Transcript: Episode 241: Little Bit of Fire
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[00:00:00] Susan Barry: This is Top Floor with Susan Barry, episode 241. You can find the show notes at topfloorpodcast.com/episode/241.
[00:00:14] Narrator: Welcome to Top Floor with Susan Barry. This weekly podcast ride up to the top floor features tangible tips and excellent stories from the experts and characters who elevate hospitality. And now your host and elevator operator, Susan Barry.
[00:00:32] Susan Barry: Welcome to the show. Jelani Millard is the founder of the Wapechi Collection, a personal investment platform focused on hospitality and travel, including a hotel in Ghana and investments in travel AI. With a background in finance, Jelani has shifted into building and backing ventures that explore how people experience travel today. He is also the creator of the greatest named entity of all time, Pay Me in Plane Tickets, which is a media platform and podcast. It started with Jelani’s curiosity about how frequent travelers on social media afford their lifestyles and has evolved into a thoughtful storytelling hub examining the people economics and culture behind modern travel. Today, we are going to talk about the reality behind travel influencers and building a travel media brand. But before we jump in, we need to answer the call button.
Call button rings…
The emergency call button is our hotline for hospitality professionals who have burning questions. If you would like to submit a question, you can call or text me at (850) 404-9630. Today's question was submitted by Melinda. Melinda asks, this question is so good for you. I hope. I would love to invest in something more interesting than my 401k, but I don't know how to find opportunities. Any suggestions? I thought this would be a good one for you because I know you're a finance person and you are invested in a lot of interesting things, so let me know what you think.
[00:02:25] Jelani Millard: Start with real estate.
[00:02:27] Susan Barry: Okay, you had an easy answer there.
[00:02:29] Jelani Millard: Yeah. It's safe, secure, and you're able to grow it. You're also able to leverage it against anything else that you might also want to invest in or take part in. If those secondary investments go bad, you always have real estate to fall back on. So I would always suggest real estate. What's the disclaimer some financial firm puts out there?
[00:02:54] Susan Barry: Well, you may not be a fiduciary, but I would like for you to be my financial planner. So let's schedule some time after we finish up with this interview. Well, talk about what the Wapechi collection is and how you would describe your investment philosophy in travel and hospitality.
[00:03:18] Jelani Millard: Awesome. So thank you for having me on, Susan. Wonderful to jump in and join. And likely return to favor 'cause you were also on pay me and plane tickets too long ago.
[00:03:27] Susan Barry: I know. Which was the thrill of a lifetime because there is nothing more fun than saying, Hey, listen to me on Pay Me and plane tickets. Such a good name for a show.
[00:03:40] Jelani Millard: Thank you. Thank you. Well, started out five going on six years ago. Taking a personal investment fund and actually focusing on a few items that I actually truly care about. And that was the travel and hospitality sector. It all began with the hotel investment, so leveraging real estate, turning it into something that's a bit more hospitable, a bit more beautiful when you think about travel. That's what I wanted to jump into. I would say it's an extension of my personal passions and my personal projects. It's evolving more now than I would've anticipated or actually should have expected, but would've did not anticipate it. And becoming a bit more of a focusing on maybe being a small family, investment firm, things of that nature, growing that as well.
[00:04:35] Susan Barry: That makes sense. I mean, you are essentially a family office of yourself, right?
[00:04:41] Jelani Millard: Yeah. Going in now, right.
[00:04:42] Susan Barry: I'm so curious about your hotel project in Ghana. How did that come together? And I don't know, how did you find it? Is it a family project? What have you learned from it? Tell me all the details.
