The Owner’s Rep Advantage: Smarter, Smoother Hotel Projects with Danielle Foley
Hotel owners, listen up—if you’re planning a renovation or development project, this is the episode you didn’t know you needed. This week, I’m joined by Danielle Foley, Founder and CEO of PDB Collaborative, a firm that serves as the owner's right hand in hotel projects across the country.
Danielle shares what an Owner’s Rep really does (and why so many developers wish they’d hired one sooner). From preventing seven-figure mistakes to translating a vague “vibe” into a budget-aligned design plan, Danielle breaks it all down with clarity, calm, and real-world examples.
🔍 In this episode, you’ll learn:
What an Owner’s Rep actually does—and why you need one before you break ground
The most common (and costly) mistakes hotel owners make during renovations
How to save money without sacrificing guest experience
The power of local storytelling and thoughtful design in driving direct bookings
Why tech, landscaping, and even smell are shaping the future of hotel design
Danielle’s favorite real-world projects and what made them work so well
🎙 Guest: Danielle Foley
Founder, PDB Collaborative
🌐 www.pdbcollaborative.com
🔗 Connect with Danielle on LinkedIn
💼 Host: Jamie Mattingly
Founder, Duval Street Media
🌐 www.duvalstreetmedia.com
🔗 Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn
💡 Know someone who’d be a great guest on The Inn Crowd?
Submit them here
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Jamie Mattingly (00:00)
Welcome to The In Crowd, where we dive into the strategies and stories shaping the future of hospitality. I'm your host, Jamie Mattingly, and today we're talking about how smart project planning can unlock big returns for hoteliers, not just in design, but in guest satisfaction, marketing, and revenue. Joining me today is Danielle Foley, founder and CEO of PDB Collaborative. Danielle and her team work with hotel owners and developers across the country.
as owners representatives to guide projects from vision to completion on time, on budget, and with stunning results. Danielle, welcome to the show.
Danielle Foley (00:33)
Thank you, Jamie.
Jamie Mattingly (00:35)
For those who haven't worked with an owner's rep before, can you explain what it is that you do and why hotel owners choose to bring someone like you into their projects?
Danielle Foley (00:45)
Yeah, sure. mean, hotel owners reps are the right hand for hotel owners. So we help them manage the team, the process and everything in between. So we take a project from vision to execution. We oversee onboarding consultants, managing them, the permitting, the design process. We hire contractors. We do construction management.
and we do a lot of procurement in-house too. So we kind of carry the team along the way through the whole development process while representing the owner and their vision from the get-go. So our job in general is really to protect the owner's time and money and while helping them make decisions along the way. And we're more or less analyzing the information for them and feeding them the information that they need to know. So our clients are typically juggling a lot.
So we just try to think ahead for them. We dive into details, we weigh out options, and then we avoid any costly errors that might happen. So we just want to make sure every decision is supported with some backup information.
Jamie Mattingly (01:54)
So you guys are really protecting the owner's vision and making sure that in the end it's executed the way that they wanted it to come out.
Danielle Foley (02:00)
Exactly. And we have clients that are fully involved and some that aren't. And so it really is just working with them and making sure what they need to help balance their process. So yeah, whether we're feeding them with information daily, weekly, you know, or talking to them on and off, just depends, but more or less just guiding them through the process.
Jamie Mattingly (02:22)
And what kind of projects are most common for you? Are these new builds from the bottom up? Are we talking about like renovations, rebrands, or like anything in between?
Danielle Foley (02:32)
Yeah, I mean, right now we're seeing a lot of renovations happening with the hotel space. We have some ground up projects that are in the pipeline, but more or less in the hotel space, it's more renovations right now.
Jamie Mattingly (02:47)
All right, so now that we have an idea of how you support the owners, let's talk about why your role is so important and especially when things go sideways. So a lot of hotel owners might think that they can manage their own development or renovation projects, but what can go wrong if they go at it alone?
