It's safe to assume that, as a traveler, you have your pre-trip routine down to a science. Perhaps you Google Image your upcoming destination before bed every night, daydreaming about the moment when you'll finally be able to swim in those turquoise-blue waters. Or maybe you buy a bunch of novels that take place in your travel spot of choice, just to get in the mood. Or, if you’re anything like us, you go down a deep Instagram rabbit hole, cruising through your hotel’s geotag and creeping on random previous guests’ photos for hours on end.
But what if you could actually get in touch with the guests you’ll be staying with before your trip?
That’s just one of the many ideas behind Life House, a new technology-forward and affordable boutique hotel brand whose mission is to connect travelers with each other and the local community. The brand—which, notably, is the first lifestyle hotel company to ever be fully backed by Silicon Valley—is set to open its first location in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood in December, followed by a second location in South Beach soon after. When you stay there, you’ll be able to both check in and opt in to its social network directly through its app (which is still in beta but will go live before the hotel opens). The social network allows guests to interact with each other, along with locals who’ve been vetted by the community.
“This social technology exists outside of the hotel industry, but not in it—so we’re trying to change that,” says CEO Rami Zeidan, who worked with 1 Hotels and the Sydell Group before co-founding Life House along with CTO and technology entrepreneur Yury Yakubchyk. “There are so many studies out there that suggest that travelers want to engage with others and meet new people...and what better way to build a community than with people staying at the same hotel?”
Technology aside, the actual spaces are just plain cool. Designed to appeal to all sorts of travelers, Life Houses have a variety of rooms, from standard queen and king rooms to suites to shared rooms—and all of them come with complimentary Le Labo products, plus a Marshall bluetooth speaker. The shared rooms are very adult-y—nothing like those busted hostels from way back when—featuring bunk beds with full-size mattresses, places to charge all of your gadgets, and, perhaps sweetest of all, privacy curtains that make you feel like you’re all cozied up in your own little private cocoon. In fact, in the future, guests will even be able to choose their fellow cocooned roommates through the app.
The overall vibe of each hotel is very community-oriented as well. There’s local artwork on the walls, a communal dining area that serves local food, and even music programs curated and produced by local artists. “The house and the spaces within it are all meant to resemble a big house where everyone is family. It’s not a luxury retreat isolation experience,” Zeidan says. “Travel is about discovering new experiences and cultures and people—and we are facilitating that discovery.”
Though prices per room will vary, there will always be an option that costs less than $150 per night no matter what—an affordable price point Zeidan attributes largely to their direct-to-consumer approach. All of their technology and design and development is done in-house, which cuts out the cost of the middleman and enables the brand to deliver a luxury experience for less. “We’re Silicon Valley–backed, so we have the ability to do things that are consumer oriented and don’t require us to nickel and dime the customer so much.”
After the two Miami locations open, Zeidan and his team will continue to move full speed ahead, with plans to have more than 20 hotels under development in the U.S. by the end of 2019. And make no mistake: As the brand expands, the technology will expand with it. “Now that we’ve built the infrastructure, it’s easy to add on new features,” Zeidan says. “Today it’s the social network and the seamless check-in, and tomorrow it’s connecting to Uber, and to your airline, and to whatever new feature that makes sense three years from now. We’re set up to innovate.”
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