Staypineapple Hotels Stories | Staypineapple Hotels Inc.

A Person Lying In Bed With A Couple Of White Animals

Our Founder's Story

Staypineapple History

from Michelle Barnet

I always believe there is a better way, a better experience, a better product, and a responsibility to find or create it. That is how Staypineapple was born. I spent my college years studying the art and science of hospitality, then moved around the country in many different capacities with a myriad of companies. This was a time of learning, growing, and compiling a multitude of experiences that create the synergy of success of the intricate frontline chaotic consumer oriented business that is hospitality.

I learned that to practice hospitality with excellence, it meant understanding the fundamentals of human beings and how to anticipate their needs and desires before they did. That was the secret. A successful hotel stay culminates with the guest taking away a personalized wholly positive experience that they can tuck away as a great memory, hopefully to be repeated often as we love our return guests. Memory making is the elemental currency of success in hospitality. This process of idyllic memory creation for each guest is the essence of the Staypineapple brand.

2010 marked the birth of the Pineapple Hospitality journey. It was the genesis of the actual manifestation of the above ideals. Could we build a team that could master this powerful memory making tool consistently for each and every guest? Could we then craft physical surroundings that reflected our core mission and values? The answer over the following months, to years, to now and onward is a resounding YES! Not only did we rise to the task, but our track record on all levels exceeded not only our own, but more importantly, our guests’ expectations. We did it, and we are committed to doing it even better every day.

I always believe there is a better way, a better experience, a better product, and a responsibility to find or create it.

Michelle Barnet

We grew slowly and steadily from 2010 onward, adding hotels as the personal capital and the markets allowed. The financial methodology was always to remain lowly leveraged, waiting for the right deal in the right densely populated metro location, and only add properties that enhanced the brand and the portfolio. When entering into transactions with sellers, financial institutions, or strategic partners, we always honored our agreements and our values. We only transact with integrity, as we view our reputation as the core of our brand.

Property design evolved through the years as well as each property writes its own story and requires its own purposeful design to support our brand pillars. We like to describe the hotels as theaters, meticulously and lovingly crafted to showcase the brand and facilitate the powerful guest memory making to which we are committed.

When asked how do you know you’ve succeeded? I answer this way; when I’m out and about and someone asks me for my email address, whether a new friend, a business associate, or a random clerk in a store, and the person lights up when they see “Staypineapple” and launches into a story about themselves or a friend who has stayed with us somewhere sometime, that is success. The stories are so fabulous, and each unique, but the most important product is the light and smile on their face as they explain their familiarity with the brand. I always tear up with pride for my outstanding Staypineapple Village, their daily efforts are truly astounding!

A true sign of our lasting brand power in the marketplace is how we stuck our landing through the last two years of a world crazed by a global pandemic. The Staypineapple team dug in and worked tirelessly toward success and recovery from the beginning, and they did it. Here we are today stronger and better than ever and excited to move into the world of sharing this extraordinary multi faceted disruptive brand with the broader hospitality business community.

The future is so very bright for us. After all, Pineapples need much sunlight to grow. We are committed to the constant care and feeding of our hotels, our team members, our strategic partners, and always our precious guests.

So onward we Growpineapple!

The Naked Experience

The Naked Experience™ Inspiration

In 2014 - during Staypineapple’s early entrepreneurial phase - Michelle was touring Europe on family holiday. While in Switzerland, she encountered a unique experience with individual duvets for each person on one bed. It was an amazing night's sleep. She and her husband, Steve, did not have to fight over the covers. She had a light bulb moment and realized that Staypineapple’s already exceptional beds could use individual duvets to create a cloud-like experience for guests, giving them the best night's sleep they’ve ever had. She emailed the leadership team from Europe to tell them about her experience, and she wanted to implement individual duvets upon her return. The team didn’t think she was serious as that would require a total replacement of all the linens, which would be a nearly Million Dollar investment. When she returned, Michelle immediately asked how the progress toward her goal was going, as she knew it was a sound business decision and a brand differentiator. Now the leadership team knew she was serious and immediately began ordering linen and terry samples.

She had a light bulb moment and realized that Staypineapple’s already exceptional beds could use individual duvets to create a cloud-like experience

Michelle and the team sampled over 20 options, and even changed personal bedding at home, washing it over and over to find the perfect balance of comfort, cloud-like feel, fluffy appearance, and value. If Staypineapple was to have individual duvets folded on the bed, the bottom sheet would become essential to the presentation, and the corners needed to be smooth and crisp. It was decided that a standard-size hotel flat sheet would not work, and custom flat sheets were developed so that housekeepers could fold the perfect corner. A year later, the new linen package was complete. Now, what would it be called? Considering the large investment to make this change, the name had to be right. The team came up with hundreds of ideas batted around in hours of discussions. Some of the more crazy ones were The Pineapple Plush Program and The Naked Experience. What? The Naked Experience? Isn’t that too edgy? Would people be offended? No, it aligned with the authentic, quirky brand Michelle was creating. And so, The Naked Experience was born.