Danielle Foley (03:07)
Yeah, I mean, it really depends on the developer. You we have some clients that are experienced developers, but some that aren't, right? And so I think the ones that don't have as much experience can really tackle this the wrong way. So what we really like to do is map out the process for them so they understand what to expect. And I think the most important thing with any developer is really due diligence. You know, before you even acquire a property, really understanding
what is existing there or not. So making sure that you're looking to see existing conditions or analyzing what might trigger your cost or timeline, just so you understand. And if you're in negotiations to really make sure to understand what might trigger some changes. I've also seen in the past, they might not hire the right consultants or the best ones. Hiring wrong consultants can help.
can cause so many delays in the drawing phase. Hiring an architect that doesn't have hospitality experience might just further delay the process, right? And also hiring a luxury interior designer that's more of a select service brand might also just drive your budget costs up. So making sure you're really hiring the right consultants is so important. It helps with the drawings, it helps with the permitting.
and just helps with overall coordination. We've also stepped into projects halfway through that were just off track, little pieces that get missed along the way. more or less, we can really help save a lot of time and money in those cases when we're brought in early. Sometimes we've come in construction and equipment hasn't been purchased. The design is overly designed. Finishes could have been replaced and saved as a...
thousands of dollars. So we've been able to save even in the seven figures on project costs when we've come in and help value engineer some of the projects we've done.
Jamie Mattingly (05:14)
I think that's such
an important thing to mention because some people might see this as an added cost, but when done properly, you're actually saving them money in the long run.
Danielle Foley (05:24)
Yeah, I always like to say we end up saving our clients more than they actually pay us. And I'm pretty sure every project we've done has been significantly more.
Jamie Mattingly (05:35)
Well, that is an amazing tagline on the website. So then getting deeper into that, what is one question that hotel owners don't ask, but they should when starting a new project?
Danielle Foley (05:38)
Thank
Yeah, think you have to really look at what you're proposing where. so first and foremost is understanding the city or jurisdiction you're working in, I think is pretty important. And just depending on the development, whether it's a new build or a renovation. So if we have a new build project that's coming in, I always start everything with the utilities are ground up.
If you're doing a new build, where are you getting your water? Where is the sewer going? Where is your electrical coming from? All these things are so important to understand early on because they could really significantly change the project scope or timeline budget and so forth. And then when you're acquiring a property, it also always goes back to utilities. Not the most exciting, but is the HVAC equipment 10?
15 years old, are we gonna need to replace that? Sometimes that gets forgotten about and we've renovated a hotel and then have to go back and replace all of the equipment. Same with electrical, is this gonna be sufficient for what we're proposing here? Are we adding more square footage? Is this gonna take away from the power loads that we have?
And then even going back to plumbing, is there a history of water leaks in this property? Has there been sewer, you know, like plumbing leaks that you've had to bring in a plumber? That's something good to know upfront to make sure that you're prepared for that when you're in design and even more in construction. The worst is getting to construction and realizing you have corroded pipes in every room and then you have a six figure change order.
Jamie Mattingly (07:35)
Yes, it sounds like I know me if I'm hiring or if I'm thinking about a renovation, I'm only thinking about like the end game. I'm not thinking about the pipes and stuff like that. So I could totally understand. Yeah, well, I mean, you know, someone's got to think about the pipes. it's glad that we're glad that you're there. So now that we've covered some of the risks, let's talk about some of the rewards. When owners think about upgrades.
Danielle Foley (07:42)
Mm-hmm. That one really is.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Jamie Mattingly (08:03)
As I just kind of mentioned, often just think about the looks, but let's talk about the actual return on investment. How does great design pay off in real dollars?
Danielle Foley (08:12)
Yeah, you know, I think in hospitality, especially the guest experience drives everything. It drives reviews. It drives return visits. It drives direct bookings, referrals and all that. So I think everything, you know, I like to think about a return on your dollar even before the guests arrive. How was their booking experience? You know, did the platform platform glitch when they were purchasing? Did they have to input their credit card three times?
Did the hotel send them a welcome message? How are they creating an experience for them before they arrive? And then when they do arrive, I think about the key card experience. Is there a keyless entry that the people that don't wanna deal with reception can just hide and go straight to their room? Or if you do wanna have a key, maybe you're giving a nostalgic, cool experience by giving a funky key that you're walking around and remembering your hotel experience.
These little moments, I think, help impact how guests feel and how they stay. I also think thoughtful design is just shaped with the overall energy of the space, whether it's visual or sensory. You I think a lot of times we forget what the guests is smelling and hearing and seeing with visual lighting in the space. So I think those are really great things to focus on before just
looking at the interior design. And then we always look at how the property flows. know, the guest experience is what they're looking at and how they're moving through the property. So I really like to focus on the layout and the flow of the site and the property itself. So those I think are really important on top of just having good furniture and fixtures and fabrics that creates type of experience.
