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As the couple behind the Style Theory clothing rental app, Raena Lim and Chris Halim are not only united in marriage, but also in business.

That “definitely has some really good advantages,” Halim told CNBC Make It.

And it also has its downsides: “Work longer,” laughs Lim.

But after spending five years perfecting their approach, the 32-year-old couple has advice to share with other co-founders of the couple – both in and out of the business.

Play to your strengths

First of all, they say, it is important to identify certain areas of focus that showcase an individual’s strengths.

“Chris is really analytical so he makes a lot of business and financial decisions,” said Lim of her husband, who is the Singapore fashion company’s chief executive officer.

Focus areas that belong to her will call her and focus areas that belong to me I’ll make the call.

Chris Halim |

Co-Founder and CEO, Style Theory

“Rae is much more focused on the branding side, the human resource side of things, the operational side of things,” Halim said of his wife as chief operations officer.

Each party should then own these areas and take responsibility for important decisions.

“She will call focal points that belong to her and I will call focal points that belong to me. That worked out quite well for us,” said Halim.

Separate work and leisure

That demarcation should also extend to the separation of work and pleasure, the couple said.

Although it was not always easy – especially in the early days of the company – it was vital to their effective and harmonious work.

Raena Lim and Chris Halim, the couple behind the Singaporean clothing rental app Style Theory.

Style theory

“The first few years were tough,” said Halim. They would work Monday through Sunday and would not take a vacation for a “long time”. “But we learned,” he said.

“We had five years to refine it,” added Lim. “Weekends are for personal life, and we really make the most of the days of the week to really make sure we get our jobs done.”

Build a strong team

Much of this structure was made possible with the help of their 150-strong team, the couple said.

“What really keeps you going is finding people who are passionate about the mission you’re on. In difficult times, they’re the ones who motivate you more than you do,” said Lim.

The 100% alignment is really very helpful and super important when you are making important decisions together.

Chris Halim |

Co-Founder and CEO, Style Theory

Travelers looking for a vacation in the great outdoors are turning to a nostalgic source of comfort and solitude: treehouses.

But these aren’t the treehouses of their childhood. Like the travelers who are booking them, the treehouses have matured too.

Modern treehouses are more luxury homes than kid hangouts — with a price to match. Treehouses constructed by professionals can easily cost six figures to build.

“A fully appointed treehouse with kitchen, bathroom, heat and air conditioning … we’re building those around $200,000,” Pete Nelson, the star of Animal Planet’s TV show “Treehouse Masters,” told CNBC in 2014.

Treehouses that are built for people to live in now average around $240,000, according to HomeAdvisor, a website that connects homeowners with home services.

Since then, prices have risen along with demand, a situation further propelled by the global pandemic and a desire for offbeat, outdoor accommodations.

Grand entrances

Aside from a worn-out patch of grass in the backyard, old-school treehouses didn’t typically incorporate much of an entrance. Modern ones do, some with gated walkways, stone staircases and ramps built for wheelchairs and pets.

The Chez’ Tree Rest treehouse is near New York’s Finger Lakes’ region.

Anthony Costello | Bluenose Studios

One such treehouse is the Chez’ Tree Rest Treehouse in upstate New York, which is accessible via a 60-foot footbridge that begins at a heart-shaped gate. Another 30-foot-long cable bridge connects the treehouse to a separate relaxation deck.

Owner Tom Wallace discusses the treehouse’s construction in a video tour of the treehouse where he also provides tips for a comfortable stay.

Rates start at $285 per night.

New heights

Treehouses for children should be between six and 12-feet tall with railings that are at least 36 inches high, according to Tree Top Builders, a custom builder based in Exton, Pennsylvania. Those heights also assume mulch or wood chips are placed below the treehouse to soften a potential fall.  

Treehouses built for big people aren’t constrained by these standards, as evidenced by the three-story Punta Jaguar jungle treehouse in Matapalo, Costa Rica.

The Punta Jaguar treehouse has three open-design elevated levels, plus a ground-level bungalow.

Courtesy of Punta Jaguar

What the house lacks in walls, it makes up in style. Sinks and water faucets are made of seashells, and a separate ground-level bungalow comes with colorful swivel windows and electric drawbridge-style dropdown decks. It has a caretaker and private path to the beach, according to the website. Guests are encouraged to be 7 years old and above.

Rates start at $255 per night.

