• About
    • About the Founder
  • Process
  • Testimonials
  • Work
  • Podcasts + Keys
    • Boutique Hotel Playbook
    • Eventist365
  • Contact Us
  • About
    • About the Founder
  • Process
  • Testimonials
  • Work
  • Podcasts + Keys
    • Boutique Hotel Playbook
    • Eventist365
  • Contact Us
Schedule Demo
Get Started
Get Started
Podcast Spotify

Where boutique hotel owners turn beautiful properties into booked-out brands.

The Boutique Hotel Playbook

If you are tired of relying on OTAs, inconsistent marketing, or “hope and pray” referrals, this podcast walks you through the exact brand and guest experience systems that turn beautiful properties into profitable lifestyle destinations.

Listen on Apple
Listen On Spotify

Listen to the Latest Episode

Each episode of The Boutique Hotel Playbook breaks down one strategic move you can make this week to strengthen your brand, elevate your guest experience, and increase direct bookings.

No fluff. No generic hospitality advice. Just practical brand strategy, revenue alignment, and positioning insights for boutique hotel owners who want to operate at a higher level.

Listen On Apple
Listen On Spotify

Recent Episodes

Start with the episode that speaks to where you are right now. Branding, guest experience, direct booking growth, or repositioning your property.

[powerpress url="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eventist-365/id1641518167"]
The Boutique Hotel Playbook: Secrets & Strategies Revealed
The Boutique Hotel Playbook: Secrets & Strategies Revealed

The Boutique Hotel Playbook is Actionable Insights for Boutique Hotels!

Your boutique hotel is more than rooms — it’s a brand, a story, an experience. On the Boutique Hotel Playbook , Yanique DaCosta shares strategies to boost direct bookings, attract high-value guests, and turn stays into stories guests rave about. Learn how to build loyalty, design unforgettable guest journeys, and position your property as a lifestyle destination that stays booked solid.

40. Stop Decorating Your Hotel: Use Art to Build a Brand Guests Remember
byYanique DaCosta

If you’re serious about building a hotel brand that guests remember, rave about, and return to, it starts with an honest look at your current positioning.

👉 Click here to complete a short questionnaire and see if you qualify for a Deep Dive Call: https://hotels.theykmd.com/work-with-me-4289

Your boutique hotel art should be doing more than matching the furniture.

But for many hotel owners, art becomes one of the LAST decisions made during a new build, renovation, or hotel rebrand.

The rooms are designed.

The furniture is ordered.

The brand is developed.

The budget is disappearing.

Then someone notices the blank walls.

So how do you source original artwork for a boutique hotel without spending gallery-level prices?

And more importantly, how do you make sure that art actually contributes to your hotel brand, guest experience, and sense of place?

In this episode of The Boutique Hotel Playbook, I sit down with Chloë Ryan, CEO and co-founder of Acrylic, a company combining art, engineering, and technology to make real painted artwork more accessible at scale.

And as a formally trained fine artist myself, you KNOW I had questions.

We get into why so much hotel art feels generic, why art should enter the branding conversation much earlier, and how boutique hotels can use artwork to tell a destination-specific story without falling into the usual clichés.

We also explore a fascinating question:

What if guests loved the art in their hotel room so much that they could actually buy it and take that memory home?

Plus, we get into the increasingly complicated intersection of AI, technology, artists, and creativity, including where Chloë believes the line should be drawn when technology enters the creative process.

Because ultimately, this episode isn't just about art.

It's about intentional boutique hotel branding.

Your artwork, interiors, website, photography, messaging, marketing, and guest experience are not separate projects in the eyes of your guest.

They experience ONE hotel.

And when those pieces don't connect, even a beautiful property can become surprisingly forgettable.

• Why generic hotel art is a missed branding opportunity

• How to source original artwork without traditional gallery pricing

• When art should enter the hotel development and renovation process

• How boutique hotels can create an authentic sense of place

• Working with local artists without turning the destination into a cliché

• How artwork can become part of the guest experience

• Turning hotel artwork into something guests can purchase

• Using original art consistently across multiple hotel properties

• The role of AI and technology in art and hospitality

• Why Chloë believes artists need consent, credit, and compensation

• Why brand strategy should come BEFORE creative execution

• How intentional details help boutique hotels become more memorable

If you're developing, renovating, repositioning, or rebranding a boutique hotel, this conversation will probably make you look at those blank walls very differently.

And if you're realizing that the bigger issue isn't just your artwork, but figuring out how your branding, marketing, guest experience, and business goals should work together, let's talk.

👉 Complete the questionnaire and see if you qualify for a Deep Dive Call:

https://hotels.theykmd.com/work-with-me-4289

The Boutique Hotel Playbook with Yanique DaCosta

Boutique hotel branding | Hotel marketing | Hotel design | Guest experience | Hotel art | Boutique hotel development | Direct bookings | Hotel brand strategy | Hospitality marketing

IN THIS EPISODE:

40. Stop Decorating Your Hotel: Use Art to Build a Brand Guests Remember
40. Stop Decorating Your Hotel: Use Art to Build a Brand Guests Remember
August 26, 2026
Yanique DaCosta
Why Boutique Hotel Owners Waste Money on Branding (And the 2-Phase Fix That Actually Works)
August 18, 2026
Yanique DaCosta
38. Why This Kingston Hotel Refuses to Lower Its Rates, Ever
August 4, 2026
Yanique DaCosta
37. Why Your Hotel’s Design Is Costing You Guest Loyalty (An Architect Explains)
July 29, 2026
Yanique DaCosta
36. This 45-Year-Old Boutique Hotel Never Signs Staff Contracts. Here’s Why That Builds Guest Loyalty.
July 21, 2026
Yanique DaCosta
Why This Boutique Hotel Owner Refuses to Call His Property Luxury (& Guests Keep Coming Back Anyway)
July 14, 2026
Yanique DaCosta
34. The Hidden Revenue Boutique Hotel Owners Leave on the Table Every Day
July 7, 2026
Yanique DaCosta
They Found a $4M Loophole Hiding in One Line of a Property Appraisal
June 30, 2026
Yanique DaCosta
The Real Reason Your Hotel Gets Bad Reviews (It’s Not the Pool)
June 17, 2026
Yanique DaCosta
How Everyday Investors Are Buying Boutique Hotels in Jamaica (Without Being Millionaires)
June 10, 2026
Yanique DaCosta
Search Results placeholder

Recent Posts

  • 40. Stop Decorating Your Hotel: Use Art to Build a Brand Guests Remember
  • Event Sponsorship Strategy Guide for Growth
  • Top Event Sponsor Attraction Strategies That Win
  • How to Market Live Events That Build Demand
  • Why Are Direct Bookings Important for Hotels?

Recent Comments

No comments to show.

Archives

  • August 2026
  • July 2026
  • June 2026
  • May 2026
  • April 2026
  • March 2026
  • February 2026
  • January 2026
  • December 2025
  • November 2025
  • October 2025
  • September 2025
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • June 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • July 2020
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • September 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018

Categories

  • Brand Development
  • Conference
  • Design
  • Entrepreneur
  • Events
  • Hotel
  • Marketing
  • Podcast
  • Social Media Management
  • Trade Show
  • Uncategorized
  • Website Design

Most Popular Episodes

New to the show? Check out some of our most popular episodes

Listen On Itunes
Listen On Spotify

Recent Episodes

3 Most Popular Episodes

Listen On Itunes
Listen On Spotify

3 Most Popular Episodes

Be a Guest on The Boutique Hotel Playbook

Are you a boutique hotel owner, hospitality operator, architect, marketer, hotel operations strategist, travel influencer or revenue expert with insights that could help independent properties grow?

This show highlights real strategies, real stories, and real lessons from operators building memorable properties around the world.

If you have experience worth sharing, we would love to hear from you.

Apply to Be a Guest

“You deserve a brand that feels as elevated and intentional as the guest experience you’re creating.”

-Yanique DaCosta, MFA, LCAM

Yanique DaCosta is the Founder and Chief Creative Director of YKMD, a brand development and marketing agency specializing in luxury boutique hotels.

With over a decade of experience working with global brands and managing high-end properties, she understands both the emotional side of hospitality and the business mechanics behind direct bookings, positioning, and guest loyalty.

Hospitality runs in her blood. From growing up around her family’s hotel in Jamaica to managing luxury mixed-use properties in Florida, Yanique has seen firsthand how powerful brand clarity can be.

The Boutique Hotel Playbook exists to help owners shift from reactive operators to strategic brand leaders.

Facebook Linkedin-in X-twitter Instagram

What Listeners Are Saying…

 Boutique hotel owners and hospitality leaders are using these strategies to rethink branding, guest experience, and direct revenue.

Kmac DaBoss

August 26, 2026

Laborum magna nulla

Nulla Lorem mollit cupidatat irure. Voluptate exercitation incididunt aliquip deserunt. Nulla Lorem mollit cupidatat irure. Laborum magna nulla duis ullamco cillum dolor. Volup Nulla Lorem mollit cupidatat irure. Laborum magna nulla duis ullamco cillum dolor. Voluptate exercitation deserunt…

Paula Ramsey

September 24, 2022

Listen On Apple
Listen On Spotify

What Listeners Are Saying…

Look Behind the Scenes

Every Friday, I send a short email breaking down what we are seeing in the boutique hotel space.

Brand mistakes that quietly cost bookings.
Guest experience gaps that impact reviews.
Direct booking opportunities most properties overlook.

If you want honest insight without the noise, join the list.

© 2026 The Boutique Hotel Playbook. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.

Facebook-f X-twitter Instagram

Site by YKMD. Podcast produced by Yanique DaCosta

It's YKMD

Your Key to Unforgettable Brands.

Whether you’re running a boutique hotel, managing a corporate event, or marketing a destination, YKMD helps you create a brand that people remember — and revenue you can measure.

💌 Never Miss a Beat—Subscribe to Our Newsletter!

Get weekly tips and tricks for making your events shine, right in your inbox!

Call

(954) 271-9181

Email

info@theykmd.com

Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube
  • Events
  • Hotels
  • FAQs
  • Company Holidays
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Events
  • Hotels
  • FAQs
  • Company Holidays
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
© Copyright 2026 YKMD All Rights Reserved
  • About
    • About the Founder
  • Process
  • Testimonials
  • Work
  • Podcasts + Keys
    • Boutique Hotel Playbook
    • Eventist365
  • Contact Us
  • About
    • About the Founder
  • Process
  • Testimonials
  • Work
  • Podcasts + Keys
    • Boutique Hotel Playbook
    • Eventist365
  • Contact Us
Work With Us