Concept & Positioning
A clear point of view for the food, beverage and guest experience - rooted in the property, the place and the people it is designed to welcome.
Pre-Opening Hospitality Advisory
Hospitality
built to open
strong.
Pre-opening food and beverage advisory for boutique hotels, developers and lifestyle brands.
Discuss your project ↗
Pre-opening strategy · meaningful experiences · strong openings
Hospitality that belongs
We create hospitality that belongs.
Sense of Place is a pre-opening hospitality advisory for boutique hotels, restaurants and lifestyle brands.
Founded and led by Michael Neuner in San Francisco, the practice helps developers and operators craft concepts with clarity, build experiences with soul and open with confidence.
From vision to arrival
The opening is not a moment.
It is a sequence.
Concept, commercial logic, service and space should move as one. The work is to make every decision feel inevitable by the time the doors open.
01 · Define 02 · Prepare 03 · PerformPre-opening hospitality advisory
Built for projects where the detail matters.
Pre-Opening Readiness
The operating model, partners, staffing plan, standards and launch rhythm required to open with confidence.
Performance & AI-Enabled Operations
Practical AI workflows, automation and commercial levers that reduce administrative friction, sharpen decisions and protect the human guest experience.
The work, simplified
Three reasons to
begin a conversation.
Flagship engagement
Pre-Opening
Advisory Blueprint.
A focused four-to-six-week engagement for hospitality projects preparing to open within the next 6 to 18 months.
01
Concept & Commercial Direction
Positioning, guest journey, F&B concept direction and prioritized revenue opportunities.
02
Readiness & Operating Design
Operating model, staffing architecture, partner strategy, SOPs and training roadmap.
03
90-Day Opening Plan
Critical path, risk register, opening KPIs and a practical first-90-day performance plan.
Ways to begin
A clear first step.
Built to create momentum.
Start with the scope that matches the immediate need. Each engagement is fixed around defined deliverables and can lead naturally into deeper advisory support.
AI-Enabled Operations Scan
From $3,500A vendor-neutral review of repetitive work, data readiness and the highest-value opportunities for responsible automation.
Three prioritized use cases, value and effort assessment, risk considerations and a 90-day action plan.Discuss this engagement ↗Pre-Opening Readiness Review
From $4,500A focused assessment for hospitality projects approaching opening and needing an objective view of readiness.
Readiness scorecard, critical gaps, top-ten risk list, corrective priorities and executive debrief.Discuss this engagement ↗F&B Category & Menu Performance Review
From $5,500Category management and menu engineering for operators seeking a clearer assortment, stronger contribution and less operational complexity.
Category architecture, menu mix and margin analysis, pricing opportunities, purchasing priorities and implementation roadmap.Discuss this engagement ↗Pre-Opening Advisory Blueprint
From $18,000The flagship engagement for boutique hotels, developers and lifestyle brands preparing to open within 6 to 18 months.
Concept and commercial direction, operating design, readiness roadmap and a practical 90-day opening plan.Discuss this engagement ↗Embedded opening advisory and ongoing operational support are available following an initial engagement and are scoped to the project.
“A hospitality experience should be remembered for its feeling - and trusted for its performance.”
Selected brand experience
A career shaped by
distinctive hospitality.
Experience across celebrated hotels, restaurants and global standards organizations informs a point of view that is both exacting and commercially grounded.
Claridge'sTHE
CONNAUGHTTHE EMORYTHE BERKELEYTHE MAYBOURNE
RIVIERATHE MAYBOURNE
BEVERLY HILLS
CONNAUGHTTHE EMORYTHE BERKELEYTHE MAYBOURNE
RIVIERATHE MAYBOURNE
BEVERLY HILLS
HAKKASAN
Begin a conversation
Planning an opening
with ambition?
A focused 15-minute conversation to understand your opening, priorities and timing.
Book a 15-minute consultation ↗
Founded in San Francisco
A personal practice.
A global perspective.
Sense of Place is founded and led by Michael Neuner, bringing international luxury-hospitality experience to the decisions that shape a distinctive, disciplined opening.
Michael Neuner · Founder & Principal