Meet the Innkeepers
Laura, Malinda, and Jan comprise our Marrero's Innkeeper team.
They treat each and every guest like a VIP with TLC and go above and beyond to create a welcoming atmosphere. From personally greeting guests upon arrival and holding court during Happy Hour to recommending local fare and booking excursions, the Marrero's team has you covered. Come meet the team and experience our love for hospitality for yourself at Marrero's Guest Mansion in historic Old Town Key West!
Our Innkeeper Laura relocated from Chicago to Key West over 20 years ago. She has an extensive background in both hospitality and finance and enjoys helping our Marrero's guests find their stride in island time.
In her downtime, Laura can be found spending time with her pups, making sea glass jewelry, and learning to paint. She also loves gardening, relaxing on remote sandbars, and sunsets.
Malinda is our Assistant Innkeeper, originally from the beautiful Pacific Northwest near Mount Rainier. For the past six years, she and her husband, Tim, along with their two kids, have called their RV home while traveling across more than 40 states and embracing the adventure of life on the road. Along the way, they fell in love with the Florida Keys and decided to put down roots here about a year ago, giving their kids a place to finish high school while continuing to enjoy the island lifestyle they love.
In her downtime, you can find Malinda baking something delicious, paddleboarding in the beautiful turquoise waters, or exploring the many amazing restaurants the Keys have to offer with her husband. She loves soaking up the sunshine, enjoying the simple things in life, and making the most of every day in paradise!
Jan is a southern gal living in Key West. She grew up in Nashville, TN and moved here over 19 years ago to be closer to her friends. During her time on the island, she has worked in various areas of real estate and as a hotel concierge.
When she is not working, you can catch her at home reading a good book with a glass of wine close by, on a boat somewhere or just chatting with her girlfriends.
MEET THE OWNERS
Travis, Azie, and their sons (Hunter + Kingston) discovered Marrero's, fell in love with its history and architecture and knew it had potential to be restored as a {verdigreen} branded boutique hotel.
Travis is an experienced hotelier with over 20 years in the hotel and leisure industry. He most recently spent five years at Highgate Hotels. As a result of his success in executing a turnaround effort for over 1,000 New York City rooms owned by DiamondRock Hospitality, he received the 2017 Leadership Award from the publicly traded lodging REIT.
Prior to Highgate Hotels, Travis was a Managing Director at Centerboard Group, where he co-founded Roughneck Lodging, a temporary workforce lodging company for oil & gas, mining, power and infrastructure projects.
Before joining Centerboard, his career experience included roles such as the VP of Special Asset Management at TriMont Real Estate Advisors, Vice President in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group at Bank of America, and Director at CNL Hotels & Resorts. He is known for his love of basketball, his personal take on street style, and his proficiency in creating complex Excel spreadsheet models that dazzle board members.
Azie Shelhorse is an accomplished interior designer + artist with experience in both hotel and residential spaces. She collaborated on projects with Marriott, Highgate Hotels, Aparium Hotel Group and DiamondRock Hospitality, prior to launching her own boutique hotel collection with Travis in 2019.
Azie has a creative arts background and her design work has been featured in a number of publications, including Elle Decor, Lodging Magazine, Hotel News Now, InspireDesign, Travel & Leisure, Forbes Magazine, Architectural Digest, Montclair Magazine, and Domino Magazine. She been one of the 70 New York City area designers featured in Housing Works’ Design on a Dime benefit for several years, and has a strong social media following. She is best known for her authentic original interiors, her compassion for the community, and her casual zodiac references to explain everything that happens in her life.
More important than his extensive hospitality and finance background or her interior design accolades, on Travis' first date with Azie in January 2006, he told her he was going to have his own hotel one day. They were in their late 20s, eating at an Italian restaurant overlooking Lake Fairy in Longwood, Florida. Once he got her attention, he also asked if she would ever consider moving to New York. She promptly canceled her newly minted cabaret contract which would have taken her to Tokyo and far away from him. Six months later, they packed up their lives into a UHaul and drove up the East Coast together to take a chance on love.
They opened their storefront {verdigreen}, a design-focused indie home furnishings shop and painting studio, in 2010. They had two showroom locations in Montclair and the East Village, NYC, before retiring from retail in 2020 to focus on their growing boutique lodging brand, {verdigreen} hotels.
Marrero's was a dream for them since they originally met in Florida and visited Key West on Anniversary trips. They would love to hear about your stay!
Marrero's sister properties within the {verdigreen} collection are located up and down the East Coast, from New Hampshire to upstate New York, Georgia, and Florida.