Today we’d like to introduce you to Koni Kim.
Koni, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Came from Korea as a student and studied at the California Institute of Art and after finishing the Master’s degree of Fine Art at UCLA, I started a business in my guesthouse creating hand-painted wall murals and exclusive product designs to enhance the home environments for servicing them. The business has grown to in my guest house in Pasadena and we have been in San Diego area since 1999.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Whatever business we are at, we do business with people and in our business, it takes a long time to take a project from inception to fruition. Establishing relationships are challenging especially when you think you got them through, they are no longer in the position. However, challenges are the best teachers and we have been implementing few different ideas that ” We pay attention to the smallest details” and be ahead of our customers at all time.
Biggest challenge was that during the economic downturn, no hotel was spending their money in renovation and there were new builds. I had to give up the ownership of the company that I had built for over 25 years with no compensation. It was tough but I bought the brand “Koni” back from the company and restarted Koni Hospitality 4 years ago. We are making beautiful progress and the brand is still intact with great images of superior design and quality servicing the hospitality industry.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with KONI HOSPITALITY – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We design, manufacture all the products that are made with fabric in the hotel guest rooms and the public areas. These include from mattresses to bed and bath linens and all the way to window coverings and we install the window coverings anywhere in the world.
We have been building a strong foundation with great people for their knowledge and discipline for success. They are the best assets of the company and can handle any size of the projects with confidence and care. The biggest difference is that we offer ‘Branded Products” with proven quality in design and manufacturing providing “the Best Solutions” to everyone’s unique situations, one customer at a time.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Many guests who stayed in the hotel we had furnished send us inquiries to buy the items they had experienced in hotels and resorts. We are creating “Guest Purchase Program” that the guests of the hotels we had provided our products so they can create the great experiences they had to their homes.
It is truly a Win/Win/Win program since the hotels will have another avenue to increase their revenue, the guests are happy to purchase the products and we are grateful to provide the services. Furthermore, we will create an online store for the consumer to purchase Koni Products without going to the hotels.
With this plan, we will open physical stores in various locations creating vignettes of each room ( Master bed Room, Guest Bed Room, Children’s Bedroom) with ideal decorations the bring Beauty and Comforts. We will eventually franchise the Koni Stores.
Contact Info:
- Address: 881 Kuhn Dr. Chula Vista, CA 91914
- Website: www.konihospitality.com
- Phone: 619 754 6554
- Email: info@konihospitality.com
- Other: konitv.tv
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