"Should we build a variety of units or more of the one that's already working?"

I hear this a lot from operators planning their property’s next build phase.

And, I've asked it myself more than once.

But there's a bigger question you need to ask first:

How can you build a unit that doesn’t compete on price?

Most operators spread the budget evenly across their property.

Every unit gets the same finishes and the same hot tub.

So every unit is nice.

But none of them is nice – the one that people screenshot or send to their group chat.

Which means your content has no eye-popper to lead with and drive traffic to your site.

And then one day a new property opens down the road… And you're competing on price again.

So today, I want to walk you through the Halo Effect, and how focusing on just two flagship units at Onera Fredericksburg helped us book out the rest of the property.

We built 8 completely different units at Onera Fredericksburg, including…

• Treehouses
• Domes
• Safari tents
• Container homes

The plan was to see what guests actually wanted, then scale it.

Immediately, two units began pulling ahead:

Monarch hit 92% occupancy at $500 to $1,000 a night in its first year.

The unit is a modern take on a butterfly, with a double-peaked roof, floor-to-ceiling glass and a net hammock that rises up to the loft.

And Spyglass was right behind it.

Spyglass is a long, curved tube that frames the trees like a looking glass

Both units went viral more times than I can count and these two units booked everything else.

Once guests found us through Monarch and Spyglass, they’d land on our site.

When they started picked their dates, they’d see availability across the property – including our other units.

That's the Halo Effect: One or two units create the attention, and the rest of the whole property gets to share it.

Like our Cocoon unit, for example.

But most operators build the opposite way and play it safe:

It makes sense.

When you're spending real money, the instinct is to diversify:

• Spread the budget evenly so no unit feels like the cheap one
• Pick finishes that photograph well and won't bother anyone
• Treat every unit as equal in your marketing

Sure, identical units make it easy to offer a consistent experience.

But when every unit looks the same, your content doesn’t stop the scroll.

So here's how we think about it now:

Find (or build) the one unit worth filming.

This works whether you're mid-build or already open.

Step 1: Find the halo unit you already have.

It's usually the one that:

• Books first when you open up a new month
• Holds your highest rate (and consistently sells out every weekend)
• Gets tagged and shared the most

Once you know which one it is, put it in the first frame of your Reels and on the cover of your listing.

Step 2: Make sure it’s photogenic.

We learned this one at Monarch.

It's a stunning unit, but the interior is chopped up in a weird way, which makes it hard to shoot from inside.

So when we designed Diamond for our Phase 2 expansion...

We built a floor plan that flows back to front.

And from inside, you can see straight through to the hot tub out back.

It's become one of our highest performing units in Phase 2.

Step 3: Create Wow moments.

For Phase 2, that Wow moment was Monolith.

Our architect's first concept was a cantilever shaped like a wine bottle.

I thought it was a little cheesy.

So, I pushed for sleek and minimal, kept the cantilever, and made it 35 feet long, wrapped in floor-to-ceiling glass.

Our other units cost closer to $400,000 - $600,000.

In contrast, Monolith cost $670,000.

But the architecture absolutely turned into the Wow moment I imagined.

Step 4: When a unit wins, rebuild it.

At my second property, Onera Wimberley, we took Fredericksburg’s hit Spyglass unit and rebuilt 12 of them into a steep hillside.

Then, we…

• Made it about 20% bigger
• Added a proper seating area and a bigger back deck
• Swapped the original bent plywood for cypress tongue-and-groove.

The Fredericksburg Spyglass cost just under $200,000.

The Wimberley version cost $325,000 to $340,000, with about $100,000 of that in structural steel alone.

And the best part?

Both Spyglass units in Fredericksburg and Wimberley earn about $500 a night.

This is how we've held our rates while the market filled up.

Since we opened, a ton of new supply has come into the Texas Hill Country.

But we've held our rates and occupancy anyway because:

• We still have the most unique, most differentiated product in the market
• We've gotten much better at marketing it, with organic social first and Meta ads on top

Here's how Onera Wimberley’s doing, now that things have levelled out:

• $500 ADR
• 80% occupancy
• About $400 RevPAR
• Margins right around 50%

And both Onera properties run 80%+ direct bookings.

Which of your units would a stranger screenshot or send to their group chat?

• If you have one, put it at the front of everything.
• If you don't, that's the first thing I'd look at before your next phase.

Ben Wolff
Founder, Oasi & Modern Hospitality Accelerator

P.S. Not sure which of your units is the Halo one (or whether you have one yet)?

That's the kind of question we work through with members in our Monday and Thursday live sessions inside the Modern Hospitality Accelerator.

We look at what's booking, what's getting shared, and what your content should lead with.

​Fill out this 2-minute form to see if the Accelerator makes sense for you and your property.​