More than five-thousand miles stretch between the capitals of France and Texas, but for the Parisian-born ‘French Cowboys,’ no place feels more like home than Austin. Franklin Dusserre and Dylan Petrich are the Managing Partners behind the French Cowboys brand, which operates six hotels and over one-hundred different short term vacation rental properties throughout Central Texas.
The gentlemen’s journey across the pond, and subsequent road to Texas entrepreneurship, was not a decidedly linear path. Despite being born in the same Parisian hospital (albeit two years apart), the duo wouldn’t meet until years later while attending The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
After graduation, Dylan moved to New York and pursued a career in banking while Franklin ventured to San Francisco before joining WeWork in London. Distance aside, the friends stayed in touch, and in 2019, Franklin traveled to Austin where Dylan had recently relocated for work. “We always knew we wanted to start something together and Dylan basically told me, if we do something, we should do it here,” he recalled of their conversation.
Having heard about the Texas capital’s fast growth and high quality of life, Franklin made his first trip to Texas. “I remember, after four days, feeling sold,” he said of the memories made exploring the city and feasting on barbecue at The Salt Lick in the months before COVID. “Austin just has that energy where people are happy and outdoors, the food is great, and the real estate was still much more affordable than it was in New York or Paris. After that short visit, I was ready to move and start our business.”
The company they conceived was centered around the pair’s shared passion for hospitality, and founded on the principle that working people in urban environments didn’t have easy access to the outdoors, or convenient opportunities to disconnect and recharge. “We wanted to make it easier for people to escape their everyday lives,” Franklin explained. Though Austin had been inundated with new residents and companies in recent years – not to mention an array of high-end hospitality options downtown – the Frenchmen recognized a void in the drive-to vacation markets around the capital city.
“When we went to the Hill Country, we noticed a few high-end hotels like Lake Austin Spa or Miraval going for fifteen-hundred-dollars a night, and then little lodges and inns that were dated, but there wasn’t much in the middle for cost-effective, design-driven boutique hotel experiences,” Franklin said. “That’s where the idea for French Cowboys came from.”
Though the original plan was to build new hotels from the ground up, the business model quickly shifted. “The first project we put together was a piece of land in Wimberley where we were going to build a boutique hotel with a farm-to-table restaurant and spa,” Franklin said. Instead, he and Dylan were presented with the opportunity to buy an existing 18-room lodge five minutes outside of town, now called The Bygone. Situated on three-and-a-half acres, the Frenchmen saw past its dated interiors and marveled its potential, along with the beautiful views of the surrounding landscape. “Ultimately, we felt there were a lot of these properties that weren’t being marketed effectively and needed a little bit of tender love and care.”
Over the last few years, the entrepreneurs have invested in six hotels across the Hill Country, from towns like Comfort to Canyon Lake. In the former, they operate two properties including The Meyer Hotel, a charming 19th century structure and historic stagecoach stop once upon a time. “We tend to look for places that’ve been around a while and have an interesting story, and we design them in a way that not only respects the history but leans into it,” Franklin explained. “We’re very mindful of the way we design.” Generally, that work entails refreshing bathrooms, updating furnishings, and adding amenities, such as a welcoming bar or an inviting pool.
Providing places for people to unplug after a busy week is not just a professional mission but a personal passion for the French Cowboys, whose European upbringing partly inspired their business. With their respective families, Franklin and Dylan spent many childhood weekends immersed in the French countryside. “It was really nice to be in a small town where the vibe felt completely different,” Franklin remembered of his time in Normandy. “Whether you’re in France, Spain, Italy, or the United Kingdom, there are so many historic lodges and inns in Europe, and we felt like starting to build that out in the United States would make the experience of living in a place like Austin that much more enjoyable,” he opined. “You don’t need to fly to Montana or Colorado to get away.”
Blending Texas’ southern charms with France’s refined design sensibilities has been a labor of love for both business partners, who approach each project singularly. Currently, every hotel under the French Cowboys brand has its own aesthetic with slightly different designs, demographics, and price points. For example, while The Moon Wrangler (previously the Gruene River Inn) is a higher-end product that attracts couples for special occasions, their latest rebrand, Hacienda Del Rio, will be more outdoorsy and family-friendly when it reopens in Gruene this spring. The property, formerly called the Gruene Outpost River Lodge, is their biggest to date, with fifty rooms situated on over three acres, along with pickleball courts and riverfront activities such as kayaking and tubing. The pair is also scheduled to close on their third hotel in Gruene in February.
We tend to look for places that’ve been around a while and have an interesting story, and we design them in a way that not only respects the history but leans into it.
– Franklin Dusserre
Other sites, like The Claire Hotel in Canyon Lake, lure with their newly renovated event spaces that cater to weddings, family reunions, corporate offsites, and similar gatherings. “What we are trying to do is figure out what these assets were best built for,” Franklin explained. “We’re asking ourselves what guests want to do at each property, and how we can enhance them without removing their natural charm.”
While there’s been some local resistance to the implemented changes, most feedback received has been overwhelmingly positive. “Our pitch is really that we’re trying to improve these towns and bring more people to enjoy them,” Franklin said. Furthermore, unlike other real estate partners who are entering the market from a financial gains point of view, the French Cowboys are invested for the future. “If we were in the business of making money, we wouldn’t be in hospitality,” he quipped. “We’re doing this because we have a true passion for creating experiences and building products in Texas.”
Today, the French Cowboys management company continues to oversee its growing hotel portfolio along with more than one-hundred different short term vacation rental properties. “There’s a lot of synergies in doing both,” Franklin revealed of the company’s dual branches. “Our goal is to keep growing that business in tandem with our hotels because some people might rather stay in a vacation rental than a hotel room.” Currently, the team manages around 110 units between Austin and the Hill Country, and they’re on track to reach roughly two hundred in the next year.
Driving this growth is a dedicated corporate team who understands the intricacies of the hospitality industry. Over the years, both Franklin and Dylan have learned the extent of those intricacies firsthand, from repairing PVC pipes during the record breaking 2021 Winter Storm to cleaning rooms in sweltering summer temperatures. “Once you clean rooms in 105-degree heat, and you have to clean seven of them in four hours, it gives you a whole new appreciation for how difficult that job is,” Franklin shared. “Doing every part, from the maintenance to the housekeeping, reminded us how important all those roles are to the success of a good hospitality company.” It is also why every individual who joins their team spends a day on property understanding what it actually takes to run a hotel.
In just a few short years, Franklin and Dylan have settled deeply into the Texas way of life. Here, the businessmen found not only a new place to call home, but a community of like-minded individuals who are unafraid to take risks. “People here love backing entrepreneurs who want to do things in Texas for Texans,” Franklin said, cheerfully. Thankfully, that is exactly what he and Dylan are striving to do. “The Hill Country is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited,” he smiled, “and it’s a place I love taking a long-term bet on.”