NYC Hospitality Innovator Sponsored By Heineken: The Wythe Hotel's Peter Lawrence, Encouraging Us To Wake Up In Williamsburg

So this is your first hotel, what is the next plan for you? ‘That’s a fun question.” Do you want to do more hotels? “No, I want this to be a great hotel and that takes a certain amount of time and energy and focus and attention, not just me but from everyone involved. And I know it’s the way of the industry, but it’s a little amazing to me that there’s people coming from the industry saying, you know, 'Whatever you guys do next give us a call and we’ll finance it or help you along or we’d be interested in being involved' and I’m like ,'We’ve been open for three months, have never done it before, and you guys are all excited to write a new check to us?!'" It sounds really great! “It’s a lovely lovely compliment, but I honestly worry that it’s against the grain of what we’re trying to accomplish.” Which is? “To really be a part of the neighborhood – and how are you really a part of the neighborhood if you build it and four months later you’re in a different neighborhood doing something different? I have been in the position where I’ve had four or five little businesses running at once in the past, and I don’t have the skill to have a positive effect when things are set up that way. I think some people are really good at it. Like Sean (MacPherson) is impressive – he doesn’t have to be in the building to have it be the way that he envisioned it."