Over the past week, as I’ve been sharing more about Culinary Oasis, a number of you have reached out.
Some just to say you’ve been enjoying following along. Some with questions. Some just wanting to catch up. I always enjoy those conversations. You are my family.
But what’s stood out to me isn’t what you guys are asking. It’s how they’re thinking ans what’s important to you.
Very few people start with:
“What’s the return?”
or
“How is this structured?”
I am a bit of an infrastructure & real estate wonk so I can answer questions like these for days. Instead though, the conversations tend to go somewhere else entirely. They drift into things like:
Where would we actually go first?
Who would we bring with us?
How often would we use something like this?
What would it feel like to have places like this in our lives?
What other fun destinations are you thinking about?
Will Chef Edward do any cooking classes?
Will you invite any of your fitness expert friends to do wellness presentations? 
Will investors get to meet each other and have trips arranged for them as a group?
I find this interesting. Because those aren’t really “investment” questions. They’re life questions. They are about truly enjoying their lives and getting the most out of them.
It’s also reinforced something I’ve come to believe pretty strongly over the years owning and operating unique hospitality properties:
Environment matters more than we think.
I’ve seen it play out in my own life more than once.
In Hawaii, during a really meaningful chapter of personal growth, the environments I brought people to changed everything - the pace, the people, the energy & ultimately, the transformations.
And more recently, through my health journey in Miami… the same thing. When I left for Paris, I had an open apartment for a month here in Miami. I offered it to my brother and introduced him to my friend in the building who is an expert in nutrition and strength training. He lost 35 pounds in one month. Environment matters. 
Different routines.
Different surroundings.
Different inputs.
Completely different results.
It’s made me realize that some things we choose in life aren’t just background, they don’t just sit on the sidelines…they actively shape how we live. Some assets you own while some assets you actually live inside of.
They shape your time.
They shape your experiences.
They shape the people you gather around you.
That’s always been the part that’s interested me most about unique environments. Not just building something that works on paper but building something that actually shows up in your life when you need it most.
My wife took this photo of me around 5 am on June 2, 2020. The night before we landed on the very first flight from the mainland U.S. to the Big Island post Covid outbreak.
Lori caught me watching the sun rise my very morning on the property that would become Bliss Island, and ultimately, Hamakua Hotel. This was the instant I made a choice to become its owner. The number of rewards from this one decision are so vast I would be challenged to put a number on it.
