I build small hotels and other cool spaces, and write a weekly letter sharing stories and insights to help you craft unforgettable spaces and experiences through design & hospitality.
Welcome to Experiential Hospitality, a weekly newsletter where I share stories and insights to help you craft unforgettable spaces and experiences through design & hospitality. Forwarded this email? Sign up here
Hospitality in its purest form often shows up right under our noses, in a package we wouldn’t usually expect it.
Let me explain.
The past two weeks in central Texas were glorious: sunshine, cool breeze and green everywhere. Then storm season arrived, and with it, I have a whole new respect.
Our house and office were both struck by lightning.
It happened on Wednesday evening. I was holed up in The Nook, working away while I listened to one of my favorite soundtracks: rain dancing on the metal roof.
Then things escalated.
I snapped this photo right before the rain turned violent…
The wind whipped up, thunder cracked, rain dumped down in torrents, and the ominously dark sky lit up with flashes. And then—KBAANG!
A blinding blue flash. The lights went black. Objects shot across the room and smacked the walls. My heart jolted and I dropped to my knees, sure the windows had blown out. Thank God they hadn’t.
Helen and the boys were in our home, a few hundred feet away. She said the whole building shook, raining a fine layer of dust down from between the ceiling boards.
The next day, an electrician stopped by to assess the damage.
Blackened switches (fire shot out of them). Blown off light covers. Fried appliances, wifi, e-bikes, car chargers, AC systems, etc.
But the most concerning piece seems to be our wiring. A strike like that can melt insulation and compromise everything, turning a home into to a fire hazard. And because our humble home (built with ~$20k of salvaged materials by teenagers 25 years ago) has no attic or crawl space, rewiring means tearing into every single wall and ceiling.
“Probably $100,000 of damage,” the electrician told me.
I cancelled my work trip I’d been planning to New York early the next morning. I needed to be with my family to figure this out.
We’ve started the insurance process. It’s all still up in the air.
Then two days later, we got hail. I was on the road, and there was nowhere to go. Our car took a good beating, and has the scars to prove it.
To top it off, my eyes—still healing from PRK surgery—began throbbing badly.
It hasn’t been an easy week, and one evening, I came home feeling pretty defeated.
As I stepped in the door, our 2-year-old Lucas ran up to me, arms open and with a huge grin and shouted, “Dada, I want you!”
Everything melted away.
That is hospitality—no effort, no agenda, no performance. Just pure, joyful welcome.
No training or technique. Just love—made visible through small, genuine gestures. And somehow, little children seem to understand that better than most of us. I believe there’s a lesson there.
I’m grateful for the many blessings in my life. Especially the simple things.
That’s all for today. May your week be wonderful, and full of small joys!
—Isaac
P.S. I’ll be speaking at an event in central TN this week, and may have a little extra time, in case you’re in the Nashville area and want to say hello. Shoot me a reply if so. Probably either Wednesday or Saturday mornings, though I’m not sure yet.
I build small hotels and other cool spaces, and write a weekly letter sharing stories and insights to help you craft unforgettable spaces and experiences through design & hospitality.
By Isaac French June 23rd, 2025 read and listen at isaacjfrench.com read time 4 minutes Welcome to Experiential Hospitality, a weekly newsletter where I share stories and insights to help you craft unforgettable spaces and experiences through design & hospitality. Forwarded this email? Sign up here Good morning! We’ve been going ninety to nothing with summer now fully upon us. It’s dizzying to consider that the days only get shorter from here. The last few days, along with a whole gamut of...
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By Isaac French June 9th, 2025 read and listen at isaacjfrench.com read time 3 minutes Welcome to Experiential Hospitality, a weekly newsletter where I share stories and insights to help you craft unforgettable spaces and experiences through design & hospitality. Forwarded this email? Sign up here the lake disaster When we first found it, the “lake” at Live Oak Lake was nothing more than a muddy little pond, hidden in brush and swampy trees. But I just knew it could be beautiful. And I fell...