The "Pickleball" Strategy for Independent Hotels With Dina Belon

Dina Belon is the President of Staypineapple Hotels, a boutique hospitality company headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, known for its collection of uniquely designed and guest-focused hotels in major US cities. Under her leadership, the company is expanding its third-party management and brand licensing model while helping independent hotels preserve their individuality and compete with larger brands. Dina was named one of Women We Admire’s Top 50 Women Leaders in Hospitality in both 2024 and 2025 and has also been recognized by Boutique Hotelier. With more than 25 years in hospitality, she previously held roles with Marriott and Wyndham. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: • [00:00] Introduction • [6:42] How a three-story pineapple painted on a Seattle building pulled Dina Belon out of sustainability consulting and into boutique hotels • [9:00] Why the brand playbook and the boutique playbook are opposites, and what "do the next right thing" replaces • [14:13] The handful of constants Staypineapple holds across every hotel, and everything it deliberately lets vary • [20:21] Why Staypineapple stopped competing on the big brands' field and started a different sport • [21:30] How six owned hotels and three managed ones run off one centralized back office • [27:55] What a big brand actually costs once the fees stack up, and when an independent should walk away • [34:38] Why AI search hands independents their first structural advantage in decades, and why the window is closing • [44:39] How pineapple chunks got an entire staff entering guest data, and why culture has to come before the technology • [51:30] The one change Dina says any hotelier can make tomorrow to cut turnover In this episode… Independent hotels do not beat the big brands by copying them. They win by being specific: a defined property character, a centralized back office that frees the on-property team, and public information deep enough that AI search returns them by name. Kin Sio sits down with Dina Belon, President of Staypineapple Hotels, on The Lights On Podcast to break down how that works across a nine-hotel portfolio. Dina came up through the brand side. Design school, then hotel real estate development in the Orlando market, then construction management at Marriott, then a stretch in sustainability consulting that put her in a downtown Seattle office. She looked out the window one day at a three-story pineapple painted on the building across the way, Googled the company, found an open Director of Real Estate Assets role, and started two weeks later. She arrived planning to teach Staypineapple how to standardize and scale. It took about two years to see that the boutique model runs on the opposite logic. Brands write the SOP and then grade you against it. Staypineapple has one: do the next right thing. Resources mentioned in this episode: • Kin Sio on LinkedIn -   / kinsio   • Lights On - https://www.lightson.co/ • Dina Belon on LinkedIn -   / dinabelon   • Dina Belon: Email - dbelon@staypineapple.com • Staypineapple Hotels - https://www.staypineapple.com/ • “What Makes a Hospitality Brand Endure With Sean Dee” on The Lights On Podcast - https://www.lightson.co/posts/what-ma... • “Human Touch in Hotel Tech Evolution With Bernard Tan” on The Lights On Podcast - https://www.lightson.co/posts/human-t... • Michelle Barnet on LinkedIn -   / michelle-barnet   • Independent Hotel Show Miami - https://independenthotelshow.us/ • Mews - https://www.mews.com/en • Abra Hospitality - https://abrahospitality.com/ • ReviewPro by Shiji - https://www.shijigroup.com/reviewpro-... • Salesforce - https://www.salesforce.com/ Sponsor for this episode... This episode is sponsored by Lights On. Lights On helps hotels grow revenue more consistently by managing pricing, distribution, and digital marketing together. We help hotels identify new revenue opportunities, so they don’t leave money on the table. We also manage the full revenue and marketing operation, enabling the on-the-ground team to focus on the guest experience. If your hotel needs stronger revenue growth, visit http://lightson.co to learn more. Powered by Rise25 Podcast Production Company - https://rise25.com/