Thursday, June 14, 2018
Credits: Pia Riverola
“There’s something so awesome about where elegance meets rock and roll.”
— Liz Lambert
Liz Lambert (@thelizlambert) first purchased a seedy motel on South Congress Avenue 23 years ago, and transformed it into Hotel San José, which has become known today as the quintessential “Austin” hotel. The success of Hotel San José, which sparked a revitalization in the city’s now thriving South Congress district, led her to launch Bunkhouse Group, a hospitality company founded on the pillars of design, music, and community-driven experiences.
In the course of chronicling her experiences with the residents of Hotel San José on video camera, she ended up making the Last Days of the San José, a documentary that casts a fascinating light on human relationships in gentrification and urban renewal. You can check out the trailer here, click here to be notified when streaming becomes available, or get a copy of the DVD here.
Enjoy!
Want to hear another episode with someone who takes design seriously? — Listen to my interview with Debbie Millman in which we discuss catalyzing low points, a ten-year plan for a remarkable life, and much more. (Stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is brought to you by Soothe.com, the world’s largest on-demand massage service. Because I’ve been broken so many times, I have body work done at least twice a week, and I have a high bar for this stuff. I do not accept mediocrity, and I wouldn’t expect you to, either.
After much personal testing, I can affirm that Soothe delivers a hand-selected, licensed, and experienced massage therapist to you in the comfort of your own home, hotel, or office in as little as an hour. I was amazed at the quality of service and convenience. Think of it as Uber for massages, available in fifty cities worldwide. Download the app at Soothe.com and use code TIM25 to get $25 off your first massage.
This podcast is also brought to you by Peloton, which has become a staple of my daily routine. I picked up this bike after seeing the success of my friend Kevin Rose, and I’ve been enjoying it more than I ever imagined. Peloton is an indoor cycling bike that brings live studio classes right to your home. No worrying about fitting classes into your busy schedule or making it to a studio with a crazy commute.
New classes are added every day, and this includes options led by elite NYC instructors in your own living room. You can even live stream studio classes taught by the world’s best instructors, or find your favorite class on demand.
Peloton is offering listeners to this show a special offer. Visit onepeloton.com and enter the code TIM at checkout to receive $100 off accessories with your Peloton bike purchase. This is a great way to get in your workouts, or an incredible gift. Again, that’s onepeloton.com and enter the code TIM.
QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
- Connect with Liz Lambert:
Bunkhouse Group | Twitter | Instagram
- Trailer for the Last Days of The San José
- Hotel San José
- South Congress, Visit Austin, TX
- American Film Institute
- Texas Christian University
- Stanford University
- The University of Texas at Austin
- Texas Monthly
- Manhattan District Attorney’s Office
- 7 Things to Know about Mid-Century Design Pioneer Florence Knoll by Aileen Kwun, Artsy
- The Visitor by Carolyn Forché
- A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein, Max Jacobson, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King, and Shlomo Angel
- Lake Flato
- The Continental Club
- Jo’s Coffee
- The Timeless Way of Building by Christopher Alexander
- Tuscan Village
- El Cosmico
- Lone Star Bohemia: The Renaissance of Marfa, the West Texas Playground of the Arts by Sean Wilsey and Daphne Beal, Vanity Fair
- Thunderbird Marfa
- Behind the Design: Liz Lambert, Bunkhouse Hotels by Natalie Marchbanks Dolling, Block Print Social
- Bunkhouse Group Playlists on Spotify
- Hotel Saint Cecilia
- Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa
- The Rolling Stones Recall the Decadent Splendour of Exile On Main St. by Paul Sexton, uDiscoverMusic.com
- Bob Dylan Taking Tea
- Saint Cecilia, Franciscan Media
- Pinus Taeda (Loblolly Pine), Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- SXSW Conference & Festivals
- Joie de Vivre
- The Phoenix Hotel
- Chip Conley: Should I Take My Burning Man Pics off Facebook? by Paul Sloan, CBS News Moneywatch
- PEAK: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow Revised and Updated by Chip Conley
- Emotional Equations: Simple Steps for Creating Happiness + Success in Business + Life by Chip Conley
- How to Become an Effective CEO: Chief Emotions Officer by Chip Conley, Tim.blog
- Measuring What Makes Life Worthwhile by Chip Conley, TED 2010
- Hotel San Cristóbal Baja
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs by Saul McLeod, Simply Psychology
- Maslowtopia, Burners.me
- McGuire Moorman Hospitality
- Biography of the Dollar: How the Mighty Buck Conquered the World and Why It’s Under Siege by Craig Karmin