[00:04:58] Jelani Millard: That is actually a combination of my two business partners, so myself, Peter, and then Unir, who are both Ghanaian. I actually knew Unir longer. He intro then introduced me to Peter. In 2019 was the year the return for Ghana. So the African diaspora would go back into travel, back into Ghana, really pay homage to the dark, but truthful story of Ghana and sort of the splitting of African roots into different nations and lands. And so Ghana had this initiative trying to get the African diaspora foreign investors to reinvest in Ghana. Part of that was a nice land plot out in Cote Beach, which is about an hour west of a crop. The three of us came together for the sort of pretty much poured our funds together and then built 18 villas on that plot of land, along with acquiring the land from the governing body. And it started out, so 18 villas are constructed mainly just for private villas, for private stays, pretty much kind of small, but Orka beat day was growing. The interest in such an oasis was getting a bit larger. So over the last three to six months, it really transitioned to what you would consider or view as a true hotel. We have a PMS system as that's when it got real.
[00:06:33] Susan Barry: Got it. Yeah, for sure. When you have to buy something annoying, that's when it gets real.
[00:06:39] Jelani Millard: Yeah. That's when it actually started becoming a real operation. And yeah, that's how it all began. Our claim to fame was just that Elvis stayed there for I think three days when he was on one of his trips. So that was pretty nice to have. I wasn't there.
[00:06:59] Susan Barry: That's a good claim to fame. I'm sorry you weren't there.
[00:07:01] Jelani Millard: But it was nice. And so far, a few Ghanaian dignitaries have visited. Some very prominent individuals. I'm not too sure of their names. They stayed over there from the Gulf States, and it's been a staple in Kokrobite Beach. And one of the shining lights that I appreciate of the beach cabins, which is the name of the hotel property in Kokrobite Beach, Ghana, is that it's very community-based because when founding this project, it was very tough to get the major sort of players to play within the space. We had to really rely on the local community. And so we have seen our investment in the local community really spawn great growth. I mean, one example I always give is the Joshua Surf School. He’s a local surf legend in the town. He constructed his own little shack and bought a few surfboards. We invested in him by sending all of our clients directly to him. And so now he's able to expand his operation. He's able to help feed his family. Those little things that really kind of put this project into perspective of how important it is to the community. Even though it is only 18 keys. This is not some 200-key property with the large name attached to it. So, yeah, that's sort of why I'm very proud to keep it in, why we're very like activated.
[00:08:38] Susan Barry: That is so like moving. I feel embarrassed to say I feel like I'm gonna cry right now, so that's cool. Thanks for nothing. But very cool and interesting. We will link to the property in the show notes and make sure that people can go check it out. Well, we have to get to Pay Me in Plane Tickets. I know the origin story, I think, but can you explain for our listeners what the origin story of Pay Me in Plane Tickets is and what made you take this avenue?
[00:09:20] Jelani Millard: Yeah, so we're rewinding back the clock, five, six years. The idea of owning a hotel is one thing, but it takes time to go from owning to opening. I knew that if I were to do this, I'd have to pause a lot of my personal travels, a lot of the joys of travel. And so I still wanted to feel connected to that community. I'm flying back home from Cape Town, South Africa. And I'm just like everybody else, I'm doom scrolling and I'm seeing all these, I'm kind of older, but all these young folk just seemingly traveling forever, and I just simply asked, how are they doing this? It seemed like they were traveling indefinitely and rapidly, and I always say it's outta curiosity, but I think a small percentage of me would say it's out of jealousy, like, how did they do this? How am I gonna figure this out, too? So that was the main thesis of Pay Me in Plane Tickets, discovering how is this all works from a financial standpoint or marketing standpoint. What are the benefits to good, the bad, and the ugly? And the name I think was a shower thought. Maybe I did have a few champagnes on the plane and thought about it.
[00:10:39] Susan Barry: I mean, it's such a good name. You have talked to a lot of creators and travelers over the last four years, right? Four or five years that you've been doing it. What was the most surprising thing once you got behind the scenes? Like was what were you seeing when you were scrolling actually the reality? Or is there something different going on? Are these people really living the dream that you thought they were?