So really engaging to that emotional experience that the guests are having can really help return the ROI for the owners.
Jamie Mattingly (10:17)
Yeah, I think that's such a great point. And just like you had sort of mentioned that, you know, investing in the wrong consultant perhaps, you know, maybe it might be a little cheaper in the beginning, but it costs you in the long run. What are common design mistakes that end up costing owners in the long run?
Danielle Foley (10:34)
Yeah, I mean, see, you know, I think a lot of people are traveling for location specific, right? So I think really understanding the local community is pretty important. You know, designing something that, whether it blends with the community or creates some harmony with the local community. I always love when I'm in a hotel and like the soap is from a local brand, you know, it feels so much more personal.
So I think that's pretty important. think when you don't, you kind of go astray. That's where some of the owners might have some design mistakes. I also find that it's important to maybe, especially if you're trying to hold your asset for a long time to focus on more timeless design than trendy. I think there's a difference between experiential versus trying to follow a trend that might not last from a long-term perspective.
And like I said, it really just depends if you're trying to hold or create that asset and kind of flip it, you know. And then I also, think durability is pretty important when you're working on the interior design, making sure you're picking finishes and materials that have a good durability and long wear. In the past, we've made some mistakes on maybe putting a light tile in the lobby in such high traffic areas.
So really just understanding from the hotel perspective, this, they might not have cleaning staff scrubbing the floors all day long, right? So really making sure you're understanding traffic flows and durability. And then I think the last, what I'd probably say is just from an operational perspective, you could have the most beautiful hotel, but not have a friendly experience, right? Whether it's staff is not...
Jamie Mattingly (12:08)
yeah.
Danielle Foley (12:28)
supporting the guests and what they're looking for long time a long delay for their room service or their towels to be brought up or Yeah, so I think operationally there's so many aspects that can be significantly missed so I do find that My clients hotels that are really successful. They really focus on their operational outcome
Jamie Mattingly (12:54)
Yeah, absolutely. And you had mentioned one example that I really liked, the idea of designing perhaps for the location that you're in as like a destination travel. And I was wondering if you had any good examples of maybe projects that you've worked on that you've really enjoyed where you got to have some fun with that kind of design.
Danielle Foley (13:14)
Yeah, I have this project out in Goleta, which is near Santa Barbara. It's called The Steward and it is such a lovely property. The grounds are so beautiful. It's very lushly landscaped. They brought a local chef on board to really kind of bring in the food culture that they have there. But even in the guest room experience, the TV welcomes you. They have a nice...
bottled water that's locally made. have a popcorn or a chip that's from a local vendor. So these little things you see and I stayed there and I'm like, oh, this is so cute. know, things that I didn't even know that they're implementing, you feel. And even the interior design was really like shaped around the property and the lush landscaping. So we had really fun, vibrant wallpapers that really
Jamie Mattingly (13:53)
Yeah.
Danielle Foley (14:10)
complimented that. So yeah, I think that's a really fun project.
Jamie Mattingly (14:15)
I'm sure it's a lot easier for you when the brand voice is settled. You know, they know, they're confident in who they are. So you can probably just take that and run with it. I'm sure that's a lot easier than someone who's, you know, maybe not sure of who exactly they are or how they want to sound or look.
Danielle Foley (14:32)
Yeah, exactly. And I think that's where we can help, you know, we can help guide and give our recommendations. We always like to offer solutions for our clients and the owner. So it's like if they aren't that clear, we can go this way or this way. But I really am always trying to guide them to make a decision so that we can move forward.
Jamie Mattingly (14:54)
So what we were just talking about more on the user experience side, we have seen a massive, on the marketing side, that getting back to my side of things over here, we've seen a massive rise in user generated content. People love to share their vacation photos, right? So how have hotel owners that you've worked with embraced that trend? And let me rephrase that, because it's not a trend, it's not going away, right? How have the hotel owners that you've worked with embraced that and possibly
changed their designs or have you encouraged maybe this in the past so that they can be more, let's say, Instagram worthy as they say.
