annum on their initial capital contribution, calculated on a quarterly basis.
Profit Distribution
After payment of the preferred return, 80% of the remaining profit will be distributed to the general members in proportion to their ownership interest.
Investor Exit
Upon return of the capital investment, the general members will receive 50% of the proceeds from the sale of the property in proportion to their ownership interest.
INVESTMENT TIMELINE
01.
Initial Commitments
- Funding commitments
- Property contracts
- Due diligence
- Final design & engineering
- Permitting
Q4 '24 - Q1 '25
02.
Capital
Investment
- Capital funding
- Land closing
Q1 '25
03.
Construction & Development
- Lobby & offsite construction
- Sitework (wells, roads, etc.)
- Marketing
- Staffing
- Procurements
Q1 - Q2 '25
04.
Opening
- Fully constructed & operating
Q3 '25
05.
Investor Exit
- Full return of investment
- Property sale