Travel is returning, which is bright news for the industry, but not without some restrictions. Protocols, mandates and new expectations have been buzzwords for the past few years and have extended into the hospitality space.
Navigating this evolution while keeping a hotel brand relevant can seem like a daunting task, but that’s where Collective Hospitality (COHO) comes in. COHO is a new consulting and advisory firm that specializes in lifestyle hospitality businesses, with a mission of bringing vision and value to life.
Led by chef/entrepreneur Mitch Prensky and design director Chris Alvarado, COHO is a collective of industry experts who work collaboratively to bring these hospitality concepts to life and reimagine brands through its services and expertise.
With a strong focus on F&B, COHO understands the current supply chain issues and how detrimental these are to operations. It’s especially important to Mitch Prensky, who serves as CEO/founding partner, culinary development & operations, COHO, who began his career in the space.
“After a successful career as a chef, entrepreneur and food and beverage business owner for over 20 years, I took an opportunity to move into the world of corporate hospitality development in the lifestyle hotel space,” Prensky said. “At this point, as a ‘newbie’ to the hotel world, I was passionate about learning all I could about the ins and outs of this corner of the industry. What I found was, in many cases, the systems and process for developing these food and beverage experiences were not built in the most functional, cost-effective way, especially for the property owner. As a former owner myself, I felt the need to fix this. This shared desire to create a new and more effective way of providing holistic solutions to owners and operators is what ultimately led to the formation of COHO.”
Seeing an opportunity to improve upon the traditional, siloed agency model, Prensky knew COHO needed to offer a range of cross-functional specialties from lifestyle hospitality experts under one roof.
“With continued consolidation across the industry and pandemic-strained budgets and resources, we saw an opportunity to help bridge the gap with our business model,” he said. “We offer owners, developers and asset managers a complete slate of hospitality services from lifestyle and food and beverage experts.”
Although a point of passion for Prensky, COHO offers its clients not only F&B development, but also design and tech services, branding and marketing, PR, social media management, feasibility analysis, legal, accounting, recruitment, staff training, operations and asset management, among other services.
“COHO really runs the gamut for the hospitality client,” Prensky said. “We have been called a ‘one-stop shop’ for a wide array of needs in the hospitality sector—whether it’s a developer working on an independent or branded hotel, an asset manager trying to optimize and reinvent a struggling or outdated operation or a brand needing specialized support for a project from seasoned, functional experts.”
This is what sets COHO apart, Prensky explained, with its ability to deliver a unified and cohesive team with loads of experience. And, notably, its connectivity between operations and creative leads.
“Working with our clients, we learn, listen and evaluate each project’s goals and needs,” he said. “Because we are a one-stop-shop, our differentiation and value are derived by thoughtfully curating the team a client needs from our collective of experts based on the scope, budget and goals.”
The company is currently in the development phase with projects throughout and U.S. and Mexico, Prensky said, from free-standing independent restaurant concepts to a full resort development.
“Currently, we are working on the development of two separate hotel properties in Mexico—a luxury resort in Punta Mita and another in Monterrey that will include the restoration and updating of a historic hotel,” he said. “Additionally, we have been creating and developing two independent restaurant concepts in Memphis that will launch within the year. Other pipeline projects abound as well.”
For the Memphis projects, COHO brought together a few of the team’s partners (i.e., cofounder Christopher Alvarado, design & development, and beverage partner Al Sotack of Brooklyn’s Jupiter Disco) to conceptualize and brand a pair of restaurants—one casual and one fine dining—that will open as part of the groundbreaking, 5.5-acre One Beale development in Downtown Memphis, Prensky said. The development will also be home to Hyatt-branded hotels, luxury residences and retail.
“We created the brand, conceptual design and food and beverage menus for both projects—one is a 175-seat, street-level upscale American restaurant that will be centered around open-fire cooking and the second is a casual fish house concept that will be more social and convivial,” Prensky said.
COHO has also taken steps to tackle the labor and supply chain issues head on with the right partners.
“Our recruitment partner is an expert in handling the current and future labor challenges,” Prensky said. “Through careful vetting and outreach, we have been successful at obtaining labor when needed most, leveraging our vast combined network. Our operations partner then delves into the SOPs and creation of training materials to assist in proper functional onboarding. On the supply chain side, our F&B and bar partners work hand in hand with property management to create and oversee menus that are flexible, given the vagaries of the current marketplace. We then work to identify local alternative sources of raw products for smooth procurement solutions.”
According to Prensky, as a hospitality consultant, COHO’s flexible and scalable business structure allows it to pivot quickly and add new partners and services based on demand and project types.
Whatever the project or service, however, COHO can offer affordable and effective support, Prensky said, backed by the knowledge and experience of industry specialists. “The guiding principle at COHO is passion,” he said. “Passion for what we do, what we create, the value we bring to our clients and ultimately to the end user. For me, it started at a young(er) age and it has been the thread throughout every project that we undertake. To underpromise and overdeliver for all stakeholders. That is when our passion aligns with our product.”
