From as early as he can remember, Daniel Hostettler wanted to be a chef. However, his father cautioned him at a young age about the long work days, nights and holidays. Today, the president and managing director of the Ocean House in Westerly, Rhode Island, jokes about the fact that the hours are not any better in the front of the house than they are in the kitchen.
“This is a 24/7/365 job,” says Hostettler, who oversees the Ocean House’s sister properties Weekapaug Inn and Watch Hill Inn, also in Rhode Island. “It’s a lifestyle decision for your entire family, especially at higher levels at luxury properties. You have to put in a lot of time and it has to be something that you love.”
This outlook has inspired Hostettler’s deep commitment to growing the Ocean House brand in a passionate, yet careful, fashion. “My initial inclination is to constantly grow the brand, but all of us here have determined that slow growth is better,” he says. “It’s important to learn patience, and we are not going to add properties unless we are ready for that growth. We own the properties, so we’re not just a management company. As an owner, we don’t just want to aggressively grow the brand and lose focus at the property level.”
Hostettler’s philosophy has developed over more than 20 years in the industry while holding a variety of management positions at luxury hotels worldwide, including The Peninsula Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, Meadowood Napa Valley in California, Summer Lodge Hotel and Spa in the U.K., and Lajitas Gold Resort in Terlingua, Texas. Since joining the pre-opening and development team at Ocean House in 2009, he has tirelessly encouraged his staff to connect with visitors with the goal of turning them into lifelong guests.
“The best hotels in the world are the ones who read their guests and really go out of their way to get more than just a stay and make it an experience,” he says. Communicating with guests prior to arrival is especially important for understanding and ultimately exceeding expectations. “Luxury isn’t necessarily brick and mortar. Everyone has their own definitions of luxury, and guests will determine what luxury is to them.”
Moving to Rhode Island to join Ocean House was a relatively easy decision for Hostettler, who says working in New England was on his professional bucket list. “New England had a long history of hospitality and wonderful hotels,” he says. “It’s a bit more formal than the West Coast where I grew up and worked for so long. The small coastal community is very Norman Rockwell-esque. It’s a wonderful place to have a family and raise children.”
Hostettler says his biggest obstacle is recruiting the right team members. “Finding those good people that want to dedicate themselves to a lifestyle and not just a job has been a challenge in every property I have managed, and it is no different here,” he explains. “At this level of luxury, you have to be unrelenting. I sometimes say that I am demanding of perfection and settle for excellence. You have to raise the bar so that people aren’t just checking the box and saying they have done their jobs.”
Hostettler is overseeing the final renovations and upcoming opening of the Spicer Mansion in Mystic, Connecticut, scheduled to open in May. The boutique property pays tribute to Victorian-era architecture and will include eight guestrooms designed to resemble a sprawling estate, a fine dining restaurant and exclusive bar featuring a premium cigar lounge and rare rye whiskeys.
Ocean House Management is also adding office space off property to support growing reservations and sales teams, but Hostettler is determined to stay put. “That’s the last place I would move into,” he says. “Regardless of how large we grow as a company, I can’t imagine not having my offices in the hotel and not seeing my guests and my associates every day.”