Introducing Wanderstay, the Best Boutique Hotel in Houston
Not all who wander are lost
With the rise of companies like AirBNB and VRBO many might wonder what is next for the hotel industry. Deidre Mathis, a Black woman, hotelier, author, and world traveler,
has figured out a way to take the traditional hotel to the next level. Mathis, a proud HBCU graduate, has opened the Wanderstay Boutique Hotel a few minutes away from Minute Maid Park in Houston, Tex.
This isn’t her first rodeo in the industry, a couple of years ago she became the first Black woman to own and operate a hostel in the United States, which encouraged her to expand.
“With the success of the first location, Wanderstay Houston Hostel, it made perfect sense to grow the company by opening a 2nd location. I'm a lifelong learner and worked in the hostel segment for five years and I believed it was time to conquer a new thing, boutique hotels,” said Mathis.
To put the significance of this into perspective, in 2019, the Houston area had 92,000 rooms across 934 properties, 13 of them are Black owned and she owns two of them.
Prior to becoming a hotelier, she traveled quite a bit, she has visited all seven continents and been to over 40 countries. Each destination provided inspiration for curating creative lodging spaces for her fellow travelers.
The Wanderstay Boutique Hotel has ten rooms and can accommodate up to 30 people. It is being branded as a “surprise” hotel as each room has a unique theme, from black and white, to sports, to Hollywood and of course, travel.
Guests have the option to select a room for an additional fee, but this is one time it is safe to roll the dice because you will be amazed no matter which suite you are assigned to.
Mathis worked with niche interior designers to create the beautiful, open, vivid space. You can tell she put thought into each concept and room when you see the custom made wallpaper, the eye-popping artwork and unique light fixtures. One stand out collaboration includes a cognac colored accent wall with a matching seated area, installed by J'Decor & Upholstery, another Black owned business in Houston. In addition to the hotel rooms, there is a conference room with a whiteboard that can be used to host meetings and also an open concept kitchen that guests can access that will allow them to make home cooked meals during long term stays instead of constantly dining out.
Currently, for a very reasonable price, you can rent out the whole facility. Perfect for a family reunion, wedding or a group of sports fans looking to have a place to retreat to when they leave the Astros game.
Mathis has really raised the bar for the hotel industry with the Wanderstay Boutique Hotel. It is only a matter of time before we see pictures of the beautiful accommodation all over Social Media.
Ricquel is an Oakland, Calif. native, proud HBCU graduate (Strike Rattlers!), working mom and amazing wife. When she's not Mommyin', she's reading fiction novels, tasting quality wine, being a food glutton or traveling. She's visited over twenty countries, and four continents and is looking to increase that number.
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