Boutique Hotel Brand Wayfinder to Ride Experiential Hospitality Wave in Waikiki
Photo Caption: One of the guest rooms at the new Wayfinder Waikiki hotel. Source: Surf Please.
Skift Take
The up-and-coming boutique hotel brand Wayfinder is expanding its portfolio with a new Waikiki location. They’ll face steeper competition in Hawaii compared to its first property in Newport, Rhode Island, not to mention it will be the brand’s biggest hotel yet.
When Phil Hospod started his hospitality firm, Dovetail + Co, back in 2018, he was coming off some pretty big wins as part of the Sydell Group, helping launch the Freehand New York and The Line DC. Still, he knew he wanted to go out on his own.
“It was more of a matter of when than if I started my own company,” said Hospod. “I wanted to do something personal and something for the long term, and I really see this as my forever business.”
Dovetail + Co’s latest property, Wayfinder Waikiki, will officially open at the end of May — just in time for the U.S. Memorial Day holiday. It’s a bigger gamble for the brand, considering it’s a larger property — with 228 rooms — and in a larger leisure market.
The brand's first location launched in Newport, Rhode Island, in 2020 with 197 rooms and a fresher, more playful take on traditional hotels in the area — which tend to feel stuffy, inspired by the town’s Gilded Age roots. Unfortuna
