‘The right kind of weird beats generic luxury every time’
Bashar Wali is known for his candid take on what the hotel world gets right—and what desperately needs to change.
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By Jennifer Glatt | Mint Pillow
Bashar Wali is a hospitality visionary, truth-teller and unrelenting advocate for doing things differently. With a career that blends deep industry insight and a bold, forward-thinking approach, the hotelier and founder of This Assembly challenges the status quo at every turn. Bashar is known for his candid take on what the hotel world gets right—and what desperately needs to change. Equal parts strategist and storyteller, his mission is clear: to bring more humanity, creativity and purpose to hospitality.
What are the key elements that give a hotel its soul—in your words, its “heartbeat”?
It’s not the furniture. It’s not the logo. It’s the people. Soul shows up in the unscripted moments, not the design deck. A hotel with a heartbeat makes you feel something without trying too hard. It’s a look from the concierge that says, “We’ve got you,” or the lobby that makes you exhale instead of pose. Soul is what happens when the staff stops performing and starts connecting.
How do you balance the creative vision for a soulful hotel with the financial and operational realities?
You don’t balance it. You integrate it. Creativity without discipline is chaos. Discipline without creativity is death. The trick is building beauty that pays its bills. That means understanding what moves people and what moves the needle. It means designing for emotion while modeling for margins. If the concept can’t survive a P&L, it was never soulful, it was just self-indulgent.
Many hotels look good on Instagram but fall flat in person. How do you create experiences that feel as good as they look?
You start by designing for humans, not algorithms. Instagram is a highlight reel. Hospitality is a full-length film. Real experiences need pacing, tension and unexpected turns. It’s not just how it looks, but how it smells at midnight and who’s behind the bar. Most hotels forget this. They chase aesthetics and lose the plot. The best ones choreograph moments that stick, not just images that pop.
How has your philosophy evolved over the years? Are there any ideas you’ve let go of or ones you’ve doubled down on?
I’ve let go of the myth that bigger is better and that consistency means sameness. I’ve stopped pretending every guest wants the same script. What I’ve doubled down on is the human element. Connection over perfection. Vulnerability over polish. I’ve learned that the right kind of weird beats generic luxury every time. I’m no longer chasing cool. I’m building places that feel alive.
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