Cornellians Chart New Future for Local Hotel and Spa

Overcoming a challenging financial environment, 28 Cornellians and nine additional investors, led by Joe Lavin ’75 and Bill Minnock ’79, MBA ’83, purchased La Tourelle Hotel and Spa, in Ithaca , NY on March 1, 2024. Lisa Chervinsky ’89, lecturer at the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration and owner of Collective Vision Design, Ltd., will lead the renovation as architect and designer. The team is also pursuing learning opportunities for Cornell SC Johnson College of Business students.

The opportunity

A mainstay of the region’s hospitality scene since its founding in 1986, La Tourelle Hotel and Spa is perched on 15 acres in Ithaca and borders Buttermilk Falls State Park. Countless visitors to the Finger Lakes, including alumni, parents, and friends of Cornell and Ithaca College, have stayed there.

The primary building features a lobby, a small restaurant space, the August Moon Spa, meeting and event space, and 54 rooms for overnight guests.

“It’s a great location with lots of land,” said Minnock. “We knew we’d need to bring more cutting-edge ways of operating a hotel, reposition the operation, deeply understand the customer, and renovate to meet the customer needs.”

The acquisition was not easy, according to Minnock, but the Cornell community and alumni connections made it possible.

“We couldn’t have tried to pull off a transaction like this in a more difficult environment,” he said. “In 2023, debt markets were a mess from an investor standpoint, and people were having an incredibly hard time financing transactions such as this.”

Twenty-six Nolan School alumni, one Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management alum, one College of Arts and Sciences alum, and a handful of others invested in the property.

“Alumni like the idea of giving back to Ithaca and having a home-away-from-home when they do visit Ithaca,” said Minnock.

Both Lavin and Minnock have extensive experience in hospitality and will both serve as managing directors of La Tourelle. Minnock held 18 positions over 37 years at Marriott, ranging from strategic planning and financial analysis to real estate development for resorts around the world. Lavin also worked at Marriott, in hotel feasibility and planning, franchising, and development strategy, among other areas. Then Lavin bought the Norwich Inn, near Dartmouth College. “I became an entrepreneur who had to worry about how much cream is used in the restaurant, instead how many brands we’re going to have in ten years,” he said. “Quite a different point of view.”

Modernizing the guest experience

“La Tourelle was built in the 1980s in the manner of a relaxed country estate,” said Chervinsky, lead architect and designer for the project. “We’re keeping that brand identity while refreshing it to appeal to a wider audience.”

The lobby and adjacent restaurant space will be renovated first.

“It is essential to establish a sense of arrival in the lobby to set the tone for the guests’ stay,” Chervinsky said.

The lobby will become a more communal space, with the existing fireplace as a focal point. Tables with plenty of power for charging devices will offer guests a place to gather, work, or both. Clean-lined furnishings and light fixtures will blend traditional and modern elements, and a new, expanded bar with “intimate banquette seating will create a warm and inviting atmosphere,” she said.

Chervinsky, a Nolan alum who has worked on major projects with Marriott, Hyatt, and Radisson Hotels, said each project is unique. “Ithaca has so much natural beauty including the gorges, Cayuga Lake, and the wine region so we are showcasing this through the materials and artwork program,” she said.

All the hotel rooms will also be renovated, with 60 percent slated for a complete overhaul with the remaining rooms receiving a less extensive renovation.

Cornell synergy

Leasing a portion of the property is Firelight Camps, founded by Bobby Frisch, MBA ’13, and Emma Frisch, which offers guests an “elevated camping” experience in luxury tents.

“Over the past eleven years of operating Firelight Camps here, I have learned so much about La Tourelle’s history and have grown to know and love the property,” said Bobby, who won the 2013 Stein Family Prize in the Hospitality Business Plan Competition for a version of the Firelight business concept. “I have also spent many moments dreaming about the future potential of this land and business.”

Now that he’s an investor in La Tourelle, he’s able to plan upgrades and expansions on a much longer time horizon.

“Many of the same investors who initially funded Firelight Camps also participated in the acquisition of La Tourelle. I consider many of these investors friends and mentors, and I have learned so much from them as I’ve navigated the world of glamping startups, real estate development, and hospitality operations.”

Opportunities for synergy with the Cornell community abound, the team said. Both Minnock and Lavin have served as visiting professors of practice at the Nolan School and in other roles as dean’s advisors, board members, and entrepreneurs-in-residence and they look forward to engaging with students through the Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship.

Chervinsky is considering ways to use the renovation project for case studies in courses like Hotel Development & Management and Hospitality Visioning, and setting up tours with the student design club she advises, The Grid.

“The independent boutique hotel space is very attractive because it allows us the flexibility to do what’s right for the customer and for the employees, while also providing a return for our investors,” Minnock said. “Leveraging Cornell connections is going to be a very, very important part of what we do here in the local market—and offers us a way to give back to the community.”