Danielle Foley (15:33)
Yeah, yeah, I mean, absolutely. I really do feel like owners are trying to create that memorable experience. know, every, I go to enough conferences that are hospitality focused, everything's about an experience, whether it's an aesthetic or a feeling, it's creating a place that people want to capture and remember. So 100%, I think owners and developers are thinking about that.
So it's creating moments that are worth sharing. So everything that we focus on now is experience and being able to capture it. I think that it can come in many ways, whether it's creating a pop of color or a mural. I find that there's always like an area that people really are drawn to. It's always some really fun custom mural or artwork that helps kind of give people that feeling, but also
The lighting, I really feel like lighting creates a mood for people and that's so fun to capture in images. So I always, you I love seeing people capture like a moody lobby or creating like a moment in that experience. And then I always find that places where we're layering different textures has always been captured. So owners are definitely thinking about it.
It also depends more on the brand, whether it's a main focus of creating a focal area or just having kind of that experiential moment throughout the whole property.
Jamie Mattingly (17:07)
Okay, so now this is just my curiosity. Is it just a trend or is it still popular? The living wall.
Danielle Foley (17:16)
Yeah, I
know. I mean, I landscape is so underrated on property. So I really do think that that makes a huge impact, whether it's living walls or just a lush landscape that's overflowing. I definitely believe that that's timeless. Yeah.
Jamie Mattingly (17:37)
that answer. Thank you.
so that brings me to the next thing that's really fascinating. It's how you turn the owner's idea or even just a feeling into something real and tangible. So every property or excuse me, every property has its own story. And I imagine that no two projects are ever the same. When a hotel owner comes to you with a vision or maybe just a vibe, what is your process for helping them shape that?
into something buildable, functionable, and then also financially sound.
Danielle Foley (18:12)
Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, I really feel like we're translators for the owners bringing their visions to life. So it's making sure we have the right team on board. Number one, right? Making sure that the designers that we have understand the vision, not only, but also the budget. So we really do take these abstract ideas and shape them into actionable plans. Our job is really to map this process out for people.
and guiding the right consultants along the way. So we like to balance this creativity with a bit of structure where creating a timeline for everyone, a budget of like what that needs to be met and then working with if we have a brand or not, right? So our goal is to really keep the process on track. We align the team and then we help everyone stay focused on the big picture.
It's a lot of communication and juggling and just making sure everyone's working together. That's our top priority. Once that's all in place, the vision is just a process to get there.
Jamie Mattingly (19:23)
That's great. And what has been one of the most fulfilling, creatively fulfilling projects that you've been working on recently and what made it so rewarding to you?
Danielle Foley (19:34)
Yeah, think right now I can think of a project that's close to my office here in Laguna Beach. My clients recently purchased the Pacific Edge Hotel, which is just a couple blocks away from my office. And I think it's been the most rewarding because it's the biggest project I've worked on, but also the level of consultants that we're working with is next level.
I haven't worked with so many creative people on one project. It's mind blowing. I, every day I'm working with people, I'm learning something new and it's such an educational process, but also I sometimes I like, I can't believe I get to work on this. That's how happy I am to come to work every day. So yeah, it's...
We have a design architect, we have an architect of record, we have a landscape architect, so, we're managing over 20 consultants on this project. And everyone has worked on some major hotels all over the world. And so being able to kind of gather all of their knowledge into one project and seeing it starting to come to life.
is really exciting. We're in the very preliminary stage. We're in the concept design, working through the planning process, but just the ideas that are coming out of it has just been so fulfilling. So I'm so grateful to be on this project and working with these people. Even my clients are so well educated. It's just such a fun process. So I'm really excited to see kind of where that goes.
Jamie Mattingly (21:16)
That sounds very awesome and congratulations on you said your biggest project yet. And clearly since you are in there with all of these amazing experts, you are also an amazing expert. So congratulations. And I'm very excited. I will definitely be following that project. I'm excited to see it launch.
Danielle Foley (21:20)
the same year.
Thank you.
Yeah, I'm happy to share.
Jamie Mattingly (21:38)
Well, we are getting close to wrapping up here and before we headed out, I wanted to ask you that if you could give one piece of practical advice, one piece of practical design advice to hotel owners, something that they could do perhaps right now to enhance their space or something maybe they could invest in in the short term that could do the same, what would it be?
