“Create an environment where the best ideas win.”

In design, there is a concept known as a charrette, which brings people from different disciplines and backgrounds together with community members to explore design options. The differing views and the unique ways people think or interpret often generate these amazing insights. 

I love this concept. I love the creativity. I love ideating ways to fulfill guests’ wants and needs and finding opportunities to surprise and delight. 

At Retro Hospitality, we specialize in independent hotels. And many of our hotels are in historic buildings or are adaptive reuse, and it is our goal to breathe new and exciting life into them. I draw a lot of inspiration from this concept of charrette. We work with an amazing group of architects, designers, chefs, general managers, community members, and everyone in between, but the key is to give enough room to let the best ideas win. 

Our approach, and I believe our success, is based on what I call “passionate collaboration” with stakeholders in our local communities. We might have an idea, and we think it’s good, but when we bring it to one of our partners in the local community, they make it better. 

Part of our design process is understanding both the local market and the target customer because what's most important for us is ensuring that the projects are a true reflection of the place. We never want to create something out of sync with its surroundings. We want to be the hotel that the local community recommends to their friends and family. 

To do this, we include the community in everything from renovation decisions to our marketing strategies. We work with local vendors and artists. We work with local vineyards on F&B concepts. We even work with the local opera to develop programs. 

Some of our recent collaborations include working with Amtrak to promote “carless vacations.” This partnership, launching in late 2023, encourages train travel to our hotels in Charlottesville and Richmond. We teamed up with local partners to create a Top 10 List of walkable places to go and things to see, creating a win for Amtrak, the local community, the hotel, and most importantly, the guests.

These are the sort of opportunities we focus on, which in many cases came from those initial renovation design sessions and early discussions. And while not everyone has the opportunity to be involved in the development of a property from the ground up, these same concepts can be applied to existing properties. Bring in the local communities, brainstorm, collaborate, and may the best ideas win.