The hotel business hasn’t always been hospitable to Avi Brosh, but five years after opening his flagship Palihouse West Hollywood hotel, his standout design sensibility and hip style have established him as a force in Los Angeles.

Brosh and his team at Paligroup Management LLC in West Hollywood operate three L.A hotels – the others are Palihotel on Melrose Avenue and Palihouse Santa Monica. The latter opened earlier this summer, bearing Paligroup’s extended-stay flag. The former, a traditional stay boutique hotel, opened last year.

Brosh, 48, said he originally got into the hotel business as a way to complement work he was already doing developing urban residential and mixed-use properties. His company, then called Palisades Development Group, developed more than 1 million square feet of residential and mixed-use projects in Los Angeles and San Francisco, including the Lofts at Hollywood & Vine. Now, he’s focused on expanding his hotel brands to big urban markets nationwide.

“We only develop and operate smaller boutique hotels with our own brands, and we focus only on major markets,” he said.

Paligroup will add a fourth hotel property to its portfolio next year when it opens Palihotel Miami.

Brosh, who lost a hotel he had been developing in the last recession, prides himself for having made it through tough times. Construction on what was supposed to be a second Palihouse property at 1717 Vine St. came to a halt in 2009 when he ran out of money and defaulted on a loan. Since then, Paligroup has put more focus on hotel operations, management and branding.

Despite the difficulties, Brosh said he still considers hotels to be a good investment – as long as they’re financed properly.

“Hotels are only good investments if they are capitalized properly, operated efficiently and are aware of how they fit into the neighborhoods where they’re located,” he said. “Barring any unforeseen events, I think overall (revenue per available room) will grow for at least the next five years.”

Brosh said he’s particularly optimistic about the long-term potential for L.A. hotels situated near the beach.

“The L.A. hotel market has a relatively high barrier to entry, especially in the coastal markets,” he said. “So to be able to have well-capitalized and stabilized hotels in the L.A. market is an excellent position to be in over the long term.”

The most challenging part of his job?

“Offering the best guest experience possible and improving our internal management protocol are a daily challenge,” he said.

– Bethany Firnhaber