Hi all,
I hesitated between two topics this week.
The first one was about a project I decided not to do. A place I had in mind, quite clear, quite exciting on paper… and the moment where I chose to stop before it even started. Not because it wasn’t good, but because it wasn’t right. I’ll come back to that next week.
The second one is connected to it.
It’s the question that usually sits underneath those kinds of decisions, even if we don’t always say it out loud: who is your place not for?
So let’s start there.
One of the most dangerous questions in hospitality sounds very innocent.
How do we make this place appeal to more people?
I understand why project owners ask it. Empty rooms are scary. Quiet service is stressful. A slow week makes everybody suddenly more open-minded. The temptation is always the same: maybe we should widen the concept a little. Add a few more options. Soften the edges. Be more flexible. More accessible. More for everyone.
And slowly, without noticing, the place starts losing its point of view.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because the places that stay with me are rarely the ones trying to satisfy everyone. They’re the ones that know exactly what kind of relationship they want to have with people. They know their rhythm. Their tone. Their boundaries. Their type of guest. Their type of energy.
And just as importantly, they know who they are not for.
That doesn’t mean being arrogant. It doesn’t mean being cold, exclusive, or pretending the place is too clever for normal people. It means being clear enough to create attachment.
Because the truth is simple: if your place is for everyone, it usually becomes unforgettable to no one.
The hardest part for founders is that defining who the place is not for can feel risky. Almost rude. Like you’re turning people away before they even arrive. But strong places don’t become strong by constantly widening themselves. They become strong by getting more precise.
And precision is a form of care.
In the paid version, I want to go deeper into that. Because I think many places don’t struggle from lack of demand but struggle from lack of boundaries. And once you don’t know who the place is for, you usually end up serving the loudest guest instead of the right one.
We do spend spend a lot of time defining what a place is, and below are 3 STEPS that could help you define who’s your place is not for:
