When it opens Dec. 28, Life House Little Havana will be the neighborhood’s first boutique hotel. The launch is also the first for Life House, a start-up lodging brand based in New York and backed by California and London investors. The 33-room hotel — which offers private rooms and a handful of group rooms — will cater to “mature millennials” looking for more than fun in the sun at accessible prices.
“It’s for people who are seeking substantial experiences,” said Life House co-founder and CEO Rami Zeidan. The brand, which offers affordable lodging with stylish amenities, is designed to connect people with the community around them.
Life House has raised $70 million in funding from Silicon Valley-venture capital firms Global Founders Capital, Comcast Ventures and Trinity Ventures, and London-based real estate firm Henley Investments. They’re betting that young travelers will gravitate toward the company’s tech-savvy, upscale, design-focused and local approach to travel.
It’s a niche that’s gaining traction. In 2013, Freehand opened an upscale hostel on Miami Beach. Just last month, the European hotel-hostel brand Generator opened in Miami Beach, with a mix of shared dorms and private rooms with large, comfortable common areas. Just a 15-minute walk from Life House Little Havana is the newly remodeled Tower Hotel Project, a 52-room hotel slated to open in February. (Construction delays pushed the opening back from its original September 2018 date.)
For travelers drawn to these lodgings, “What’s most important to you is value, value, value,” said Deanna Ting, Senior Hospitality Editor for Skift, a travel trade publication that monitors trends. “It’s everything you need and nothing you don’t. They’re not skimping on everything, it’s not bare bones. But they’re being really careful about what they curate.”
Life House embodies other key trends identified by Travel Market Report, a hospitality trade publication: connecting guests with the local community and making sure hotels tell stories.
Unique to Life House is proprietary software that allows travelers to manage their trips though an app if they choose. Guests can reserve rooms, check in and out, get to know each other before arrival, and chat with a concierge throughout their stay. Forums on wellness, nature, food and nightlife allow guests to check out local happenings. And no more waiting in line — guests can stroll right to their room and use the app as a key
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