Ep. 46: Past, present and future hospitality, with Moniqua Lane

Hotels

Jul 7

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I’m so excited to welcome Moniqua Lane back to the show today. She’s my first ever repeat guest, and there’s a really good reason. And it’s not just because I love her laugh. When we last left off in September on episodes 21 and 22, Moniqua shared some future plans with us—including the framework for The Citizen Hotel which opens any day now. We’re due for a check-in.

Since then, it’s safe to say we’ve kept in touch. Moniqua joined a panel I hosted during Travel Unity’s digital conference back in October. We went deep on the topic of hotel ownership and inclusion along with Damon Lawrence, the founder of Homage Hospitality.

Moniqua’s also joined us on Clubhouse a couple of times, and she’s been in the news—topping lists of hotels to visit and a major campaign launch in Tucson which you’ll learn more about today.

Fast forward several months, and Moniqua holds some new posts, including one that helps to define tourism in the city of Tucson which is of course home to the hotels she owns, The Downtown Clifton and The Citizen. This woman always, always has something new and thought provoking up her sleeves, so let’s get started.

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I always love catching up with Moniqua, and today was no exception. I’m honestly so inspired by the way Moniqua builds hotels with heart, and how she explains the evolution from one idea to the next, and from one hotel—or food truck hall or glamping pod—to the next. It’s fascinating to get inside of the head of any hotelier—let alone one forging her own path.

My key takeaways were:

1. If it wasn’t clear in her first hotel—The Downtown Clifton—it’s certainly clear now: Moniqua’s hospitality projects are a labor of love; love of Tucson, the city she grew up in.

On episode 22 and 23 last fall, in the middle of the pandemic, Moniqua talked about how The Downtown Clifton became a community gathering place. Now, with the pandemic somewhat behind us, she’s about to open The Citizen Hotel complete with a block party that’ll invite the community into the 10-room boutique hotel and wine cellar.

2. When it comes to baking a great story into brands, get started early. Moniqua took us behind the scenes on her process, and the ways in which her vision evolves as a result of the constraints of the building and the construction process. For Moniqua, the story is where things start, in her words “what are we going to do, what are we going to do,” and the bungalow restoration project is a great example of what’s possible. Along with her business partner, she’s creating a physical place to understand the UNESCO City of Gastronomy Designation through experiences—including a restaurant, bar, food hall, chef residence program, music venue, demonstration kitchen, studio, and edible garden. It’s amazing what can grow when you start with a great story—when there’s meaning behind the work you do.

3. Pandemic silver linings—I think we counted a few there. One, bringing the energy of restaurants out onto the sidewalks with simple or extravagant outdoor dining set ups that will hopefully remain intact post-pandemic. Two, pandemic partnerships. I think this was born out of being apart, it actually caused all of us to reach out and forge new connections. Moniqua’s partnerships with Sand-Reckoner and a local real estate developer are proving to be very fruitful—pun intended.

The pandemic also brought many of us in the hotel community together for much-needed conversations and it gave us time and space to ask tough questions—like why destinations seem to attract one type of person, and often lack representation of people of color in advertising and far beyond? As a result of these conversations, Moniqua took a seat on Visit Tucson’s board, a major step when it comes to representation, both for the BIPOC community near and far, and for independent hoteliers—a seat at the table, a voice in the room—we’ve learned that this is how change happens.

I’m looking forward to finally meeting Moniqua in person at The Citizen Hotel opening this October and I’ll keep cheering her on from the sidelines ’til then.