[00:11:06] Jelani Millard: Yeah. The discovery was that the people are not living the dream. I think I should have like an abstract one day and drafted all this out. But I think gathering all this information, the cold, brutal truth is they are not all living the dream that is seen on the screen. That there is a very hustle, a grit, a grind to actually be able to explore these luxury properties, or going to these spectacular places for end after end time, not the time. There are times when they're dealing with major fluctuations in their bank accounts and how they project things. There is also just a certain understanding that they either have been given a bit of grace in able to perform this particular venture idea or this new career idea.
[00:12:05] Susan Barry: What do you mean? Like they have a big savings account or a rich mom.
[00:12:09] Jelani Millard: Some have, or some like don't. Yes, it could be like that, or it could be the idea where they are diverting from the traditional path. They don't wanna buy a house, they don't wanna get a car.
[00:12:22] Susan Barry: Ah, gotcha. So #vanlife or whatever.
[00:12:25] Jelani Millard: Right. #vanlife. Those are the type of things that are going on. I'd summarize it to say, if you want to go down that path, understand that you might have to make a lot of sacrifices and really deal with the harsh reality of it. And it's possible. It's not impossible.
[00:12:43] Susan Barry: I think that hustle part is one that people very rarely talk about, like how much they're hustling. I do a terrible job of trying to find sponsorships for the show, and even the amount that I do is such a hustle, like it's a full-time job by itself. Aside from creating the content and making the show. Well, I know that your platform has evolved into more thoughtful, long-form articles and storytelling, sort of like the New Yorker for travel. What are you up to? These articles are so good. Every time I read 'em, I'm like, how are they doing this? Like, these articles are really good.
[00:13:38] Jelani Millard: We've evolved from the main thesis of exploring how travelers and content creators are exploring the travel field. I think it hit the hospitality sector struck a nerve. And then so we expand in that area. But now we have finally kind of grown out of just being only hospitality in terms of just talking to thought leaders and hospitality leaders of all kinds. Now we're into sort of this, let's tell deeper stories, have deeper analysis, really drilling down into the whys that relate to travel. So the best example I can always give is that many people travel to Jamaica. They go and explore these beautiful resorts. But the funny, harsh truth is, some of these resorts are private beaches. Pay Me in Plane Tickets would be the only platform to really explore why that is. What's the history behind that? How did that come to be and how have other nations learned about that? So you can have those who tell you the top 10 places to travel every year. They tell you these are the best resources in Jamaica. Pay Me in Plane Tickets fills the slot of why it is that the local can't cross the street to the beach?
[00:14:50] Susan Barry: Interesting. Okay. Well, similar to me or similar to Top Floor, I know you made an intentional choice not to sort of rush into monetizing. Why do you think that is? For me, I can make a lot of excuses. Part of it was that I thought the show would be business development for my company. It's turned out to be so different from that. It's such a slog to monetize that I just am like, oh, after the summer, I'll do that after Christmas. You know what I mean? But what about you? Is there a strategy behind that?
[00:15:35] Jelani Millard: Yeah. Okay. I can give you two points or like, my two thoughts on it. The first thought is that I think the media is very tough to monetize these days. I don't think it's as lucrative as it used to be when Rupert Murdoch was doing it. It's a little bit different from when he started out. So there's that. I say there's definitely like a financial overview of it. And then I think Pay Me in Plane Tickets, I think we're still growing. I don't know if we fully have an identity that could align with sponsors yet, or something. We're still in this very useful exploration stage of what we're gonna do, what's gonna happen? Okay. If we do get sponsors, who can we actually attract? Who's into that sort of thing? I harken that to the story of Seinfeld. Seinfeld thought they were this particular show, and then what they realized was when BMW started wanting to advertise on Seinfeld, that's when they knew, oh, this is who we're actually attracted was this particular demographic. So, that's what I look at it from.
[00:16:48] Susan Barry: It's interesting. Well, we'll have to keep in touch about that because I need all the help I can get and I can tell that you are thinking about it a lot more intelligently than I am.
[00:17:00] Jelani Millard: No, no, no. I'm trying, we're trying.
[00:17:04] Susan Barry: We like to make sure that our listeners come away from every single episode of Top Floor with some really practical and tangible tips to try in their businesses and their personal lives. So, asking for a friend, for someone who wants to build a media platform today, what have you learned about what works and what doesn't work?