Guests at Peru’s Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica treehouse sleep 70 feet above the rainforest floor.

Courtesy of Inkaterra Hotels

Thrill-seekers can sleep in the Amazon rainforest at Peru’s Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica ecolodge. The lodge’s sole treehouse is located more than 70 feet above the rainforest floor at the end of a series of seven suspended bridges.

Programs start from $492 for a two-night stay, plus an additional $660 to sleep in the treehouse.

Fabulous views

Childhood treehouses may have granted views of neighbors’ backyards, but nothing as spectacular as Australia’s Blue Mountains.

In a twist on childhood clubhouse rules, this treehouse in Australia’s Blue Mountains can accommodate two adults, but no kids or pets.

Jochen Spenser

A tongue-in-cheek sign on the Secret Treehouse’s door may say that no grown-ups are allowed, but in reality, it’s the kids who can’t come along. This treehouse is built on tall stilts at a high elevation and has a combination bridge and ladder entrance.

Rates start at 1,095 Australian dollars ($804) for a one-night stay.

Sophisticated decor

Sports pennants and sticker-adorned walls have been sidelined for plush interiors that resemble modern homes.

The Aerohouse at the Treeful Treehouse Sustainable Resort in Okinawa, Japan.

Courtesy of the Treeful Treehouse Sustainable Resort

This is evident at the Treeful Treehouse Sustainable Resort in Okinawa, Japan. All bookings include two treehouses: the earthy Spiral Treehouse which comes with hammocks and yoga mats, and the luxurious Aerohouse, which has the look and feel of a five-star hotel suite. Its muted, sophisticated décor comes with creature comforts such as an espresso machine and wine cellar, according to the website.

The treehouse resort has been open for less than a month. Guests can currently book two-night stays — no more, no less — and all travelers must be 10 years old and above.

The interior of Okinawa’s Aerohouse.

Courtesy of Treeful Treehouse Sustainable Resort

Rates are 100,000 Japanese yen ($905) per night for up to three people; a fourth person is an extra $225 per night. Bookings are currently 33% off the regular rates. 

Kitted out kitchens

While cooking and treehouses once rarely meshed, treehouses now come with full kitchens outfitted with Nespresso coffee machines and kitchen islands.

The contemporary kitchen in Trinity Treehouse, outside of Atlanta, has a wine rack and bar area.

Courtesy of Dickersonarts.com

The two-bedroom Trinity Treehouse near Atlanta has a kitchen that travelers may envy for their homes, let alone their yards. Three sizable windows enlarge the space, which includes an L-shaped countertop, wine rack and breakfast counter for coffee or quick meals. A decorative backsplash sits above the kitchen cabinets, which were made in the host’s woodworking shop, according to the website listing.

Trinity Treehouse is next to the hiking and bike trails of Georgia’s 2,500-acre Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve. 

Rates start at $289 per night.

Features to stoke the imagination

Luxury treehouses needn’t be too serious — that’s what log cabins are for. What distinguishes a treehouse from an elevated house in the woods can be the latter’s dedication to whimsy and childlike fun.

To enter one tropical treehouse on Hawaii’s Big Island, guests climb a ladder to a trapdoor that opens to the second story. Bags and suitcases take a different route; they’re hoisted up via a pulley system.

Though it doesn’t allow kids, the Wanderlust Treehouse incorporates imaginative features into its design.

Levi Kelly

The Wanderlust Treehouse in Crane Hill, Alabama, doesn’t allow kids, but that didn’t stop its owner from installing a playground-style suspension bridge to connect two parts of the house. The treehouse, which has received perfect scores in all of its 85 Airbnb reviews, has outdoor side-by-side showers, a swinging bed and a fire pit.

Rates start at $350 per night.

Want to build your own modern treehouse?

Item	Cost
Vacation rental treehouse	From $30,000
Bathroom	$4,500
Zipline	$2,200
Spiral staircase	$5,900
Suspended bridge	$2,900
Trapdoor	$500
Classic slide	$1,200
Fireman’s pole	$575
Source: Treehouse Experts

Gourmet food

Guest who stay at the Loire Valley Lodges have daily breakfast baskets delivered to their doors. They also have access to an onsite restaurant and room service.

Loire Valley Lodges leans heavily upon local produce and grows herbs and fruit on-site, according to its website.

Courtesy of Loire Valley Lodges

The French treehouse hotel opened in July 2020, with the interiors of each of its 18 structures designed by a different contemporary artist.

