What No One Tells You About Running a Boutique Hotel (Six Months In)

In Episode 9 of Finding Brotherly Love, Mike and Brian celebrate a major milestone: their nomination for the Philadelphia Business Journal's Best Real Estate Deals and Dealmakers in the hospitality category. But the excitement doesn’t stop there. They pull back the curtain on what’s working—and what isn’t—six months after opening Society Hill Hotel. From heated bathroom floors and high-tech bidet toilets to the very real struggles of storage, hot water issues, and the absence of an elevator, they discuss the wins and lessons learned in hotel ownership.

The duo also debates the “magic number” of hotel rooms needed to create a sustainable business model. Is 25 rooms enough, or is 35 the sweet spot? They dive into staffing challenges, the hidden costs of small hotels, and how scaling Society Hill Hotel might just be their next big move.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why small luxuries like heated floors matter more than you’d think
• The unglamorous reality of hot water system failures
• The economics of adding an elevator in a historic building
• The ideal room count for profitability in boutique hotels
• How growth isn’t always about new projects—it’s about doing more with what you’ve built

Tune in every Tuesday for new episodes!