White Salmon Monthly Giveaway – Hotel Iconica
We had such an awesome response to our very first Giveaway last month, and though we can’t believe it’s September already, we’re so excited to announce the details for this month’s Giveaway, donated by Hotel Iconica’s, Tao Berman!
We were able to sit down with Tao and ask a few questions about the Hotel and his love for White Salmon.
EXPLORE WHITE SALMON (EWS) “Why did you decide on a Hotel for White Salmon?”
TAO BERMAN (TB) ” When I purchased the property, I wasn’t certain it was going to be a Hotel, but after considerable market research, I concluded it was the best use of the space for the community of Downtown White Salmon. I love White Salmon. I am raising my kids here and I’ve been here since 2004, and adding something that benefits the entire community was my goal. That said, I’m still a businessman, and the economics of the Hotel made sense to me personally, as well. I also love outdoor seating because it makes a community more vibrant, and we intentionally built the patio area at street level for everyone to enjoy and gather at Clyzm Wine Bar.”
EWS “What makes Hotel Iconica different?”
TB “When I made the decision to build a hotel in White Salmon, I knew it wouldn’t be a branded Hotel, but would be something unique and different. As a professional athlete, I spent ten years traveling around the world and found there is a particular way that I personally like to travel and wanted to build something similar. The demographics of White Salmon certainly wasn’t looking for white glove service, so I thought a contactless check-in would be appropriate for the type of guests we have visit our community. To me, architecture is a form of art, and the hotel was an opportunity for me to work with an architect to create something artistic and beneficial to the entire community, because it could be seen as more than a just commodity, and more of an experience for guests when they stay at the Hotel.
EWS “What are the most fun and most challenging parts of what you do?”
TB “The most fun is in regard to construction, and building in a way that inspires me. Architecture is art, and if there’s not some form of that in a building, I wouldn’t be inspired and simply wouldn’t do the project. I also employ a very talented team that helped me tremendously and that makes me happy.
The most challenging aspect is definitely the operating systems of a contactless Hotel. There aren’t that many around the United States, so this has been a work in progress. I had retired about 13 years ago, and am now working tirelessly trying to figure out how to operate it as seamless as possible for guests, and it is a bit more than I expected. Thankfully I have a really good team that is now starting to take over most of that process.”
EWS “When someone stays at Hotel Iconica, what do you want them to know about you and your business?”
TB “When I was trying to figure out how to brand Hotel Iconica, I really struggled with whether I wanted my face to be a part of the project at all. After retiring, I wanted a bit more anonymity, so my gut reaction was that I didn’t want to be the face or really a part of the Hotel from the guest experience. But because of my past, everyone I spoke with told me it simply made sense to incorporate a bit of my childhood–growing up on a mountain with no running water, electricity or indoor bathroom, along with my experience as a professional athlete, then transition to local businessman–it made sense to put my face to the Hotel. It was definitely not my initial intent, but I think it probably makes it a better project because of it.”
EWS “Describe your favorite customers and tell us why.”
TB “By far my favorite customers are those who appreciate architecture and appreciate White Salmon. I’m at the hotel a lot right now because we’re on the second phase of the build, and guests will recognize my face from the bio and our website and strike up a conversation. I love talking about the architecture, our community, the restaurants, the shops, and honestly it just brings me so much joy. I’m a salesman at heart, so when people come to White Salmon because of the Hotel, and then experience everything that I love about our community, it just makes me really happy.”
EWS “What are you most excited about regarding your business this year?”
TB “I’m undoubtedly most excited about finishing the second phase of Hotel Iconica. We are replacing some of our operating systems with more viable options that will be a better long-term solution to some of the problems we’ve encountered. I am entrusting my team with far more responsibility so that I can fully remove myself from the daily operations to spend more time with my kids and my wife.”
On to our SEPTEMBER GIVEAWAY!
Explore White Salmon focuses on our immediate and nearby surrounding communities and aims to promote and spotlight our small businesses. We strive toward a strong emphasis on sustainable tourism, as well, and do our best to keep you informed of all our upcoming events and happenings in and around White Salmon!
HOW IT WORKS
At the beginning of each month, we will partner with a local business in Downtown White Salmon. Each business owner will decide what they would like to donate, and we will then highlight the details on our Instagram and Facebook pages.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
1: Follow @explorewhitesalmon on Instagram
2: Like the post
3: Tag your friends in the comment section (more comments/tags = more entries!)
The last entry will be the last day of the month. One winner will be randomly selected and notified on the 1st of the month and will be notified via our Instagram stories.
This month’s GIVEAWAY will be donated by Hotel Iconica!
WHAT YOU WILL WIN
Our winner will be awarded a $250 gift card to be used between October and December of 2023!
GOOD LUCK!
