When the idea of building a hotel first comes up, a nice image usually forms in people's heads. A beautiful building. Well-decorated rooms. A pool. A good breakfast. Happy guests. And finally, a hotel that's opened its doors and is running.
One of the most important things I learned building House Sola: a hotel isn't built the day it opens its doors. The real process starts much earlier.
House Sola started for us as a plot of land, and about four years passed before it opened for business. During that time I dealt with many things that seem very different from each other, all within the same project: real estate, architecture, finance, permit processes, brand, digital marketing, and operations.
Looking back today, I think those four years taught me a lot — not just about hospitality, but about building a business from scratch. I want to share the 10 most important ones for me.
1. The most important decision in a hotel investment isn't deciding to build the hotel
Before starting a project, the question that usually comes to mind is: "What kind of hotel can we build on this land?" If I went back to the same point today, I'd tweak that question a little. First I'd ask: "Should a hotel really be built here?"
Because a property being suitable for a hotel doesn't mean it will be a good hotel investment. Just creating a beautiful project isn't enough without evaluating location, zoning, land cost, construction cost, room count, target customer, season, expected price, occupancy, and operating expenses together. House Sola taught me that the investment decision starts long before the architectural project.
2. You can't know from the start exactly how long a project will take
Four years... saying it today sounds like quite a long time. But while you're in it, the process doesn't happen as a single block. One day it's a permit issue, another day an architectural decision, then another technical problem, then supply, then a new decision... Every stage turns into another job that needs to be managed on its own.
So if a new investor asked me today "How long does it take to open a hotel?", I'd speak much more cautiously instead of giving a single number. Because especially in real estate development and hotel investments, the timeline doesn't depend only on your own working speed.
3. Permits and official processes aren't the last stage of the project
I think one of the biggest mistakes in first projects is thinking of official processes as something for the end of the job. The "let's build the building first, we'll sort out the permits later" approach is quite risky.
In fact, official processes should be part of the project from the very start of the investment decision. A property's legal and zoning status can directly affect what you're able to build. So today, when evaluating a hotel investment, I don't just look at "Is this a nice place?" I also ask "What can I legally and technically do here?"
4. Architectural decisions aren't only aesthetic decisions
It's easy to get swept up in visuals when designing a hotel. Room color, wall texture, furniture, lighting, pool, garden... All of this matters. But a hotel's architecture also determines how the business will run.
For example, how will housekeeping reach the rooms, where will technical service pass through, how will the laundry work, where will storage be done, how will breakfast service flow, where will staff encounter guests, how will goods receiving work? These may not show up in an Instagram photo. But they come up in front of you every day once the hotel opens.
One important lesson for me at House Sola was: a hotel that looks beautiful and a hotel that works well are not the same thing. Ideally, you can do both at once.
5. Small details make a big difference in guest experience
Big decisions get more attention when building a hotel: room count, architecture, pool, furniture, brand. But once the hotel opens, the guest's experience is made up of the sum of much smaller details.
Where something sits in the room, how the light works, how the coffee is prepared, how easily you can reach reception, how breakfast is served, how quickly a problem gets solved... Each of these is a part of the experience. That's why one of the things I care most about in hospitality today is thinking about how the guest actually uses the hotel.
6. The job doesn't end when you open the hotel — it's really just starting
I think there's a real difference between learning this by living it versus seeing it from the outside. Construction finishes. Furniture arrives. Rooms are prepared. Photos are taken. The website launches. And finally you open the hotel's doors. At some point people think "Okay, done."
It's actually not done. Because another period begins: operations. Now you're meeting real guests every day. Real problems come up. You see real costs. You learn real demand. And you see that some things you planned work differently in the field. For me, House Sola's most educational period actually started once the hotel opened.
7. Guest feedback is one of the best consultants
We make a lot of assumptions when building a hotel. "Guests will like this." "This would be better this way." "They'll especially want this." Sometimes right. Sometimes not.
Once the hotel opens, real guests start giving you much more valuable information. What do they like? What don't they use? What do they ask about? Where do they struggle? What do they especially remember? You need to listen to these. Because sometimes a detail the investor cares a lot about can be insignificant to the guest. And sometimes a detail we thought was small can seriously change the guest's experience.
So today I don't just see a hotel as a designed product, but as a business that keeps evolving over time by learning from its guests.
8. Marketing shouldn't be thought about only after the hotel opens
A hotel being beautiful doesn't mean people will automatically find it. Today, a hotel's photos, website, Google visibility, social media presence, reviews, and digital ads are important parts of the guest's purchase decision.
During House Sola's opening process I saw more clearly that the digital side matters as much as the physical project. Especially on social media, how people first see the hotel directly affects the brand's perception. So today, when thinking about a hotel project, I think as much about "How will people see this hotel online?" as "How will the hotel look?"
9. It's not possible to get everything right the first time
This is maybe one of the most personal things I learned. When building a project, you naturally want to get everything right. But in reality, some decisions change, some things don't work as expected, you later realize some spending was unnecessary, and you later see you should have invested more in some areas.
This isn't a bad thing. Because running a business is partly about doing, seeing, measuring, and fixing. House Sola isn't a finished project for me today. It's still a growing business. We're still learning new things. We're still changing some details. I think that's how it should be.
10. The most valuable thing is being able to combine different experiences into one project
This is also one of the things that made House Sola different for me. I got to use many things I'd learned in different fields before, all in the same project: real estate, finance, operations, process management, brand, digital marketing, and of course guest experience.
On this website's journey too, I especially value this connection. I think the process and planning perspective from my earlier work experience later combined with my experience on the operations and investment side. In this sense, House Sola wasn't just a hotel for me. It became a place where things I'd learned elsewhere came together in the same project.
Looking at House Sola today
Maybe the most important thing I learned building House Sola is this: a business isn't just its final outcome. There are hundreds of small decisions behind it. Some right. Some wrong. Some made on time. Some made late. Some you can only see the results of years later.
So when I look at a new project today, I don't just ask "What can we do?" I ask a bit more "Why are we doing this, who will it serve, and what kind of business will it become in the long run?"
One of the most beautiful things about House Sola for me is right here. This project, which started as a plot of land and opened its doors about four years later, still teaches me new things today. And maybe the most beautiful part of this story is: it isn't finished yet.
One last note
I specifically didn't want to write this piece as a "success story." Because what's worth telling in House Sola's story isn't just the hotel that emerged at the end. It's the process in between. Waiting. Deciding. Getting it wrong. Rethinking. Changing something. Sometimes stepping outside the plan. And finally, opening the door.
For me, entrepreneurship is partly made up of exactly that. When you build a project from scratch, you're not just building a business. You're also teaching yourself something new.