Bashar Wali

Founder of This Assembly & CEO OF Practice Hospitality

BASHAR WALI, FOUNDER OF THIS ASSEMBLY & CEO OF PRACTICE HOSPITALITY

What are your top three must-haves in a hotel?

For me personally? Water pressure, water pressure, water pressure. Seriously. In the sink so I can actually wash my hands, in the shower so I can take a REAL shower and come on, no one (and I mean no one) wants to have to hold down the handle to flush a toilet. There are better ways to save the planet.

What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

Check my phone. I am a social media hound and I’m not ashamed. If you don’t follow me @BasharWali you should. See? Shameless. If I could be connected while I sleep, I would. It’s invaluable in keeping up to date on news, industry trends and what is happening in our world and culture - and I don’t want to miss a thing.

DINING AT HOTEL COLEE

Is there a future for boutique hotel companies or will the usual big brands take their space?

You know, there is a future for independent thinkers. I have said it for years now, in this industry we are a bunch of lemmings, following one another, trying to one up one other. But it has gotten to where the one upping and the out doing, it stopping being about a great stay and stopping being about the guest, it was only about beating out the other guy. Will boutiques ever go away? No, and I certainly hope they don’t. Especially if you are a thoughtful player like Firmdale Hotels that stays above the fray and just does what they do, and does it really well. They aren’t going anywhere.

How did you discover and ultimately join the hospitality industry?

Pure luck. I came here to my beloved United States from Syria at 17 years old for college. The first school that accepted me was (thankfully) Johnson & Wales. I am not a believer in fate or kismet or whatever, but I fell into this industry and fell in love.

ROOFTOP AT HOTEL COLEE

Do you have any nighttime rituals to ensure restful sleep?

I WISH! And in fact, I’m taking suggestions. You can send them to me @BasharWali. (There I go again. Shameless.)

What is the biggest thing you’ve learned from being the president and CEO of Provenance Hotels?

Oh man, how much time do you have? Really the biggest thing is, almost everything is irrelevant without the right people. You can have the best building, with the best rooms in the best city, neighborhood all of that. And it can be sunk before it opens if you don’t have the right people in leading the way. Even if you get those elements right, what if you open the doors with staff that doesn’t care, that doesn’t believe? You aren’t ever going to see real success. It always comes down to investing and involving the people in your vision. They need to have as much pride in what you are doing as you do, or you have lost before you started.

HOTEL COLEE

What motivated you to found The Assembly and Practice Hospitality?

It was time for me to really bring the change I have been preaching in so many interviews to life. And I felt the best way to do that was from the ground up, with the right team, creating something we put part of ourselves in from the beginning.

In your WTF speech, you mentioned that you don’t stay at one hotel more than once. What has been your most unique hotel stay and why?

Unique is relative. And I will tell you why. There is a stay I will always remember, in fact I talk about it often. It was my “Blackish” moment. That day, a desk agent took the time to find a show I like, love, and leave me a note telling me when it is on and tell me what channel. That was unique because in all my travels, even though that didn’t cost them anything, that moved me more than all the amazing décor I’ve seen and all the lovely wine and cheese that has been wasted on me.

HOTEL COLEE

With so much change this year, what advice would you give to someone just starting out in the hospitality industry?

This may sound trite but believe me, it’s not: stick with it. Will this be the last pandemic? I hope so, but this isn’t our first or last trip through the wringer. 9/11, COVID, the Great Recession - we are in a volatile industry. That’s the nature of it and you have to be able to weather the storm. It’s why hotel people are so strong and so resilient.

This pandemic has decimated the hospitality industry but also shown its true essence: strong culture, will to serve, hard work, resiliency, community, kindness. Do you think a new movement will start from this?

Maybe people are just seeing how hotel people have always been. Responsible leaders take care of their people but, no matter who is in charge, people will always take care of each other, that isn’t anything new. There is a certain kind of person that works in hotels for the long haul and they aren’t the kind of people that will turn their back on you. Now if that starts a movement of people being nice to each other, then great, and hey, happy to give the credit to the pandemic or pretty much anyone.

EVENT SPACES AT HOTEL COLEE