Hello everyone and welcome back to the Hostel Road Trip Podcast.
The podcast that literally takes its show on the road.
Listen in as James Black and Bobby Dyer, owners of International Travelers House Hostels,
travel around the country to learn about these great locations and incredible people
that come together to provide a unique and exciting experience for travelers from all over the world.
Welcome back to the Hostel Road Trip Podcast.
We are here in a special edition at the American Hostel Conference
with the first ever hostel in Milwaukee, soon to be open, called the Cream City Hostel.
Very happy to be here. Karen Wende. Yes?
Hi.
Hello.
Thank you.
Hello.
Bob Dyer from ITH Hostels.
Thanks for coming ladies.
And I'm going to give a shout out to Mark Needham, our audio man, behind the scenes.
Hi guys.
Oh, a rare presence.
So, we are excited to be here with you gals because you were here at the first American Hostel Conference.
I was.
And as we were talking about in the previous episode with Vicki, the founder,
it is very inspiring to see aspiring hostel owners come to this conference
and continue to plug away at the challenges of opening up.
And we've seen people come back from the first year that have actually opened up.
So, first we want to talk a bit about the struggles you've had
so that you can empower some other people that have gone through them
and encourage them not to give up.
So, what were some of the bigger challenges in opening up the first ever hostel in Milwaukee?
So, like many hostels, it's zoning and permits.
When you don't follow a model that is not a traditional hotel
and you're not a rooming house and you're not a bed and breakfast,
they don't know what box to put you in.
And so, it's being persistent and working with city planners, not giving up, being patient,
which is difficult when you just want to open.
It's frustrating.
Your livelihood is on the floor.
You have to spend a lot of money to get there.
And finding the right team.
Finding your architect and your developer and your designer
and if you have a general contractor doing construction work,
and making sure that they get it.
And if they don't, knowing to let them go and find someone else.
So, that's been some of the biggest challenges.
And I've been at it for six years.
That's one of the cool stories about you is that it has been such a long struggle.
I remember you talking about it last year.
So happy to see you here this year.
And now you are at the end of this struggle.
The light is at the end of the tunnel.
You have an opening date projected for June 2019.
And we are just so happy for you that this is going about.
We're going to talk more about your actual building that you found.
Was this the first building or how many buildings did you go through?
I physically walked through five.
The first one that we were pursuing the hostel to be in,
in the Walkers Point neighborhood in Milwaukee,
we were turned down by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
We were doing a bread and breakfast with some variants.
And we were told we needed to go after a hotel.
So we had about 55 letters of support and two letters of opposition.
And that's all it takes.
It takes those two letters.
Like a humjury.
So that building didn't happen, which I'm glad it didn't.
Because the new building is a much better fit.
So I guess like someone might say, even though it's long the journey,
when it does happen, it will be for the better of it.
Sometimes not having something happen is good.
Because then that other door might have not opened.
So important for listeners out there, the same predicament that you're in,
and the same one that we were in.
We went through a lot of buildings.
Five as well.
And there's still one in my brain that is still currently a rooming house.
Of course I'm thinking of the next building.
If you expand, yeah.
And that would be definitely one that I would love to be in.
And I've toured it, but it just wasn't the right timing.
The price wasn't right.
So this is like about the fifth building I've toured through
and probably about a good 20 I've looked at.
Nice, nice.
It's just like finding that perfect magic sauce, I think, is what we keep calling it.
Yeah, yeah.
And it takes time and you have to have patience and resilience.
But last year you were here by yourself.
Correct.
So Ms. Wendie.
Hi.
How did you find yourself in this project?
Why did you jump on board?
Just over a year ago, right before the conference, Carolyn approached me.
As the developer was getting on board, the building was for sale,
and I think she definitely recognized that it wasn't a solo effort.
Sure, yeah.
So you know, ownership.
Nice to have a partner.
Yeah, and so we had worked together on a couple different things organizing,
mainly the River West 24 bike race that we were chatting about before.
So we both know each other's organizing styles,
and I didn't have a project on my plate at the time.
And I know Wendie's always up for a project.
I am always up for a project.
So you had worked together prior.
That's great.
Yeah.
Wendie, what was your exposure to hostels?
Have you been in one before?
I had not been in one before.
I mean, I definitely was aware of them and okay with it.
You know what I mean?
More than okay with it and was supportive of Carolyn's journey those six years previous.
You know, we were all rooting for it to happen in the city.
And I think the main thing that really grabbed me was the chance to host more
and to show off the city more.
And neighborhood more too.
Yeah, and the neighborhood.
I love my neighborhood.
Are you both Milwaukee natives?
We're both, I'm not a Milwaukee native, Wendie is.
Wendie is, okay.
I'm Chicagoland.
Chicago.
You've been in Milwaukee for a while.
I live in Midwest my entire life.
Yeah, okay.
And I've been hanging out in the neighborhood that the hostel's in since I was 15.
Oh, okay.
So you know.
But I grew up in the suburbs.
So I always say that I grew up in the suburbs because my friends that were from the city
would let you say that.
No, they wouldn't let me say I'm from the suburbs.
I like it.
And I've been there about 15 years, and that neighborhood specifically.
Now, Carolyn, what made you kind of the mastermind and the pioneer of the project, what made
you draw into hostels?
Bicycle rickshading, actually.
So when I graduated from college, which was the height of recession, I couldn't find a
job because what do you do when you have a master in library science degree and you graduate
from college in the height of the recession?
It's tough.
It's kind of tough.
And so I took on, I was really into the world of cycling, and so I started bicycle rickshading
and pedicabs through Milwaukee for four months, and that's how I earned my entire income for
four months, was peddling people around downtown Milwaukee.
And so I got to know the conference schedule because I would go after the conferences,
and a lot of people kept asking me for a hostel.
And I've stayed at several hostels before.
That's how I preferred to travel since I was 19.
And I was like, huh, we don't have one.
There you go.
I like projects.
Apparently, I like difficult projects.
And so I started getting that idea in my head, and I started, you know, I was frustrated
with the job market.
I get bored really easily.
Anybody who knows me, I usually have something up my sleeve that I want to do.
And I was like, I'll start a hostel.
That would be great.
I'll start a hostel and a bike shop at the same time.
That sounds good.
And then I got talked down and said you can only start one business at a time.
So I started a bike shop in the meanwhile.
So that bicycle, pedicabbing, tourists around is a really good way of getting your market
research.
That's very true.
Because you get to talk to them for like 20 minutes.
Did you have any hostels that you stayed at previously that really inspired you, that
made you fall in love?
I stayed at Green Tortoise in San Fran.
That was my first one.
It's a pretty classic.
That's a good one.
That's the first one that introduced me to Two Buck Chuck.
That's before we had Trader Joe's in Wisconsin.
So I was there for almost a week.
I actually took the train out there and trained back.
And then it was during Burning Man time, so I ran into a bunch of Burning Man people who
told me all about hostels.
I've heard they have a great afterburn party at Green Tortoise.
I actually stayed at Seattle one this year.
So it was a nice complimentary back to back.
And then I've stayed in New York.
I can't remember which one.
I think they closed.
And I think I've stayed at about five or six.
I mostly have stayed in US ones, but I've also stayed in New York when I was traveling
there.
And so most of my hostel experience is actually the opposite of most people.
I've actually stayed mostly in American hostels.
That is unique.
Versus European or international hostels.
And every one I've stayed at, I love solo traveling.
And it's really hard as a solo traveler, especially female traveler, to feel comfortable going
into a place and having a place to stay.
And I didn't have a lot of money as a college student, so it allowed me to be able to do
these epic spring breaks.
Yeah, spread that dollar.
Now, so the search has gone on for six years, but now we've finally found the building.
And we've got the name Cream City.
Let's start there.
What is the origin of the name Cream City Hostel?
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Do you want to describe it for us?
So Cream City Brick was a ubiquitous building material in Milwaukee when Milwaukee was first
being built.
