From City Life to Boutique Empire: Building The June Motel with April Brown & Sarah Sklash

Have you ever fantasized about quitting your corporate job to buy a run-down motel and turn it into a boutique empire—even if you have zero experience in hospitality or design? Most people keep that dream in their head; April and Sarah actually did it.

In this episode, I’m joined by the visionary co-founders of The June Motel, April Brown and Sarah Sklash, two friends who traded their steady city lives for power drills, YouTube tutorials, and a lot of pink paint.

We talk about:

1. The "Wine-Fueled" Leap: How a casual brainstorm in Toronto turned into the bold acquisition of an aging roadside motel.
2. The Reality of "DIY" Hospitality: From learning to use power tools on the fly to handling mountains of laundry and mid-reno panic.
3. Building an Instagram Icon: Why "Instagrammable" was just the hook, and how they built a deep, meaningful brand culture to back it up.
4. The Netflix Pivot: The behind-the-scenes chaos and courage required to scale a business while the cameras are rolling.

But this isn't just a story about pretty renovations. It’s about the grit behind the glamour. April and Sarah pull back the curtain on the financial hurdles, the steep learning curves, and the power of a partnership built on radical trust.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re waiting for "enough experience" to start your dream project, this conversation will be your wake-up call. Get ready to stop playing it safe and start building your own version of "The June Way."

HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY POINTS:

[01:05] A short introduction about our guests April Brown and Sarah Sklash, how they met, and what got them thinking about the world of hospitality

[04:20] April and Sarah’s mindset shift from cautious transition to shared conviction while building a new hospitality vision

[07:14] April and Sarah’s transformation of a no-frills fishermen’s motel into a visually driven, experience-led boutique destination

[10:06] April and Sarah’s perspective on how “Instagrammable” has evolved from bold backdrops to cohesive, authentic storytelling

[12:38] April and Sarah talk about their ability to see potential and design guest experiences beyond technical renovation skills

[16:14] April and Sarah’s reckoning with the reality of hospitality and the doubts that come with it

[18:53] The expansion journey of April and Sarah, and the behind-the-scenes challenges of opening new properties while launching a Netflix show

[26:37] April and Sarah discuss the necessity of creating repeatable systems to maintain the quality and character of their properties when they couldn’t be on-site every day

[29:19] The importance of hiring for cultural alignment and understanding the “why” to foster team buy-in and preserve the vision of their properties

[31:14] April and Sarah share their hands-on, values-driven approach to hiring and staff retention to ensure cultural alignment and long-term team growth

[33:02] April and Sarah reflect on managing perfectionism and making collaborative decisions while keeping the big picture in focus

[36:45] April and Sarah discuss collaborative decision-making and how differing perspectives strengthen their...