How to Build a Boutique Hotel That Feels Like It’s Always Been There

Some people enter hospitality by accident. Others are born into it—raised at tables where the meal was just the beginning of the experience.

For Bobby Quintal, hospitality isn’t just a career —  it’s a lifelong passion shaped by growing up in New Orleans, one of the most culturally rich and culinary-driven cities in the world.

From his early days working in restaurants to leading development for Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, one of the most highly regarded restaurant groups in the world, Bobby has spent his career crafting memorable spaces that blend food, design, and storytelling.

Now, as a partner at Sandstone Hospitality, Bobby is helping redefine boutique hotels—breathing new life into historic properties like The Columns, building brand-new destinations like Hotel Henrietta, and weaving F&B-forward hospitality into every project.

In this episode, we dive into:

• • How growing up in New Orleans shaped Bobby’s view on hospitality
    
    
  • Lessons from working with Danny Meyer & Union Square Hospitality Group and how legendary brands like Shake Shack built an empire by prioritizing emotion over transactions.
    
    
  • Reinventing The Columns Hotel—how Bobby and his team transformed a fading New Orleans institution into a must-visit experience 
    
    
  • The delicate art of new builds vs. historic renovations—why the best designers listen to the story a space already wants to tell instead of forcing a narrative onto it.
    
    
  • How Sandstone weaves F&B into every project
    
    
  • The role of subtle branding in hospitality —why a small oyster bar named "Fives" has an unexpected connection to a historic tobacco magnate, and how a pink espresso machine at Hotel Henrietta tells its own story.
    
    
  • Why smaller cities with soul are the next frontier for experiential hotels.
    
    
  • And so much more

Connect with Bobby

Learn more about Sandstone

Behind the Stays is brought to you by Journey — a first-of-its-kind loyalty program that brings together an alliance of the world’s top independently owned and operated stays and allows travelers to earn points and perks on boutique hotels, vacation rentals, treehouses, ski chalets, glamping experiences and so much more.

Your host is Zach Busekrus, Head of the Journey Alliance. If you are a hospitality entrepreneur who has a stay, or a collection of stays with soul, we’d love for you to apply to join our Alliance at journey.com/alliance.