Boutique Design - March 2019 - 22

THE MOOR, NEW ORLEANS

Carey "got his training wheels" from stints in private equity with CCMP Capital
and in venture capital with SVB Capital. That gave him first-hand experience in
evaluating large, complex assets; creating financing platforms; and developing business strategies to maximize portfolio performance. It also taught him how to read
prospective deals. "I learned how to assess idea-oriented, early-stage projects," he
says. "It was perfect training for determining the potential of hotel sites."
By 2014, Lawrence took the leap and launched the Homage Hospitality
brand. It didn't exactly take off. Finding funding wasn't easy, nor was navigating
the turbulent waters of acquisitions. In 2016, Lawrence and Carey saw that they
had to get rid of their part-time job safety net (which included driving for Uber
and Lyft and talking up their passion project to their passengers) and stop
waiting for the perfect moment to put out their shingle. They anted up more
than $100,000 of their own savings, got a boost from a few investors such as
Metrovation, a privately owned specialty real estate company committed to
revitalizing under-utilized areas, and officially started their hotel company.
Their first lesson was about being nimble. Oakland, California, was the
initial target for the flag's debut. That didn't work out at first (though an
Oakland hotel is in the works for a 2019 debut). So, they switched gears to New
Orleans. Yes, the real estate is reasonable, but there is a deeper reason. "A
fundamental part of our belief is that all people deserve quality experiences
that motivate and replenish them when they patronize hotels, and sometimes
that requires meeting people where they are, geographically as well as in all
other respects," says Lawrence. In other words, it's not flyover country.
The site of a 1921-era Spanish colonial house on Canal St. gave them the
right foundation and right location to show off a brand that celebrates diverse
cultures and energized the local community-both socially and economically.
The property that would introduce Homage to the world in the summer of 2018
also gave them a reality check on how hard the hotel business can be.
It was pretty much a DIY project. "We found a few contractors to do some of
the heavy lifting, such as the bathroom tiling and light demo, but we ended up
doing most of the work ourselves," says Lawrence. "As our first effort, we wanted
a property that was unapologetic and made a serious statement about what
Homage stands for. We didn't commission a design firm due to tight budget
constraints. DIY was ultimately the right approach for Project One; the lessons
learned about space planning, for example, will inform us for years to come."
So did the push-pull of balancing their vision and budget. "We found out
that, sometimes, we have to take more ( financial) risks than we think we can
stomach," adds Carey. But, that's not carte blanche to overspend. For The Moor,
he says they "invested heavily in design-oriented pieces and furniture that
speaks to our guests' curiosity while value engineering our comfort components such as technology and collateral materials."
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DIY-ing the operations side without the infrastructural security blanket of a
big brand forced a lot of introspection. "For example, we had to look at how
black people travel and what impediments exist when we travel. We had to ask
ourselves what opportunities there are to ensure that we can travel with our
identity intact," says Lawrence. Translating that mission statement into everything the guest encounters is one of Homage's wheelhouses.
A seemingly rote decision such as the choice of bathroom amenities takes on
huge importance. "Black skin and hair have unique needs, so products tailored to
those requirements are effectively products perfect for all our guests, not just
some of them," he adds. "Our key filter is pretty straightforward-when we create
space for those most overlooked, we've created space for everyone."
The resounding success of this "hausotel" that blends the intimate welcome
of a bed-and-breakfast with the cool of a lifestyle hotel is opening doors for this
young company as is the payoff for a tough apprenticeship. As Carey points
out, "In the beginning, we had difficulties navigating the landscape for such a
capital-intensive business model. We've definitely improved those navigation
techniques along the way. One of the best moments of my job is crafting the
right pitch and raising capital." While he and Lawrence were willing to take
"thin returns" on their first hotel, Carey sees the company coming closer to a
time when a project has to have the potential to deliver the more-or-less standard 20% internal rate of return expected from strong hotel assets.
Smaller markets may have been ideal testing grounds, but Homage wants a
bigger platform for its message. Oakland and a second New Orleans property
are up next, then California cities such as Los Angeles and Napa. Brooklyn,
Miami, and Washington, D.C. are already on their radar. They're also looking at
sizing up drastically from the four suites at The Moor to a standard 75- to
150-key property for future hotels. "We also believe our approach has global
appeal," says Lawrence. Watch for pins on the development map in London,
Lagos, Tokyo and the Caribbean one day. With growth goals like these,
Lawrence and Carey are going to have to delegate more. They're already in talks
with outside design firms for projects on their boards, and they're shifting into
hiring mode.
For right now, though, the hands-on approach is a perfect fit, even if it
means sacrifices. "We've had to sacrifice guaranteed income, fostering personal
relationships, and even self-care at times," says Carey. "It's sometimes a struggle
to keep things at equilibrium, and I believe we've just now started to figure out
what that looks like for us," adds Lawrence. Balance, for them, means not
getting pulled off course by pressure to "keep up with the Joneses." "Whatever
we 'miss' isn't for us and we know we aren't for everyone," says Lawrence. "We
want to connect with our customers in a way that's lean and deep." In a world
of micro-influencers and curated living, that approach couldn't be more timely.

I M O T O.C O M ( T H E M O O R )

THE MOOR, NEW ORLEANS

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Boutique Design - March 2019

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