[00:17:27] Jelani Millard: Stick to facts. No matter how harsh it is. I think stick to facts. I think people really do appreciate truth. They appreciate the story. If you can always provide some sort of solution or some sort of way forward, that's what we're doing is building it based off of factual information, offering some slight opinion to it, but then also just, it's not all doom and gloom, or there's some takeaway from this. There's some reason why we are putting the effort into this.
[00:17:58] Susan Barry: The answer may be the same, but when it comes to storytelling, what do you think separates content that is forgettable from the content that really resonates with readers or listeners?
[00:18:11] Jelani Millard: Involve the audience. Occasionally, we get some feedback from individuals like yourself saying, oh, you liked this particular article, or whatnot.
[00:18:22] Susan Barry: I mean, my feedback is always like, why is this so good? What magic pills are you taking? This is amazing. Please continue. That's the only feedback I have. Sorry to interrupt you.
[00:18:33] Jelani Millard: No, you're good. You're good. No, we appreciate it, honestly. So by involving the audience in how we review ourselves. I think that's some way it'll reflect on how a reader appreciates what they're getting.
[00:18:51] Susan Barry: Do you ever get any hate mail? Have you gotten any sort of like, why is this person so negative? That's real, like really over the top?
[00:19:03] Jelani Millard: Maybe we haven't yet, so maybe that's signed and we haven't made it just yet.
[00:19:07] Susan Barry: That's what I think every time I'm like, okay. I, I, I think I've only gotten one really negative comment, at least that I know about, and when I got it, I was so sad and it hurt my feelings, and then I'm like, oh wait. Maybe this means I've made it because somebody hates my guts. Alright.
[00:19:29] Jelani Millard: There you go. Round of applause on that one.
[00:19:31] Susan Barry: Well, I know you and I are both sort of toying with or interested in the idea of physical magazines. I am quite frankly obsessed with physical magazines. I think they are the most interesting and glamorous thing in the world, even though they no longer pretty much exist as an industry. So, if you were going to create a Pay Me in Plane Tickets physical magazine, if it were launching tomorrow, what do you think should be inside the first issue?
[00:20:02] Jelani Millard: Yeah, the goal would be a magazine. I do share your ambition for that, too. And, I would say the dream, an inaugural issue, I think would have a beautiful merge of history, captivating stories, location, and a full illumination of the mind.
[00:20:26] Susan Barry: Well, that's a modest goal.
[00:20:26] Jelani Millard: We can figure that out. If there's some way to make that from the theoretical to the actual, that would be a nice accomplishment.
[00:20:36] Susan Barry: I have no doubt that you're gonna do that. Well, we have reached the fortune telling portion of the show, so you have to predict the future and then we shall see if you get it right. So what is a prediction you have about the future of travel media?
[00:20:52] Jelani Millard: The future prediction. Ooh, okay. I think travel media is gonna focus more on the wise thing are, I think, yes, Pay Me in Plane Tickets is sort of exploring that in its early stages. But I do think there are some upcoming publications that are also doing the same, like with the emergence of substack and seeing how far a substack can go when you look at like the free press and things of that nature. I do think the evolution of exploring the why of certain things in travel media are gonna become a bit more exposed and on the platforms now. So I think it's gonna happen. I think that's where it's gonna go. And I think there's a hunger for it. I think we're out of the beautification of travel. We all get this very beautiful and now we're understanding like, a little bit of the why.