Danielle Foley (22:04)
few different ways to kind go about this. mean, think number one is probably embrace technology. I think the way this industry is going, the guest experience starts before they arrive. So really utilizing the brands that are out there to kind of help create that experience for them, I think is really important. I'm learning more and more about that side of the business and I'm blown away of what
Jamie Mattingly (22:05)
Okay.
Danielle Foley (22:31)
AI and data can track to really create an experience for the guests. But then I think I kind of mentioned it landscaping is just so underrated. really softens place the property. So if you walk into a hotel, it's just like finish after finish wood tile. Or if you have like a lush landscape, I think it makes a huge impact to just making everything feel softer and elevating a space.
And then I really like to play on the senses. know, I've more and more really understanding what people are seeing, smelling, and hearing when they walk into the space. So creating a moment upon arrival that gives the guest a certain feeling is priceless, I think. And then something pretty simple, you know, is just making sure it feels fresh, like...
Paint can go a long way, know, making sure the walls and finishes are clean and look good. It's such a first experience that people kind of see. So yeah, those were kind of a few that I would recommend.
Jamie Mattingly (23:44)
And where do you pull inspiration from? Are there trends or industry, are there industries outside of hospitality that you possibly get inspiration from?
Danielle Foley (23:55)
Yeah, I mean, you know, I feel like a lot of people say this, but travel has just been a huge part of my life. That's always really inspired me and I've been fortunate to travel as a younger girl and the cultures that I saw really made me want to initially be an architect or be in design or be work be in this industry. So I knew from the get-go just traveling the world like
I wanna create experiences like this. So travel is definitely something that I've found to be a huge impact. Nature, I'm definitely someone that likes to, when I travel now, I like to be off the grid a little bit. Out in nature, I really find peace and clarity out there. So that really does create some inspiration for me mentally, but also just.
emotionally and how to create spaces. And then I love following, there's so many cool hotels popping up, you know? So I think I'm on like 20 newsletter blogs. So I am like checking when everything's opening up, right? So I love reading those. And I have like a folder where I screenshot, you know, an image and I just kind of add to it. And so sometimes I just...
Jamie Mattingly (25:04)
Yeah, me too.
Yeah.
Danielle Foley (25:19)
flip through that for a bit more inspiration. And it could be kind of anything, a bar, a lobby, a guest room. Yeah, anything that kind of sparks some creativity.
Jamie Mattingly (25:32)
Well, for anyone who's listening, if you haven't already, you have to go over to the website or to their Instagram to see some of the designs that you guys have helped pull together. They are absolutely gorgeous.
Danielle Foley (25:44)
Thank you. Thanks so much, Jamie.
Jamie Mattingly (25:46)
Yeah,
absolutely. So lastly, I think I said lastly like three times already, but this is the last one. What are some design trends that you're seeing on the horizon for this year and beyond? And how can hotel owners and developers pay closer attention to those right now?
Danielle Foley (25:51)
Yeah
I think wellness driven spaces are really on the up. I think creating environments that can make guests feel good, also get that, whether it's a fitness or a spa experience, cold plunge and sauna is very popular right now. So creating a space or a hotel, I think that is a huge driver.
I also have noticed more and more that developments are really looking for flexible space. areas that can transform given what kind of guest experience is coming, whether it's a lounge and then it turns to an event space or hosting weddings or yeah, being able to have your space designed flexibly to allow for that I find has been really, really up in the rising. And then I've also mentioned
tech integrating that into hotels, feel like that is huge in the future. So I feel like now is the time to learn what tech options are there for an operational and guest experience perspective and making sure that you don't.
Jamie Mattingly (27:18)
Absolutely, I think that's great advice. And for listeners who want to learn more about PDB Collaborative or connect with you directly, what is the best way to reach you?
Danielle Foley (27:21)
Okay.
Yeah, so our website is www.pdbcollaborative.com. Then we have our Instagram at pdbcollab. then mine is dannyfoliy. You can find me and our projects there.
Jamie Mattingly (27:49)
All right, perfect. Well, Danielle, thank you so much for sharing your perspective. This was packed with so many helpful insights. And for those listening, if you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe for more conversations in the future. And if you know someone who would be a great guest on the show, please visit DevalStreetMedia.com and request to be on the in-crowd. And remember, the best travel experiences don't just take us somewhere new, they change the way we see the world. So keep innovating, keep elevating, and let's keep creating unforgettable guest experiences together.
Until next time, safe travels.