And specifically in our neighborhood you'll have what we call Polish flats.
They were single family homes that mainly the Polish immigrants would make.
And then when the mother-in-law would come or their brother's family would come, they
would hike up the house and build like a half-floor over the basement.
They have a little apartment downstairs and they're all Cream City Brick.
So the clay material around the Milwaukee River specifically creates this white color
cream brick.
It's a white brick.
And it's specifically to that region of the Milwaukee River.
And they eventually ran out of building material.
So all of downtown Milwaukee is also filled with Cream City Brick.
And a lot of it you don't see cream anymore because they had coal fired power.
And so a lot of it is black smug.
But if you clean it up it's actually all cream actually.
And so it's a really unique brick to Milwaukee because it's very specific to the soil in
our area.
Does the hostel have, is it made out of the cream?
The entire building is made out of Cream City Brick on the outside.
The building was built in 1910 and it was a Holton State, Holton Street State Bank.
Which is a locally owned bank.
For 70 years.
And then it was closed for a while and then the Milwaukee Public School System opened
a head start.
The whole program in the 60s.
Yeah.
And then they put in a working elevator, gutted it, opened up the classrooms.
So most of the bank is gone.
Anything that was originally 1910s is...
Do you have a big safe in there?
Any more big vault?
They took it out.
Oh, that would have been fun.
It's a mechanical room now.
Okay, okay.
Now tell us a bit about the building.
What is the layout going to be?
How many rooms do you think you'll have?
Occupancy?
What's the flow going to be like?
So we have three floors.
We have a half basement.
Meaning that it's like half windows.
So it's still a lot of light coming in.
There's going to be a staff room down there.
The couchy hangout area.
And then a common kitchen.
And then table dining area.
And a local furniture maker, Chris Brooks.
Christopher Brooks.
He's making the table so they connect and disconnect.
And the chairs as well so that people can either make benches
and like community dinner together.
Or you can break it apart and create some different layouts.
So we're trying to be as module as we can to allow the guests
to move the space to how they need the space to work for them.
That's fascinating.
That's pretty cool.
Because it changes depending on who stays.
It's true.
You might have people who are like,
I want to hang out with everybody.
And you might have people going,
I just want to hang out with the four people over here.
Yeah, yeah.
And then the upstairs will be the reception area.
And then coast end bikes will have a small presence there
doing the bike rentals and the events.
And a small mechanic bench area for people who are bringing their
bikes and stuff via bike flights.
Yes.
And then we'll have four, three rooms on the floor.
Yeah, two eight beds.
One, six.
Yes, two eight bed dorms and one six bed dorm on the first floor.
The second floor will have our two private rooms,
a quieter workspace common area.
And then two 12 bed dorms and a four bed dorm.
Correct.
And the four bed we want to do,
have a little bit more family friendly.
Okay.
Particularly since it's on the second floor.
And what's cool about the six and four bed is there's the bigger
dormitory rooms and then there's the dormitory style bathroom.
And then it's the room.
So they should be a little bit more noise protected from the other rooms.
Bitch, yeah.
And then we have two privates as well.
So about 50?
52 beds.
52.
That's great size.
That's perfect.
That's great.
Now, before we jump into your interesting crowdfunding strategy,
what about a bit more on this outdoor area?
Our yard.
The yard.
It's twice or three times as big as the?
Probably four.
Four times?
Yeah.
Four times.
The footprint is at least three times of the building.
Which is so rare in an urban hostel,
which is usually one of the biggest problems you struggle with.
You don't have any outdoor space.
Yeah.
We have a ridiculous amount of outdoor space.
If we could move some of it in the building.
Yeah.
It's so important, so great to have a barbecue.
It really brings everyone together in good outdoor space.
So what's unique about this yard is that it's been fenced off for a good
over 15 years, and before that the school used it,
so the neighborhood has never been able to access this space.
And it's about half a city block.
It's pretty large.
And so we want to open it up to the neighborhood.
