Scaling Boutique Hotels Without Losing Soul: How Origin Hotels Creates Authentic Local Experiences Across 7 Cities

In this dynamic episode of The Inn Crowd, host Jamie Mattingly sits down with Baylee, Director of Sales at Origin Hotel Austin, to explore how a fast-growing boutique hotel brand maintains authentic local character while scaling rapidly. From Willie Nelson-signed cowboy hats in Austin lobbies to tiger stripes in Baton Rouge, discover how Origin Hotels creates Instagram-worthy moments that truly reflect each city's culture. Baylee shares insider strategies on influencer partnerships, user-generated content, and the challenges of forecasting revenue in an era of two-week booking windows. Perfect for hospitality professionals, hotel marketers, and anyone interested in building scalable brands with soul.

🔑 Key Takeaways & Topics

• The brand pillar strategy: How Origin uses three core pillars (venture, balance, connect) to maintain consistency while allowing each property to reflect its local city's unique culture
• The last-minute booking crisis: Why hotels are seeing booking windows shrink to just two weeks (even for corporate travel) and the forecasting nightmares this creates
• Authentic staff empowerment over corporate scripts: Moving beyond requiring "Mr. and Mrs." a certain number of times or the "open palm" technique
• Cost-effective influencer marketing: Strategic partnerships with local personalities like SEC Player of the Year Madison Booker
• Instagram-worthy design philosophy: Creating "Instagrammable moments" from funky art installations (hook'em hands with bat wings) to locally-themed photo opportunities
• Strategic partnership building: How partnerships with Austin Film Studios and Mueller business mixers establish hotels as neighborhood pillars
• The art of saying no: Why Origin turns down markets that don't align with their authentic local culture mission

🌐 Guest Links

• Baylee Colson, Director of Sales, Origin Hotel Austin
• Origin Hotels Website: originhotel.com
• Origin Austin Instagram: @origin_austin
• Origin Hotel Locations: Austin, Baton Rouge, Lexington, Red Rocks, Kansas City

🎧 Jamie's Links

• Website: http://duvalstreetmedia.com
• Instagram: @duvalstreetmedia
• Podcast Info & Guest Submissions: duvalstreetmedia.com

📌 Mentioned in the Show Notes

• Austin Film Studios – Origin's preferred hotel partner located a mile down the road
• Mueller Business District – Austin location and community mixer venue
• Madison Booker – UT Women's Basketball SEC Player of the Year partnership
• Willie Nelson signed cowboy hat display in Austin lobby
• Company-wide conference with 50 attendees fostering brand consistency
• Monthly directors of sales meetings across all properties
• South by Southwest (SXSW) – Austin's famous festival
• "Come as guests, leave as friends" hospitality philosophy
• Origin's rapid expansion: 3 new properties opened in the last year