Rates start at 395 euros ($428) per night.

*Rates are accurate as of publication date.

 

 

Starting Monday, New York City will be the first major US city to introduce vaccination requirements for indoor dining, creating a host of new challenges for restaurant operators in the five boroughs.

Due to the surge in new Covid-19 cases related to the Delta variant, the city requires proof of at least one vaccine dose for a number of indoor activities, including restaurants, health clubs and attending indoor performances in New York City the first US major city that imposes such restrictions. Employees of these facilities must also be vaccinated. After a few weeks until the transition, enforcement is scheduled to begin on September 13th.

Politics is gaining momentum. On Thursday, San Francisco followed New York’s lead in introducing its own mandatory vaccination for indoor activities, which will go into effect on August 20, checking the status of its workers. Los Angeles is considering a similar plan.

As more and more vaccination regulations come from places and the restaurants themselves, Booking Holdings’ OpenTable has introduced a feature that allows restaurants to display their Covid vaccination requirements to their customers. The reservations service also plans to publish a national list of restaurants that require proof of vaccination.

The New York mandate is bound to have a learning curve. But restaurants are also waiting for more detailed instructions from city officials on how much information to collect and record from customers.

“I feel like it’s going to be a little bit free on Monday where customers and restaurants don’t really know what’s going on with it,” said Art Depole, the co-owner of a Mooyah Burger, Fries, and Shakes franchise with brother Nick in Midtown Manhattan .

Chipotle Mexican Grill CEO Brian Niccol told the Washington Post on Wednesday that the city should figure out how vaccination requirements apply to people who cannot be vaccinated for medical or religious reasons. Otherwise, they will be excluded from the workforce.

Workers are an ongoing challenge for industry that needs all the workforce it can get. Restaurants have raised wages and offered retention bonuses to attract new workers, but the unemployment rate for restaurants and bars was still 8.4% nationwide in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Depole said more than half of its Mooyah employees are vaccinated. However, he sees vocal opposition from a handful of his unvaccinated workers who threaten to resign if vaccination becomes a job term. The enforcement of mandates also puts a strain on his employees, who would have to deal with non-compliant customers.

And the verification of vaccination records could also mean adding an extra worker to stand at the door for the entire shift, adding to the restaurants’ rising labor costs. Chipotle is still trying to figure out how it’ll verify vaccination records.

“Of course it’s something that takes some thought if we want it to be really workable,” said Niccol.

Tourists present another difficulty in fulfilling the mandate. Depole’s Mooyah restaurant is located between Times Square and Herald Square, two tourist hotspots, and orders from these customers are required.

“It seems like there are more locals on board and understand, but the tourists and the non-residents say, ‘Oh no, this is the last time you will see me in town,'” said Depole. “It’s a polarizing topic.”

And while the number of international tourists is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2025, some are still traveling to New York City. For visitors from outside the United States, some may have difficulty getting their vaccination card recognized.

For example, retail advisor and founder of SW Retail Advisors Stacey Widlitz received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK. While the World Health Organization approved the vaccine, Widlitz struggled to get some New York companies to accept their proof of vaccination: a QR code generated by the National Health Service’s mobile app.

“I’m not a tourist, but I had my vaccine in London and they don’t know what to do with a barcode from a foreign country in an app they don’t know,” said Widlitz. “They give you a blank look.”

So far, a gym in the Upper East Side Widlitz has already announced that it would only accept the vaccines Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson if she wanted to train without a mask. Workers at several independent restaurants told her that after the mandate went into effect, they would no longer be able to eat indoors because they would not have a way to check vaccinations that were held outside of the United States.

However, restaurant operators will also see some benefits from the vaccine mandate, besides containing the tide of new Covid cases. For one, it could limit the number of workers who call in sick because they tested positive or came in contact with someone who did so. Niccol, for example, told the Washington Post that more workers are missing shifts in the burrito chain due to the Delta variant, although the burrito chain will not implement a company-wide vaccine mandate until the vaccines receive final regulatory approval.

The mandate could also encourage some consumers who were hesitant to return to restaurants to dine indoors again. Le Bernadin’s chef Eric Ripert said Thursday on CNBC’s Worldwide Exchange that his restaurant’s existing vaccination policy has made customers easier and safer rather than alienating them.

“There is a very big difference between what we see on social media and the reality of what happens to the business,” he said.