We want to create events where the hostel guests
and the neighborhood can mingle together.
Yeah.
So people can see what the hostel is.
It's not just this building where people are staying inside of it,
going in and out.
It's coming over and having maker markets,
or having a food truck out there that night.
So great for the word of mouth and the community.
People's friends visit.
Have a movie night where you watch ET and then,
and at the same time you have the neighborhood kids playing out
and the playground equipment is still there.
So you'll keep that there, nice.
Right now we don't have to take it out.
We'll see what the insurance keeps us.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The jungle gym with the people.
I don't know if you remember the playground equipment from the 80s, but...
I mean, we both know a bunch of event coordinators
and why can't I think of the band bookers?
A lot of the venues in the neighborhood.
We want to do acoustic shows and stuff.
And one of the things, I bartended at a bar
that does tons and tons of bands for almost nine years.
And we're always scrambling to find places for them to stay.
So we're really hoping to work out a good deal where,
let your band stay with us, we'll give them the four-bed dorm.
They play an acoustic show in the yard on Sunday after.
Right, a nice partnering system.
That's open to the community to come in and have a cool show.
That's so important with the community relations
because the hostile word has a bad stigma, as we all know and talk about.
So that's a great way to quickly overcome it
by bringing your community into your space for beneficial events
so that they look at your hostel as a great addition to the community
and not something that's going to bring any type of bad mojo or bad crowd to it.
So smart move there, for sure.
Now, with this building purchase, you purchased it, which is great.
A lot of hostels buy themselves.
The investors purchased it.
Well, the investors purchased it.
So how did you structure this?
Because that's always a big question for listeners out there
that are starting up or trying to get going.
And a triple net lease is very scary.
Purchasing a building is very scary.
And then there's a lot of creative ways that you can structure this, though,
that make it so it's safe for you and beneficial for investors.
How did you all do it?
So when I got the idea to start a hostel in Milwaukee,
I contacted our local visitors bureau, Visit Milwaukee,
and they connected me with this woman named Julie Kaufman.
And we had coffee together at a local coffee shop.
And she's like, she does business a little differently as a developer.
She does what's called a main street model,
which is where she purchases buildings and develops them
to businesses that approve a neighborhood for what the neighborhood needs
that would create more economic growth.
So rather than just popping another Hilton down, you know,
she sees having a hostel that is neighborhood focused
and ensuring more of a neighborhood.
And this, like, a neighborhood and develop the commerce.
Awesome.
Yeah, make the community stronger.
Correct.
It's a community-based development model.
That's so nice.
There's a lot of other words in her description that I'm not quite remembering right now.
Community-based is good.
And she usually tries to have, I mean, a lot of her other developments,
she has more than one business in it, but at least one anchor business,
and the development is built around.
Yeah.
So she doesn't just, like, rehab a building and then go looking for tenants.
Gotcha.
She works with them during it.
So we're working, like, we're making decisions hand in hand with the developer
of what toilets and what sinks and what showers and what do we want for flooring,
what do we want the walls to be painted, like, even through we're the tenant
and she's the developer and all of the funding.
So she is the funding.
So, yeah, so she's the funding.
We still get a lot of decisions as a tenant, which is interesting.
Yeah, a little bit of artistic freedom.
So she's the manager of Riverbee Development, which is the development group.
Half of the investment money came through equity investment,
which she, for all the projects that I know that she's worked on,
she continued this with us where the neighborhood and the community members
can invest in it, the minimum investment in the equity side was $1,000.
And then up to $10,000 and beyond that you had to prove you were a vested investor.
Those weren't any of our friends.
So we had 50 investors in the equity of the building.
About 15 to at least 15 or 20 of them are in our neighborhood.
So they're investing in their community.
Literally like three doors down as an investor.
And so it's through a community.
There's a, she started in Milwaukee called Fund Milwaukee.
And the way it works is it's crowdsourcing local investment dollars.
So my bike shop has also gone through them as well.
And so you pitch to them and you say, I want to raise a million dollars.
