Every year, Internet behemoth Tripadvisor pulls together all the reviews, ratings and saves that millions of travelers from across the globe post to their site and uses that information to highlight the Travelers Choice Best of the Best. Despite global upheaval in the travel industry, this year is no different, and today, Tripadvisor published the top 25 highest-rated hotels, restaurants and destinations in the world for 2020 — a move which highlighted the unique success story of Bend-based hotelier, Ben Perle.
Perle, who has lived in Bend for the past 23 years, found two hotels he helped launch in the top 25 in America: Bend’s own Oxford Hotel, which ranked sixth, and the Atticus Hotel — the smash-hit darling of Oregon Wine Country — which Perle co-owns and opened in 2018.
Perle, whose career in hospitality started as a teen working for his uncle’s hotel in France, served as the opening general manager of both properties, serving as the architect for the high touch service both hotels have built their reputations on.
Perle grew up in San Francisco and France, and earned his undergraduate degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management from a college just outside Paris before obtaining his Masters in Hospitality Administration from Cornell University on its European campus. While working through an internship at the newly opened Disneyland Paris, Perle met the founder of what would become Chateauform, a unique hotel concept specializing in exclusively catering to groups and corporate retreats. Perle joined the newly formed company and worked alongside his wife, Maeve — also a Cornell grad — to transform what was once an 18th-century manor into the pilot site for Chateauform, which has since grown to over 60 locations across Europe.
After several years working to develop the Chateauform brand, the Perles decided to make a move to the United States and made Bend their new home. Perle took a position with Sunriver Resort and spent almost a decade with the company in various roles, ending his time as the Director of Resort Operations, overseeing all lodging, property management and recreation divisions, which included both the Sage Springs Spa and airport operations. During his time working for Sunriver, Perle also took on a consultant role, and later partner/owner responsibility of The Astro Lounge, a downtown Bend bar, which he later sold his interest in.
After departing Sunriver, Perle joined the OXFORD Hotel group as general manager of the Oxford Hotel. Hired to craft the concept behind the Oxford — Bend’s first and only four- diamond boutique hotel — Perle worked to develop the brand identity of the hotel, establish its service standards, develop marketing and hotel collateral, coordinate vendor selection and hire and train the hotel and F&B staff. Previously ranked the # 3 Hotel in America by Tripadvisor in 2017 and the #1 Hotel in the Pacific Northwest by Condé Nast Travel, Perle’s passion for hospitality continues to live on at The Oxford.
Before deciding to join partners Erin Stephenson and Brian Shea at the Atticus Hotel in McMinnville, Perle most recently served as regional vice president of operations for the Oxford Hotel Group, overseeing properties in Oregon, California and Idaho, representing 1,100 rooms and 320 employees. He has also been deeply involved in civic life in Bend, having served on the board of directors of the Bend Chamber of Commerce, and as a member of the Visit Bend board as well.
“It’s been an honor to be involved with two incredible properties in Oregon and help craft a culture of service that has put both hotels on the hospitality map. I am very proud that the Atticus Hotel has so quickly risen in the ranks of America’s best hotels and has been recognized by our guests as the very special gem that it is,” said Perle.
