We recently partnered with one of my favorite hotels in the world.
AZULIK in Tulum.
For us, this is a dream client — a property with an incredible product but seemingly limitless opportunity for us to add value.
They’ve built something extraordinary. A place so visionary that it blurred the lines between hotel, art, and nature itself. A property that reshaped the identity of an entire destination.
With 2.4 million followers on Instagram, AZULIK is the most followed single-location hotel in the world.
But here’s where the opportunity lies:
Those followers aren’t translating into the level of engagement and community they could be. That’s exactly where we come in.
At Oasi, we’re handling both their marketing and revenue management — two sides of the same coin that work incredibly well together.
Strong revenue management allows us to capture more of the value and demand that our marketing and social media efforts create. It’s a system that compounds.
And AZULIK’s story is worth telling as it holds lessons for every hospitality operator trying to build something that matters.
It all began with a single rule...
Never cut a tree.
The Birth of AZULIK
In the early 2000s, an Argentine painter named Eduardo “Roth” Neira moved to Tulum when it was still a quiet fishing village. He traded his paintings for a piece of jungle land and began building a retreat by hand with local Mayan craftsmen.
No master plan. No blueprint. Just an instinct to let nature lead.
Walkways were woven from bejuco vines. Rooms curved around existing trees. Every decision honored the environment rather than dominating it.
Over time, Roth’s retreat evolved into a full resort. But it wasn’t built like a hotel. It grew like a living organism.
Each addition felt more like a piece of art than a room.
Treehouse villas suspended in the canopy. Sculptural domes used for temazcal ceremonies. Candlelit spaces with no electricity to help guests disconnect from technology and reconnect with themselves.
Instead of separating design, art, and wellness, Roth intertwined them until they became inseparable.
Art as Experience
Most hotels treat art as decoration. Something that fills empty walls. AZULIK treats it as a core part of the guest journey.
Roth built an art museum, SFER IK, where trees grow through the floors and ceilings. Guests walk barefoot through the galleries, feeling every curve of the hand-crafted architecture.
The physical space becomes an active part of the experience. Guests don’t observe art from a distance; they move through it.
It’s a reminder that hospitality, at its highest level, is not about amenities. It’s about emotion.
When a guest can’t stop thinking about how a place made them feel, that’s when you’ve created something extraordinary.
AZULIK’s genius lies in that emotional connection. Every corner tells a story. Every structure invites curiosity. It’s not perfect in the conventional sense, but it’s unforgettable in the human sense.
The Cultural Ecosystem
Today, AZULIK’s 48 villas connect through elevated walkways that weave through the jungle canopy. The resort links dining spaces, wellness temples, and art installations into one continuous experience.
You don’t move from “room” to “restaurant” to “spa.” You flow through an ecosystem.
This integration of space and purpose is what the next generation of travelers is craving.
Modern travelers aren’t booking a bed. They’re booking transformation. They want to feel something new, learn something meaningful, and share something beautiful.
AZULIK delivers all three.
Its design is built for sharing. Every view, every curve, every beam of light is photogenic because it was created with intention. And with 2.4 million followers, their guests have proven it — making AZULIK one of the most shared properties in the world. (Check out their Instagram Page @azulik)
Lessons for Modern Hospitality
AZULIK’s story holds a few key lessons for anyone building or marketing hotels today.
1. Start with core beliefs, not just a business plan.
“Never cut a tree” wasn’t just a design choice. It was Roth’s foundational philosophy — the filter through which every decision was made.
The strongest brands in hospitality aren’t built on spreadsheets. They’re built on clear, defensible beliefs that define what you will and won’t do.
2. Merge art, wellness, and storytelling.
Travelers don’t separate these experiences in their minds, so neither should we. The future of hospitality lies in combining physical spaces with emotional narratives.
3. Make everything shareable.
In a world driven by social discovery, visual storytelling isn’t optional. It’s the new front door to your brand. If your property isn’t designed for content, you’re invisible to the next generation of guests.
4. Build ecosystems, not amenities.
A restaurant, spa, and pool are commodities. But when those elements connect through story, design, and purpose, they create immersion. Immersion builds memory, and memory drives return visits.
What This Means for Hospitality
AZULIK started with one artist, one vision, and one rule.
When you stop thinking about hotels as rooms, pools, and spas, and start thinking of them as platforms for transformation, everything changes.
You attract guests who stay longer, spend more, and share your story willingly. You build communities instead of customer lists. You create experiences that endure.
That’s what we help hotels do at Oasi — build systems that make creativity scale.
We act as your outsourced Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Revenue Officer, giving you executive-level leadership backed by a full team of specialists in content, social media, ads, email, SEO, pricing & distribution strategy.
The combination of revenue management and marketing is powerful. Our pricing and distribution strategies capture the maximum value from the demand and awareness our content creates. They work together to compound your growth.
That’s why working with AZULIK is such an exciting opportunity. We’re helping amplify a story that deserves to reach every traveler who values experience over everything else — while optimizing their revenue systems to capture that value.
If you’re ready to turn your story, design, and philosophy into growth that compounds and drives more direct bookings, we’d love to help.
Fill out an inquiry here and let’s explore how we can work together.
See you next week.
— Ben Wolff
P.S. We're launching a podcast this week!
Every week, we're breaking down the top stories in hospitality. Where the puck is actually going. What's working and what's not.
Four different perspectives with takes you won't hear anywhere else.
Insights from insiders in hospitality and travel.
First episode out this Friday.
Links to the show here!👇
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5oPExA0txHMjEI5Ye13IUy?si=ZWhZlBtEQB6S1vOlEfoDPA
Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-hospitality/id1849637233
P.P.S. - A handful of you guys have mentioned that you are missing my emails and they are getting pushed to other tabs in your inbox. Here’s two ways to avoid missing the weekly action:
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🎥 Check Out My Podcast with Steve Turk Diving into The Story Behind Baya, Our New Tropical Landscape Resort
🎥 Check Out My Episode on The Bigger Pockets STR Podcast on Redefining Luxury Hotels and Outperforming Traditional Hotel Models
🎥 Check Out My Podcast Episode on the Action Academy about Making Millions Through Direct Bookings
Ben Wolff
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