I want to do half equity, half debt.
Here's my perks that I will offer you.
This is what interest you will get.
This is your return on your investment.
And you'll get a free stay once a year or something if you want to offer a little perk.
And then they literally just hand you separate checks.
And what's great about her as a developer, she's taking all of that.
It's all going under her umbrella, Riverbee LLC.
Cream City Hostel is the tenant.
And then we're leasing the building and all of the initial startup for it,
including the furniture, the website, everything that we need to succeed.
And then we're bringing in a little bit on our own as well.
It's a model that goes, that helps build up entrepreneurs
that traditional lending sources aren't going to fund.
Thanks again for listening to the Hostel Road Trip podcast with us.
We want to take a second to talk about one of our sponsors that keeps the road trip alive.
That is the International Travelers House Hostels, located in San Diego at three locations,
Big Bear Lake, and Newport, Rhode Island.
International Travelers House provides a unique experience at each one of their locations
with great staff, great food, and tons of connections to the local community
so that you can have a great time vacationing, traveling through, or staying for a while.
If you want more information on ITH, check out ithhostels.com
to check out videos, pictures, blogs, and direct booking to our locations.
Thank you again for listening. We hope you enjoy the conclusion of this episode.
We're building that in.
So you've got a kind of a lease to own option within an investment structure.
Without a lease money going toward the owning.
Well that's really cool and I think that highlights that there are so many creative ways
that you can structure the funding for these projects.
It's very easy to get discouraged, they get thrown out of the bank,
where they see the number and the money they're going to need,
and they say screw it, I don't want to do it.
If you stay at it and you get creative, there are people out there that will invest privately
to make it happen for you. So that's really cool to see that you gals are able to do that.
I would love to, honestly I personally would love to see it develop within the hostel community
after experiencing what this could do now.
I would much rather invest my 401k money into people who are in my own industry.
That's cool.
You know, like I'd say hey, you're starting this great hostel, right Jimmy?
I got $2,000 in the bank right now, can I get like a 5% interest on that?
Yeah, yeah.
You know, and like that starts, we can build up our own industry off of that.
Industry off of ourselves.
Yeah, grassroots in a way.
Exactly.
It's like the Packers we were talking about.
And like the Packers.
Yeah, people own the Packers.
Wisconsin, something like that.
It's very Wisconsin-y.
Yeah, that's cool.
What do you think in Milwaukee your price range will be for a bunk?
I know you have high season, low season, different things, but just kind of ballparked.
How is that in your projections?
We're at $27 to $70.
Correct.
From the 12 bunk room to the private room.
Depending on the season.
Yeah, depending on the season.
And then I think we're additional people in the private room.
Correct.
$15 a person.
Because you can easily sleep three in our private rooms.
And we're looking at like, you know, for like people who are truly like bike tourists, for
example, who are truly camping, we do have a lot of outside space.
That's a good idea.
So there is potential possibility people could camp in the backyard for additional like $15,
which you know, we still have to figure out where they go.
But like we have a fair amount of yards.
We can make some nice camping pads for sure.
But it is our yard, I mean.
Yeah, you can generate some revenues.
Now, tell us more about for the listeners that could come and visit Milwaukee.
And now knowing that there will be a hostel there this summer.
And I remember, Carol, just talking with you about the summer in Milwaukee and how fun it is and all the events.
We live it up.
I remember you telling me that pretty much from like the spring or late spring through the fall, there's an event like every weekend.
Yeah, we don't stop.
No.
When the weather is there, you go.
It's going.
So what are some of the cool events in Milwaukee that a potential backpacker would want to stop in for?
I mean, Summerfest is probably the most well known one.
The biggest one?
Yeah, City of Festivals is what they, you know, the grounds that the Summerfest is on, the Henry Meyer Festival grounds.
Almost every weekend during the summer, there's some sort of ethnic festival.
It starts around June and keeps going.
Pride Fest kicks it off and then Indian Summer ends it.
And Panther Fest.
German Fest and.
The new UWM one.
