Can't Let You Go

Chapter 37

I think for a moment to figure out what answer it is that he wants. "The appearance of luxury."

"Bingo. It's not the quality of the ski slopes." He shoots a look at Carter. That must have been his answer. "Why?"

"Skiing is one thing. Pros are going to analyze the details and have preferences, but the average person doesn't think it through to that level. They'll be more concerned about the quality of their down time. What the lodge looks like, how the rooms are appointed, what the amenities are."

"How do we get people who aren't skiers to visit a ski resort and give it a try?"

With a sigh, I bite my lip as I think. "The cachet of the architect and designer. If someone famous is involved in the project, fans will want to see it for themselves."

"That's my boy. I knew bringing you on was a good idea." He slaps me on the back. "Sit down and look at these portfolios with us." We turn our attention to the large LCD screen on the wall. "The people in Chile announced this project quite some time ago. Carter here wooed them and helped secure our place in the line-up for RFQs. The hospitality and ski industries have been chomping at the bit over this and architects are jumping at the chance to design the structures. Some of these are ones who've approached us and others are ones I like."

After we've gone through everything Uncle Robert turns to look at me. "Which one did you like best?"

I tilt my head. "Between these? I don't think it much matters who you pick."

Carter scoffs. "You just said the reputation of the architect would be a draw for guests."

"I still stand by that, but the type of guest that does that is most likely to be wealthy. Any noteworthy architect will draw from that crowd. The middle class market is more likely to follow interior designers."

"Let's look at those next, then." Uncle Robert nods to his assistant who starts a new slide show.

"Which one of these has the biggest social media following?" I ask before we'd seen them all.

My uncle turns to face his assistant.

"I don't have data on that, Sir. Perhaps one of your other assistants aggregated those statistics."

Needing to show Uncle Robert that I have business skills beyond computer coding languages and hardware design, I continue. "The first thing to consider, obviously, is whether or not the designer has demonstrated that their aesthetic matches what our client wants in terms of mood and overall scheme. Some famous designers are basically one-trick-ponies. They have one decor theme that they overlay onto every space. That's not a dig at them. Their clients want to be assured of the type of result they can expect. My point is that a designer can have twenty million followers, but if their aesthetic is cottage chic and Chile wants Scandinavian or some such, the partnership isn't going to work out."

"That's a loss of twenty million potential customers," Carter says.

"No, it's not actually. Those twenty million follow that designer because they like cottage chic. Most of them won't have any interest in something that deviates. The designer also risks alienating their audience."

"Then let's table this until we have the stats on these designers."

"Actually Uncle, I would suggest starting over. Put out an RFI for designers that meet Chile's requirements and have them include follower counts and account growth analytics over the last five years. I also want to see the rankings for their tags."

"Alright, I'll heed your suggestion. Carter, have someone on your team take care of that."

We both look at Robert, waiting on what's next.