Local StoriesMay 30, 2023

Meet Dan Fahrner

Local Stories

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Dan Fahrner. Dan was introduced to us by the brilliant and talented Bronson Allison.

Dan , can you walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Hi I am Dan Fahrner and have been the Marketing Director for Sybaris for over 25 years. It has been an amazing job and have had the pleasure of working for a genius – Ken Knudson for the first half of my career.

Please tell us more about your brand, Sybaris
Sybaris Pool Suites started over 40 years ago and was started by a great man – Ken Knudson. In 1974, Ken’s wife brought to his attention a romantic bedroom set she had seen in the new Woodfield Shopping Mall. They both fell in love with the set and had one installed in their home. On three separate occasions, friends made identical statements of “I wish I had something like this hidden from the kids and the in-laws”. It was so obvious that married couples had no such place to escape to. That very moment, Sybaris was born and within twenty-four hours Ken already buying a piece of property to begin the Sybaris adventure. Named for an ancient Greek city in Southern Italy dating back to 500 BC, the ancient Sybaris was noted for its wealth and luxury. Inhabitants of Sybaris were known to be devoted to luxury and sensuous pleasure; for example, the phrase “a bed of roses” derives from the Sybaritic custom of filling the bed and pillows with rose petals before couples shared moments of intimacy. The concept became a reality in December 1974 with the opening of the first Sybaris in Downers Grove, IL. “A magical place where couples could shed the stress of daily life and reacquaint themselves with love. An oasis of privacy- – no windows, no phones. A special place dedicated to the enhancement of romantic marriage.” Today there are 5 Sybaris Resorts located in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. The romantic suites feature a cozy fireplace, relaxing massage chair, soothing whirlpool tub, misting steamroom and what sets us apart from everyone else – a private swimming pool in your very own suite!

So, as we mentioned to our audience earlier, you were introduced to us by Bronson Allison and we really admire them and what they’ve built. For folks who might not be as familiar, can you tell them a bit about your experience with Bronson.
Bronson Allison actually found us. He stayed at Sybaris a few years ago and posted a tik tok video of his getaway. The video literally went viral receiving over 10,000,000 views. Our website was overwhelmed with traffic. Reservations soared. It was amazing! Sometimes you can’t explain why one video goes viral and another one doesn’t. But I really think Bronson has so much success because of his personality. He’s funny and charming and his videos are so entertaining. Since that original video has has posted others of Sybaris and many have over a million views. It’s hard to quantify exactly how much business he has generated for us but all I can say is I know it is a lot.

Bronson has inspired us to ramp up our social media marketing. My Senior Designer, Fernando Murguia cam up with an idea to put signs in our suites to encourage our customers to post videos of them enjoying our suites. We even give away free stays too any that receive over a million views. We have had dozens of posts exceed the million mark. It has turned into one of our best marketing vehicles. And its basically free!