What happens when two short-term rental investors decide to go all in on a 50-key hotel in the Arizona desert? We sit down with Adam Walz and Micah Thomas of Comeback Hospitality to hear how they made the leap from Airbnb operators to owners of The Wesley, Page's first boutique hotel.

In this episode, we talk about how they found the property off-market for well below the area's average price per key, how Page, Arizona sits within two hours of seven national parks and monuments, and what it really costs to bring a historic roadside motel back to life (spoiler: it involves a lot of plumbing, $50,000 in internet upgrades, and a third shipping container). They also open up about their approach to affordable luxury, the role AI is playing in their operations, and what it means to build in public from day one.

If you're a hotelier thinking about what it takes to raise the bar in an underserved destination, join us for this one.

Find The Wesley at thewesleyaz.com and follow Adam and Micah on Instagram. Listen to Foundry Talks on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

We are revisiting our conversation with Jeff and Austin Clegg of Redfish Lake Lodge in Stanley, Idaho because summer there is simply too special not to talk about again.

Crystal-clear glacial water, a natural sandy beach, canyon views that open up to what locals call the Gates of Heaven, and a family-run lodge that has been welcoming guests since 1929 -- this place is genuinely unlike anywhere else. But beyond the setting, Jeff and Austin share what it really takes to steward a legacy property on US Forest Service land. From managing multi-generational guest loyalty to building a seasonal team culture that keeps 60-plus employees returning year after year, there is a lot here for hospitality operators to take notes on.

If you have been on the fence about visiting, consider this your sign. Summer at Redfish does not last forever.

Dylan Barahona is the new general manager at Riverside Colorado, a glamping retreat nestled in Poudre Canyon about 30 minutes outside Fort Collins. Riverside is owned by the same team behind the Mishawaka Amphitheater, the historic 1,000-person outdoor venue that beat Red Rocks for the top spot in Denver Westword's ranking of Colorado outdoor music venues.

Dylan brings over a decade of hospitality experience spanning luxury hotels in Florida, VIP music festival programming including Electric Forest, and outdoor hospitality. He joined Riverside just six weeks before this recording and is already rethinking how the property drives revenue, builds community, and earns repeat guests.

In this conversation, Dylan talks about why he is pushing guests to extend single-night stays into two and three-night trips, how he is curating "pre-parties" before Mishawaka shows to create a festival-within-a-festival feel, and what a potential donkey hike experience called Donkey Delights says about his approach to programming. He also shares his take on where AI genuinely helps in hospitality operations and where it falls short, including why no algorithm is going to walk up to a guest struggling with a fire pit and make a real human connection.

Dylan also reflects on a stay at Rancho Santana in Nicaragua that shaped how he thinks about the difference between programming and memory-making.

Find Riverside Colorado at riversidecolorado.com and follow Dylan on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/dylan-barahona. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Foundry Talks on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.