DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif.—Las Vegas-based MJ Holdings, Inc., a diversified publicly traded holding company providing complete seed-to-sale services to the regulated cannabis industry, announced the first of its eight currently planned health and wellness cannabis-based hotels in partnership with hotel developer Roger Bloss.
Alternative Hospitality’s first hotel will break ground later this year on the 150-room Coachill Inn Resort in Desert Hot Springs, California. Designed by architect David Wallace, the resort will have an amphitheater for entertainment and a lazy-river pool that taps into the area’s natural hot springs.
“The Coachill Inn Resort will attract travelers who are looking for an experience and the opportunity to safely experiment,” said Bloss. “People from all over the world come to the Coachella Valley for business, tourism, and the famed Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals. And now they can learn about the health and wellness benefits of hemp, CBD, and cannabis.”
To date, there are eight projects under consideration in states that have legalized marijuana, including three in Las Vegas, three in California, one in Michigan, and one in Oklahoma. Each upper-midscale property will cost approximately $125,000 per key to build. Land costs are not included in the per key cost because Bloss and Alternative Hospitality have a unique development model that encourages joint ventures with existing landowners.
“Some people call me a disruptor—and I like that. I disrupted the franchise industry with a new franchise model that has become the standard for many brands, and now I’m going to be the first to bring together the hospitality and cannabis industries,” said Bloss.
Bloss launched the Americas Best Value Inn brand in 1999, creating a brand that placed greater control back into the hands of its owners. With a voice and a vote in the direction of the brand, owners even voted on how much they would pay in marketing and franchise fees. The Americas Best Value Inn brand soon became the fastest growing hotel chain in the history of the lodging industry—growing to over 1,100 properties in just 11 years. It was the 10th largest hotel chain in the world and its parent company, Vantage Hospitality Group, was a top 10 global hotel company and the only hotel company to ever be recognized eight consecutive years on the Inc. 500/5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies.
Today, Bloss is CEO and president of Alternative Hospitality, Inc., a division of MJ Holdings, and has his sights set on becoming the first hotelier to launch a portfolio of health and wellness cannabis-based hotels featuring a dispensary, wellness goods, and services to educate guests about the health-enhancing aspects of cannabis.