The Naked Experience evolved beyond just the individual duvet experience, and became the baseline for Staypineapple’s in-room wellness positioning; to make sure that everything in the room that touches the skin is luxurious, clean, and inviting, driving the urge to Get Naked.

The Naked Experience

Linen & Terry Double-Blind Test

After the launch of The Naked Experience™, guests were raving about the best night sleep they ever had! Confirming Michelle’s belief, Staypineapple had something truly exceptional and different that would solidify the brand in the minds of guests. Soon there would be an army of evangelists wanting a Staypineapple in every desirable travel destination.

It was confirmed that The Naked Experience not only had the unique nature of individual duvets, but samples of the linens were identified as one of the luxury options every time.

Now that the art of an exceptional sleep experience was created, next was the need to confirm the science that Staypineapple had the best bedding package. Linen and Terry samples were ordered from the retail sites of various luxury to mid-scale hotels such as The Peninsula Hotels, Four Seasons, Kimpton, Holiday Inn, and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. Tags were removed, and a double blind test ensued. It was confirmed that The Naked Experience not only had the unique nature of individual duvets, but samples of the linens were identified as one of the luxury options every time. This solidified The Naked Experience as one of Staypineapple’s biggest differentiators.

A Person Lying In A Bed With A Baby In The Lap

Hospitality Redefined

We know to say YES!

We know to say YES! is the commitment of Staypineapple to provide a consistently positive culture of guest service. It means that each Team Member knows their job so well that a guest should never receive a no to any request.

Staypineapple’s service training empowers each Team Member to provide options and solutions. Educating on the workplace procedures, ensuring every Team Member knows what’s happening around them, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the team all feed into knowing to say YES!

If a guest asks for a helicopter ride over Portland, how impressive would it be if the Staypineapple Everything Person said to the guest: “Absolutely! What time would you like to leave and how many people? Where may I reach you once I have more information for you?”

We know to say YES! gives Team Members a united sense of empowerment and support that says that Everything People are there to help the guests with Everything.

As service professionals, Team Members know to say yes, because all it will take is to research helicopter companies in the region, get the facts, and present the options to the guest.

We know to say YES! gives Team Members a united sense of empowerment and support that says that Everything People are there to help the guests with Everything.

A Person And A Child Holding A Plate Of Cupcakes

Surprise & Delight

Dash, The Pineapple Pup

Dash is one of the supporting acts of Staypineapple’s brand pillar: Hospitality Redefined. From day one, Michelle’s belief has always been that hospitality should be an experience. The goal of Staypinepple is to redefine hospitality and the guests' expectations of a hotel stay. It should be effortless, and it should be welcoming. It should reassure them that they made a smart booking decision, and it should make them smile when they think about their stay and create a desire to return.

Much like The Naked Experience, Michelle returned from traveling with the idea of having a stuffed animal on the bed to welcome every arriving guest. Once again, it was questioned why. She explained that when traveling, there are long lines to get through TSA, hours of sitting in the airplane’s uncomfortably small seats, limited food options that all taste horrible, the stressful anxiety that the airline will “misplace” luggage, all culminating with a cab driver that has to circle the block three times before getting to the hotel. Upon arrival, guests are usually exhausted, frustrated, annoyed, and angry. But after all of that, if there is a cute little dog waiting in the room, the stress of the day melts away and the guest cannot help but smile.

Upon arrival, guests are usually exhausted, frustrated, annoyed, and angry. But after all of that, if there is a cute little dog waiting in the room, the stress of the day melts away and the guest cannot help but smile.

And so a cute little stuffed Husky was created, designed after one of Michelle’s dogs named Kiska. The stuffed Husky started off with the name Fluffy because, well, it was fluffy and names are hard. Then one day, Michelle arrived at the Staypineapple HQ with Kiska and a new dog, a very handsome fellow she called Dash. After seeing Dash’s happy excitement as he raced around the office, it was assumed that’s how he got his name. But Michelle then shared a poem she had recently read entitled The Dash by Linda Ellis. It tells the story of the dash, the line on a tombstone that separates the date of birth from the date of passing, and how important it is to live your dash.

