Michael Zislis claims he didn’t seek out the hotel business; hotels found him.

Ten years ago, the longtime restaurateur – owner of dining spots Strand House, Rock’n Fish and Circa in Manhattan Beach, to name a few – applied to lease a restaurant space at the Metlox Plaza in Manhattan Beach. The city, which owned the space, denied his application but offered him the opportunity to open a hotel at the retail plaza instead.

“The city said to me, ‘Well, we have this hotel space that nobody wants,’” Zislis said. “I took it because all the number-crunching pencil guys couldn’t make it work, and I did it on gut feeling.”

His 38-room Shade Hotel Manhattan Beach opened in 2005 and was an instant success, with occupancy rates north of 95 percent year round and room rates regularly over $300. In spring, the 47-year-old developer broke ground in Redondo Beach on a second Shade Hotel, expected to open next year. A little larger than the original hotel, the Shade Hotel Redondo Beach will have 54 guest rooms, a conference center to accommodate up to 60 people, an event space for up to 150, a rooftop pool, restaurant and lounge.

Scouting for a third space near Los Angeles International Airport, Zislis is preparing to ink his first licensing deal, for a Shade Hotel in Overland Park, Kan.

Zislis said he doesn’t do the same kind of research most hotel developers do before breaking ground on a project; he doesn’t read up on market statistics or look at what competitors are doing. Instead, he gets to know the locals.

“I just do what feels right,” he said. “I hang out in the bars for the first week or two and get to know the people in the community a little bit, but there’s no empirical data. I go by gut feeling, by going into the area and seeing what people’s habits are.”

Even though he claims not to rely much on numbers, Zislis said he sees his hotels as good, long-term investments now.

“I look at them like annuities: I’ll have them my whole life,” he said. “The payback on them is about eight to 10 years, so I think it’s a good business model, not to mention it’s fun.

Speaking of fun, Zislis said the Montage Laguna Beach is his favorite romantic hotel, but when he’s on vacation with his wife and six kids, he prefers to go farther afield.

“We love to go to the Grand Wailea in Hawaii,” he said.

– Bethany Firnhaber

Developer

Michael Zislis

Title: Owner

Company: Zislis Group

Location: Manhattan Beach

Age: 47