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From Place
to Category:
A new model for destination design
I am
crafting a hospitality experience that must [ transcend comparison. ]
Invitation-only virtual workshop · February 2026 · Limited seats
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Menizei
Olympic Peninsula
A hospitality concept anchored in ritualized biophilia.
Menizei
Olympic Peninsula
A hospitality concept anchored in ritualized biophilia.
Menizei
Olympic Peninsula
A hospitality concept anchored in ritualized biophilia.
Decision
Focused Benefits
The decisions this workshop is designed to clarify:
This is not about inspiration. It’s about making the right commitments — early.
01
Clarifying what a destination must stand for — before form, features, or capital lock in
02
Making tradeoffs visible rather than implicit
03
Identifying where differentiation is structural, not cosmetic
04
Reducing uncertainty around the decisions that shape long-term performance
Who’s convening
the room
The workshop is led by practitioners actively shaping destination-led hospitality projects.
Paula Oblen
Partner & Lead Destination Design Strategist
Paula Oblen Vacation Interiors
Paula is an interior and experiential designer specializing in destination-led hospitality environments. Her work focuses on translating strategic intent into spatial experience — ensuring that design decisions reinforce differentiation rather than dilute it.
She brings deep expertise in residential-scale hospitality, renovation, and lived-in luxury, with an emphasis on coherence, restraint, and longevity.
Janice Wilson
Partner & Lead Destination Design Strategist
WLSN Studio
Janice works at the intersection of destination strategy, category design, and experiential hospitality. She advises designers, operators, and investors on how to position places as category-defining assets — shaping concepts that resist comparison and competition.
Her work spans early feasibility, positioning, and experience design, with a focus on decisions that hold under operational and capital pressure.
Work and perspectives featured across independent hospitality projects, destination retreats, and design-led developments in North America.
You Will
Leave With
01
A sharper understanding of how destinations become category-defining assets
02
A framework for making consequential decisions earlier — before design and capital lock in
03
Greater clarity around differentiation, risk, and long-term relevance
04
A point of view you can apply across projects, roles, and scales
Not For
You If
This working session is not for you if:
You’re looking for inspiration, mood boards, or trend forecasts
You want validation for a concept that’s already locked in
You prefer step-by-step templates over strategic judgment
You are not willing to interrogate the fundamental “why” behind a project
You want marketing tactics rather than positioning power
Request an invitation
This is a small, working workshop held in February 2026.
For designers, operators, and investors making consequential decisions about destination-led hospitality projects.
We review applications to curate a rigorous, balanced room. Selected applicants will receive full workshop details.