And so, the mascot who welcomes each and every guest into the world of Staypineapple, finally had his moniker. To this day, Dash is the personification of life’s journey with the lesson to “live your dash.” And to add to the goodness of Dash, he is available for purchase with a portion of the proceeds being donated to non-profit animal rescue organizations.

Hospitality Redefined

Whimsical Elegance

Staypineapple’s brand aesthetic was born out of a belief that travelers want to experience something uniquely different. A hotel should not be a gray or beige box, absent of any personality. Hospitality is not an industry that should worry about offending anyone’s design sensibility, but instead an industry striving to surprise and delight visitors. Design, whether it is interiors or graphics, should evoke a smile and sense of interest.

Staypineapple’s mission is to invest in the most important aspects of the guest experience, and provide luxury where it counts.

A hotel should not be a gray or beige box, absent of any personality.

Whimsical Elegance is flexible, yet connected in a fluid balance. Each Staypineapple hotel must have its own unique persona, with the only true requirements being that it must be a property with under 200 rooms, and must be located within a coveted city center location. As long as these baselines to the brand are met, the Whimsey and the Elegance of the design and decor can be developed in balance with one another to appropriately fit in the building and neighborhood.

This balance is portrayed at Hotel Z, where the Whimsey’s prominence is showcased with an exterior design of giant scissors slicing through yellow and teal sun rays, contrasting the facade harmoniously against the energy of the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego. However at An Elegant Hotel, the Whimsey takes a secondary role and the Elegance takes precedence in San Francisco's bustling Union Square, boasting carrera marble floors and golden accents. But to ensure the Elegance doesn’t overpower, sunshine yellow dressers in the guest rooms whimsically cry “don’t take us too seriously!”

At the end of the day, Whimsical Elegance is meant to be fun and playful, with just the right amount of thoughtful intent. It is the art of dancing the line between quirk and grandeur, sass and grace.

Welcome to Whimsical Elegance. Welcome to Staypineapple.

Surprise & Delight

The Story of the Cookie

One of the five pillars that shape the Staypineapple brand is Eat. Drink. Staypineapple, which is a foundational concept behind Afternoon Delights. Staypineapple takes pride in offering guests surprise and delight moments, including offering a complimentary mid-day treat.

For years Staypineapple offered complimentary cupcakes and coffee every afternoon in the lobby. Not only was this a yummy treat and unexpected pick-me-up, but an opportunity for hotel guests to gather, meet new people and learn about the city. The intent aligned with the brand’s friend-style service standard, which was created to mimic the feeling of hosting friends at home for afternoon coffee.

This program was and remains insanely popular. Each property sourced cupcakes from the best local bakeries in the city, and people absolutely loved them. But in September of 2019, Michelle saw the popularity of the cupcake craze and felt that cupcakes were no longer unique and quite honestly overplayed. She was concerned that Staypineapple was not "surprising or delighting" its guests by offering cupcakes as a baked good. She challenged the operations team to find something so delicious that it would be memorable, fun, whimsical, and convey the Staypineapple personality at first glance. Sounds easy, but not so much.

Staypineapple takes pride in offering guests surprise and delight moments, including offering a complimentary mid-day treat.

What followed was sourcing taste tests from every national vendor’s most delicious sweet treat. Though the research and development were fun and tasty, finding anything as unique as the Staypineapple brand was a challenge. It was time to get back to the basics of Michelle's original concept. The question “What would one do if the goal was to ‘invite friends over for coffee?’" was once again brought to center stage. After a visit to the Seattle neighborhood of Georgetown, an independent bakery known for its originality, the simple question of "what's good today?" resulted in a Shortbread Cookie that eventually was developed into a pineapple shape using a custom, hand-made mold and design. The cookie was DELICIOUS and sooo on brand!

But how could a mom-and-pop bakery that only delivered locally be the answer? Of course, Michelle did not blink. She felt that one look at this cookie and guests would immediately feel happy and insisted that the team find a way to make this a signature item.

Everyone at Staypineapple HQ agreed with Michelle that this cookie was worth the expense and began looking into options to literally ship individual cases to each hotel across the country. Of course, there was concern about costs, but this item spoke so directly to the identity of the Staypineapple brand that it was worth it.

But what would be said about the disappearance of the cupcakes? Easy, blame it on Dash - "he ate all the cupcakes.” Luckily the cookies were so well received that guests never thought twice about the cupcakes again. The signature pineapple-shaped shortbread cookies are now well known and have become a recognizable part of Staypineapple’s identity, with over 500,000 of the cookies consumed annually. And yes, the cookies are still individually shipped by the caseload to ensure consistency and quality across the portfolio.

A Man And Woman Sitting On A Couch Eating

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