Channel Mastery - Ep. 47: Johannes Ariens, Co-Founder of LOGE

“We're a midmarket brand. We want to bring more people outdoors. So much of travel is trending into this very inaccessible luxury-type product, and that's just not us.”

- Johannes Ariens

EPISODE PREVIEW:

Johannes Ariens’ enthusiasm is infectious. As the co-founder of LOGE Co., he is jumping into nearly every hard-as-you-know-what category: retail, hospitality, lodging and mid-range brands. Yet he and his team are cleaning up in every way. Why? Because they know their customer.LOGE Co. is a hotel (and hostel and campground and communal kitchen) as outdoor brand. Within one year of launching, they will have four locations from California to Washington State. They’ve managed to do this because they’re not just looking to provide someone a bed for the night. They’ve examined why someone needs the bed, what brought them to the small towns LOGE sets up in, and most importantly, how they can help create and foster the best experience throughout the stay.That quest to aid the experience has led them to open in-house EVO retail stores, rent high end bikes, support athlete ambassadors, and implement environmental stewardship programs. At the risk of redundancy: these are ALL things his customers care about and want reflected in their lives. Ariens disruption is in combining totally separate sectors in a way that may just be a brand new channel.

GUEST PROFILES:

Johannes ariens

With a background in design and construction, Johannes Ariens is the co-founder and CEO of LOGE Co. and founder of Radify Development. He calls himself an alternative developer, passionate about design, thoughtful in what he chooses to create, and striving to build an experience rather than just a structure. He believes there is a relationship between the built and natural environments, and that harmony between the two is essential to their success. When he’s not applying these philosophies to LOGE, he’s skiing, spending time in the mountains or surfing in cold water.

SELECT QUOTES:

“Our internal phrase we use is, "Just send it."…Behind that is: iterate, move fast, and do something.”

“The reason that we're able to do what we've accomplished today, and continue forward with our larger visions, is for no other reason for than [our] team.”

“For us, we see active environmentalism as pushing access. People don't care about what they don't do.”

“We're a midmarket brand. We want to bring more people outdoors. So much of travel is trending into this very inaccessible luxury-type product, and that's just not us.”

“That's really one of our strongest differentiators: what we see in places is often very different from what other people see. We see character, and we see a story behind a building and a place.”

“I think I downplay the nuts and bolts side of our technical knowledge, sometimes. There's a lot of that involved, but then the other side of is show up and doing something.”

“To a very high degree, we're curating an experience and putting product in that actually adds value to that user experience.”

[On social media and other publicity] “When I say we're sick of the direction we've seen things going, it's that idea that the volume of impressions is the only thing that matters. That's just not the case. It's absolutely quality, and building a real relationship, and being a brand that our customers are going to understand.”

“And the influencer thing: I think a lot of it got lost in this idea that life is as produced as that sometimes would appear. It just isn't.”

“Why we started this was to help people remember that we are people, and that we're in it together.”