[00:21:41] Susan Barry: Oh, that's such an interesting take. There's something that happens, at least like on the hospitality side, which is that people in their quest to be hospitable. Never look under the covers. How about that for mixing a metaphor. But do you know what I mean? So, like all this crazy stuff happens, people know little threads of like, oh, this is why this happened, or this is what's happening. But it's never covered from a journalistic perspective. And I think that you're right, there's a hunger for that. And now I'm just talking too, so I'll probably putting this out. But there's like this, at least a hotel business. I can only speak for that, I guess. The hotel business is an apprenticeship business, so no matter how much education you have or how much investment you have or whatever, people do not trust people from outside the industry. A, B, most things are passed down, like here's how we do this, you know what I mean? And so as a result, there's this sort of insider, outsider, ethos that I think is not good for the future of the industry. And so all this babbling I'm doing, the point I'm trying to get to is to agree with you that there is a hunger for, let's pull back the curtain and see what's the why or like what's really playing out here. Because if we're just glossy and hospitable and beautiful. Nobody's gonna wanna do this job, you know?
[00:23:27] Jelani Millard: Right. It's too surface-level when you just stay in that stage.
[00:23:31] Susan Barry: Yeah. Well, it seems insurmountable to become an insider if you can't become an insider with a degree. What you had to wait 30 years. I mean, that's not cool. You know what I mean? Nobody has time for that anymore. Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now. So if you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about how people think about travel and lifestyle online, especially now that you've sort of like investigated this completely, what would it be?
[00:24:06] Jelani Millard: To wave the magic wand? I would want everybody to look at the larger picture when it comes to travel. I think it has been a bit myopic or a bit in a vacuum. But there's so much that the travel sector touches. There's so much that has spawned. There's so much that hospitality has birthed, and look at the larger picture of these things. A lot of the time, look, travel's how we connect and stories are how we communicate. So, I think there's a lot more to it than what is right now in the space, though. I would say look at the larger picture, that would be like, there it is. Everybody does it. I was like, "Oh my gosh, we see it now.”
[00:24:51] Susan Barry: Check! Mission accomplished. Okay, folks, before we tell Jelani goodbye, we are going to head down to the loading dock where all of the best stories get told.
Elevator voice announces, “Going down.”
[00:25:09] Susan Barry: Jelani, what is a story you would only tell me on the loading dock?
[00:25:13] Jelani Millard: Okay, here's the loading dock exclusive. So this is, this is the hotel story, so we're gonna divert from Pay Me in Plane Tickets, but we opened up the hotel we were operating for about two-ish years, and we had one of the meters on the villas caught a little bit of fire.
[00:25:31] Susan Barry: Oh, a surprise.
[00:25:32] Jelani Millard: Yeah. A surprise, surprise. It was a surprise for us. It was a whole thing.
[00:25:38] Susan Barry: I love how you said, A little bit of fire. Just a little of fire.
[00:25:41] Jelani Millard: A little bit of fire. But it ended up burning the side of the villa. And while it was still kind of inflamed, one of the guests who was supposed to check in at the time was coming in. And so one of our reservationists we were there, we're like, Hey, look, we have another villa for you, but the one that you booked, you cannot go in because it's on fire. And the craziest thing that this guest came and said was like, so you mean I can't stay at the villa? Well, it's kind of inflamed right now, but I dunno, it's about the trip you were thinking of, but I think you don't wanna be in the heat that badly.
[00:26:25] Susan Barry: Listen, you're at the beach, but you do not wanna be burned up to a crisp.
[00:26:30] Jelani Millard: Right. So we have another room for you, but like part of this inconvenience.
[00:26:37] Susan Barry: Oh my gosh. Jelani Millard, thank you so much for being here. I know that our listeners are as inspired by you as I am, and I really appreciate you riding with us to the top floor.
[00:26:51] Jelani Millard: Thank you. I'm glad to be on Top Floor with you. It's awesome.
[00:26:55] Susan Barry: Thank you for listening. You can find the show notes at topfloorpodcast.com/episode/241. Jonathan Albano is our editor, producer, and all-around genius. He even wrote and performed our theme song with vocals by Cameron Albano. You can subscribe to Top Floor on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and your rating or review will go a long way in helping us give you more of what you like.
[00:27:30] Narrator: Thanks for listening to the Top Floor podcast at www.topfloorpodcast.com. Have a hospitality marketing question? Reach us at 850-404-9630 to be featured in a future episode.