Launched in 2017, Life House—a collection of community-focused, affordably priced lifestyle properties in primary markets—was a vision honed by founder and CEO Rami Zeidan and expanded on by vice president of design Jennifer Bukovec, who joined Zeidan two years ago from Rockwell Group. Life House has become a hospitality tech darling thanks to its proprietary digital platform that automates finance and operational activities, and though COVID-19 has slowed some openings, they plan to almost double their portfolio by 2021. Much of this growth is due to a healthy and autonomous partnership based on similar values and shared beliefs rooted in research. “Our brand is focused on making beautiful, storied hotels more accessible, and the lower budgets increase our creative thinking and make our spaces more soulful,” Bukovec says.
Early jobs
Zeidan started his career at Deutsche Bank, where he handled hotel construction loans, including the NoMad New York for Sydell Group (where he would later end up working). While a bank role may seem off-brand, it’s one he credits for helping him launch Life House. “It was one of my more powerful experiences, as it developed my young, creative, unstructured self into a radically organized, hardworking, and thoughtful professional,” he says.
Bukovec’s start was similarly serendipitous. Following her graduation from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning with a degree in interior design and almost three years working at firms in New York, Bukovec had made plans to move to Bangkok to “immerse myself in a dramatically different culture,” she says. The plan fell through because of a visa issue, but that same day, a friend at Rockwell Group touched base saying her studio was hiring junior designers. Bukovec spent almost four years working for Rockwell partner and mentor Greg Keffer. From learning how to manage others to organizing projects and seeing them come to fruition in real life, she says she was “empowered to explore my creativity and step into the arena,” helping to set the stage for her time at Life House.
The Mediterranean-inspired Mama Joon restaurant at Life House Collins Park in Miami Beach
Why hospitality
Zeidan was brought up by Lebanese immigrants in the “pretty homogeneous” suburb in Minnesota. Following his mother’s tragic death when he was only 6 years old, he says he struggled to find a sense of belonging. In 2014, his brother also passed away in an accident. “After quite a bit of introspection, I connected the dots between travel and social work—that exposure to new, authentic experiences and places brings meaning to people’s lives,” he says. “From there, I knew I wanted to launch a design-centric lifestyle hotel brand at an accessible pricepoint.”
Much like Zeidan, Bukovec fell in love with the stories that can be told through design, which she had first experienced during a semester-long internship with AvroKO. “From that point, I was infatuated with hospitality and storytelling, “ she says. “I learned I wanted to create environments that were long-lasting and sustainable.”
Life House Ocean Drive in Miami Beach blends hues of coastal Cartagena with equestrian detailing
Lessons learned
Zeidan credits his multiple and disparate roles with the lessons he needed to forge ahead as an entrepreneur. His time in acquisitions and hotel and brand management at Starwood Capital/SH Group, for example, showed him that “large budgets and expensive agencies didn’t result in the best design and definitely not authentic storytelling,” and, importantly, “that design had to be connected to branding and operations in order to cater to the users of that design.” But it was his time at Sydell Group that illuminated why he wanted to strike out on his own. “It was hard to apply my full diverse skillset to a company unless I had a bigger role. I knew I needed to start on my path to becoming an entrepreneur.”
On Life House
“When I joined, Rami was casting the vision for the brand. I found it to be such an intriguing challenge,” Bukovec says. With design done in-house, the focus is on crafting and innovating a “scalable, yet bespoke hospitality design formula” that delivers a sense of community within physical spaces.
Zeidan channels this sense with Life House, where he’s focused on creating places for people to interact. “It’s experiences like this that break down prejudices, biases, and bring the universe together more powerfully than any policy or governmental initiative ever could,” he explains. “Our version of hospitality specializes in bringing the local community into our hotels so guests can feel confident enough to meet new people and express the fullness of their being.”
Colonial style and Streamline Moderne seamlessly mingle at Life House Collins Park’s rooftop lounge
This article originally appeared in HD’s July 2020 issue.
