When USA Today profiled Chip Conley as one of the "14 People to Watch" in 2001, the writer suggested that Chip had "created what may be the most delightfully schizophrenic collection of hotels in America." The writer went on to suggest that mainstream hoteliers "look at Joie de Vivre as the mad scientist who's trying different formulas that the rest of the industry can buy into if the formula proves successful." Time magazine concurred: "few boutique hotels are as genuine as those run by Joie de Vivre." Founded by Chip in 1987 on his 26th birthday, Joie de Vivre Hospitality (JDV) is Northern California's largest hotelier and one of the most prolific boutique hoteliers in the world with nearly 35 hospitality businesses under management and annual sales of over $100 million. In 2005, JDV was named the sixth best company to work for in Northern California on the list of the 100 Best Bay Area Companies to Work For (SF Business Times). Chip has won numerous awards including Guerrilla Marketer of the Year from the American Travel Marketing Executives, Northern California Entrepreneur of the Year, National Humanitarian Hospitality Company of the Year, and the Experience Stager of the Year at a conference in Las Vegas in which Joie de Vivre beat out competition that included Disney, Cirque de Soleil, and Ian Schrager Hotels. Chip's first book, The Rebel Rules: Daring to be Yourself in Business, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2001. He earned a B.A. and an M.B.A. from Stanford University. He lives in San Francisco, CA.
If you want to know more about Chip and about the work he's doing, visit him here