- The Dream of a Common Language: Poems 1974-1977 by Adrienne Rich
- Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
- Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
- When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
- The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats
- YMCA Texas Youth and Government
SHOW NOTES
- Some background on the documentary that chronicles Liz Lambert’s transformation of a vintage motel from transient crash pad to boutique hotel: Last Days of The San José. [08:24]
- What prompted this transformation? [13:51]
- How the documentary came about. [15:39]
- After a particularly bad week, this documentary reminded me to be grateful for everything I have. [17:49]
- Why did Liz go to three schools as an undergrad to pursue humanities? [21:34]
- What does it mean to be “a Texan, through and through,” and why do Texans tend to specify a region when discussing the state? [23:36]
- How did Liz make the decision to study law after focusing on poetry? [25:05]
- Does Liz regret the time she spent as a lawyer? [26:33]
- How did Liz go from practicing law to owning a seedy motel to scratching her itch to design? [27:42]
- As a lawyer with liberal politics, what made Liz choose to be a prosecutor rather than a defender? [30:39]
- On moving back to Texas after becoming the first openly gay person hired at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. [33:48]
- The death of a friend and a re-evaluation of priorities. [34:58]
- How did Liz find her footing and approach to doing what she now does? [36:28]
- Persuading investors to throw money at an expensive hotel overhaul is a skill set well-suited to a lawyer, but having an experienced business partner, taking a few math classes, and spending long hours behind the front desk can help. [40:55]
- Is there anything about The San José renovation Liz would do differently now as a more experienced hotelier? [47:41]
- On restoring the hotel’s traditional role as a hub that serves the community. [50:03]
- Taking inspiration from architect and design theorist Christopher Alexander. [52:53]
- What is “the quality without a name?” [54:05]
- At 1171 pages, A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction is simultaneously intimidating and fascinating — but highly recommended. [55:26]
- What’s so special about El Cosmico in Marfa? [56:58]
- What makes each Bunkhouse property a unique experience? [1:02:54]
- What is Hotel Saint Cecilia’s story? [1:04:25]
- “Let people be the color in the room.” [1:07:05]
- The “Mexico meets Japan” style of The San José explained, the chaos of a soft open during SXSW, and first impressions. [1:09:22]
- Who is Chip Conley, what has Liz learned from him, and where did Liz and I unknowingly cross paths thanks to him? [1:16:42]
- How Chip ties into Bunkhouse’s recent international expansion. [1:22:04]
- The importance of operational rigor to the success of a business. [1:22:38]
- How does Liz balance the desire to be an artist with the desire to be a business tycoon? [1:24:22]
- Does Liz have an idea of what she’d like her hotel empire to look like in the next few years? [1:27:36]
- What famous hotel wrecker Keith Moon and Liz might have agreed upon regarding the homogenization of chain hotels. [1:30:14]
- Liz’s vision for the future isn’t just about what’s good for her. [1:32:37]
- On work-life balance, a growing family, and the realization of mortality. [1:34:25]
- Books gifted and reread most often. [1:37:07]
- A time when Liz learned more from something going wrong than she would have had it gone right. [1:43:00]
- What would Liz’s billboard say? [1:48:29]
- Parting thoughts. [1:50:42]
PEOPLE MENTIONED
Posted on: June 14, 2018.
Please check out Tribe of Mentors, my newest book, which shares short, tactical life advice from 100+ world-class performers. Many of the world's most famous entrepreneurs, athletes, investors, poker players, and artists are part of the book. The tips and strategies in Tribe of Mentors have already changed my life, and I hope the same for you. Click here for a sample chapter and full details. Roughly 90% of the guests have never appeared on my podcast.
Who was interviewed? Here's a very partial list: tech icons (founders of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Craigslist, Pinterest, Spotify, Salesforce, Dropbox, and more), Jimmy Fallon, Arianna Huffington, Brandon Stanton (Humans of New York), Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Ben Stiller, Maurice Ashley (first African-American Grandmaster of chess), Brené Brown (researcher and bestselling author), Rick Rubin (legendary music producer), Temple Grandin (animal behavior expert and autism activist), Franklin Leonard (The Black List), Dara Torres (12-time Olympic medalist in swimming), David Lynch (director), Kelly Slater (surfing legend), Bozoma Saint John (Beats/Apple/Uber), Lewis Cantley (famed cancer researcher), Maria Sharapova, Chris Anderson (curator of TED), Terry Crews, Greg Norman (golf icon), Vitalik Buterin (creator of Ethereum), and nearly 100 more. Check it all out by clicking here.