So that's huge and that brings in tons of people every five years.
So we're a few years away from needing to prepare for Harley Fest anniversary.
Oh, Harley Fest.
Yeah, starting the 90th anniversary.
So like 20 years ago, they've ramped it up every five years.
There's a lot of conventions as well.
They're actually expanding our convention center to be even bigger.
And because it's not quite as big, we're smaller than Chicago, smaller than like a lot of the other major cities, but still a major city.
We're actually starting to attract a lot of big, like major conventions.
And there's a lot of, and that's actually a lot of fall into winter, actually, is because, and we're cheaper than the larger cities for conventions.
So we're starting to attract more of that.
You can make good bits and those big conventions.
How would you spend the perfect day, would you say, for a guest at your hostel?
Like as far as in summertime, if you said I got one day to be here, what would you tell them to do?
Maybe daytime and then into a nightlife? Maybe your favorite?
I mean, it depends on what they're into, but I will probably be sending a lot of people.
We're very, very lucky in our neighborhood to be really close to the river.
And there's a couple organizations that have worked tremendously hard the last 15, 20 years, and it's looked so much different.
What river is this?
The Milwaukee River.
The Milwaukee River, nice, all right.
So once you hit downtown, it's pretty concrete-barriered and like, you know, it's pretty, but it is what it is.
We've never river walked down there, no?
But our whole neighborhood has been, the native plants have come back, the track.
You can like be walking along the Milwaukee River, which is less than half a mile away from the hostel, and not even know you're in the city.
It's really beautiful.
And there's also the Urban Ecology Center right there, so you can rent snowshoes and skis and canoes.
And they're building a new arboretum. Cross-country skiing.
Cross-country skiing, not hills.
So the river is great.
Lakefront.
Lakefront Brewery?
Lakefront itself.
Lakefront itself, yeah. We have the lake. So getting to one of the bodies of water, I think, is key.
Now, but isn't this, you said brewery, isn't this like the original beer tent though?
Yeah.
And then there's a lakefront.
There's a ton of breweries within walking distance, actually.
Yeah, they feel like a new one pops up every week.
We have four breweries in the neighborhood already.
Craft beer breweries.
All craft beer.
And then there's also like, so going out for a night drink is really easy.
There's a Polish Falcon has one of the oldest bowling alleys in the world.
The oldest bowling alleys in the country?
The Falcon Bowl, yes.
Oh, the Falcon Bowl, yeah.
Yeah, yeah. Fourth oldest continuous bowling alley in the country, I believe, is one of those.
I should know why Bart's not there.
I was like, I'm looking at you here.
I mean, we run the gamut in Milwaukee for styles of bars, that's for sure. And in the neighborhood too.
And then there's like a lot of really good local shows, like a liniment.
There's a good music scene.
Yeah. Well, again, we're cheaper than Chicago, but we're close enough.
And so what we have is a lot of bands don't stay in Chicago, come to Milwaukee, and our covers are usually five bucks.
You know, again, really affordable beers are three to four, maybe five, you know, for a full 16 ounce pour.
You know, like, so you can go out pretty affordably. And that's Milwaukee.
Awesome.
And like liniments is probably my favorite venue for sound because he, John, John?
Lim.
Lim, yeah.
Tim.
He used to be the sound person for, he used to be sound for Flaming Whips.
Oh, wow.
And so they'll occasionally perform there still.
That's right. All right.
And so there's a lot of famous bands that have come out of River West actually, out of that neighborhood.
And there is just a really good like if you go out within stumbling blocks, you can find something to do.
That's awesome.
Sounds like a good time.
Now, if you were in Chicago, which is a pretty big backpacker scene.
Yeah.
So this would be a big draw for you.
We're definitely looking at.
How far away are we?
Two hour drive? Not even.
Yeah, not even a two hour drive.
Would you take public transport?
Yes.
What kind of?
Oh, it's in the train.
Oh, all right.
You can hop on the train.
You'll be downtown Milwaukee.
Which line is that?
Chieftain or what?
Hiwatha?
Hiwatha.
I can't pronounce that one.
Yeah, you take the Hiwatha line up from Chicago.
We, the new trolley system just opened up.
Streetcar.
Streetcar thing, not trolley.
The hop just opened.
So you can get on that right there.
It'd be one transfer to a bus line.
I think that's really great because when you are opening up your first, or the first hostel in the city,
one of the first things you think of, what's the next big hostel city they'd be coming from?
So you obviously have a big player in Chicago there, easy to get to and from.
Fantastic.
I can see that working well.
What if they weren't coming from Chicago and they were coming from the other direction?
What would be the closest city?
Madison has HI Madison.
Okay.
And that's been there for a long time.
So that's great.
So you could tune in with them and do some reciprocity and some cross-promoting.
Yeah, correct.
And then Minneapolis.
Detroit.
Detroit has all the nice hostels.
Yeah, Detroit has got a nice hostel scene going on now too.
Midwest is starting.
Yeah, we got a little Midwest trail going on.
Now what about, you know, in closing, some of your thoughts that you could share about the American Hostel Conference
and your experience if you came here last year, you've come back again this year.
How has it helped you in your progression of kind of closing this deal?
So last year when I came back, I think the phrase I said is I found my people.
Ah.
Like I've really struggled as a business owner in finding my identity of where I feel comfortable as a business owner.
And this is what, you know, I feel like you don't go into this business unless you love.
You really have to have the passion.
You have to really love it.
You'd be a little crazy, maybe.
Yeah, you work in a lot of hours.
You're a little crazy, right?
And when you look at the numbers, you're definitely not always in it for the money, right?
No, no.
But the numbers are there.
The numbers are there and they're growing.
And I think that the property ownership is really your nest egg.
So if you can have the comfort that you're maybe not making great money now,
but you're kind of your 401k or your security is that this property you own is getting appreciation and value
and paid down over the years in equity.
So you're creating yourself a nice investment there.
And I think it's definitely the networking and having access to the lovely email list
when you're running into code issues and you can email 40 hostel owners, operators, managers and say,
what do you do on communal kitchens?
This doesn't seem...
OK, tell me your story because then it might help our city planners find a box that they're comfortable in.
And just like being able to wrap it's like a one stop shop for networking.
You know, and it's really difficult when you're trying to open up something new
and you don't have anybody else to talk to your new city.
And yes, you can get that we can get down to Chicago, but they're extremely busy as well.
You know, it's like, OK, I have now all of these ideas of how to design it or like plugging ideas you've had.
I would like I want to do this thing in the hostel and people like that would know. I've tried that.
And that's a really great idea. You should maybe consider doing it from this angle.
And to be able to have that for two days and go back and like either affirm or change what you're going to do
or looking at a computer from a back end of the PMS system
and getting somebody's perspective who uses it every day versus just a demo from the company is really invaluable.
Yeah. And I've seen some of the email chains from you and other people that were aspiring hostel owners from last year.
And it really does inspire you even when you're not in the email chain just to see how open other hostel operators are with helping people.
It's amazing.
Giving the insight of the struggles they've gone through and helping out so for people listening out there, it's definitely a great value of the American Hostel Conference.
If you are looking to do this and you are looking to network with people and get a little bit of extra push, definitely well worth the time.
But it is going to be exciting to see you gals open up this operation. We cannot wait to come out and see it in person.
It will be exciting to do a full episode at that time, hopefully outside of your beautiful courtyard, sipping a cold beer of Milwaukee's finest.
Yes.
Killing out.
But thank you so much for taking the time to let us know and listeners know that Milwaukee is going to be on the map.
Wendy, Carolyn, I'm so happy that you found a partner too.
As a person that has a business partner, it really can get you through those tough nights.
Yep.
I've been through a lot with partners.
Yeah, so I think this is great. I can feel good energy between you and I think you're going to make a great hostel in Milwaukee.
Thank you.
Put it on the map.
Thank you.
We're looking forward to it. We're looking forward to it.