Hospitality Design - April 2022 - 82

perspectives interview
Ennismore Design Studio recently revamped
the lobby of the Hoxton, Holborn in London
with pink and ruby red touches
A guestroom at the Hoxton, Brussels,
Ennismore Design Studio's takeover of
the former IBM headquarters
to access a wider market base, but also propel this
idea of lifestyle much faster.
What is the biggest asset of having all of
these lifestyle brands?
We have a collection of founders who are very
involved in the business-whether it's Christoph
Hoff mann, who is still driving the 25hours brand,
or Jeremy and Serge Trigano with Mama Shelter.
That allows us to ensure the relevance of these
brands continues. For other brands, we go back
to where it all began and reimagine these spaces.
[For example], Gleneagles is a 100-year-old estate,
which we took over in 2015. We went back to the
1920s and the archives to reimagine why it was
fi rst conceived and what made it diff erent from
the other incredible estates not just in Scotland,
but across Europe.
How do you hope to grow and
differentiate these brands?
We have an incredible opportunity to take the
essence of what these brands are, why they
existed in the fi rst place, and propel them
forward, especially in a world where there is so
much choice. My role is to ensure that every one
of our brands continues to have a mission and a
purpose, and that we're building spaces people
can physically and emotionally connect with.
For 10 years, our in-house design team has been
obsessing about each and every aspect of the
creative process and the design experience.
For the Hoxton, it's about supporting local
communities and doing all we can to be good
neighbors. It's ensuring that there's a social and
environmental conscience to everything we do.
We're thinking long and hard about how we can
make a diff erence in our own way in each of the
neighborhoods and cities we call home.
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April 2022 hospitalitydesign.com
How has the Working From_ coworking
brand evolved?
Working From_ was born in the Hoxton
properties in London and in Chicago. What
was incredible about that business, certainly
during the pandemic, was to see how people
valued fl exibility and community. We have
about 750 coworking desks in London and
about 400 in Chicago. We're at 100 percent
occupancy with a waiting list of a few
hundred across both locations. This idea
was born out of the Hoxton lobby, which is
when we realized we'd been in the coworking
business for 10 years, we just never charged
anyone for it. We're evolving Working From_
to now extend across all our brands. What
does Working From_ in the Mondrian
look and feel like versus the SLS? One of
the things that's undeniable in this postpandemic
world is this idea of fl exibility. It's
something the Hoxton has been championing
for years with fl exi-time, which we launched
in 2019. Who says you need to check in at 3
p.m. and check out midday? We manage our
inventory in a way that allows us to make sure
people can check in and out when they want
to for no extra cost.
Gleneagles Townhouse is opening
soon in Edinburgh. How will it refl ect
the original property?
It's the fi rst time we've taken the Gleneagles
brand outside of the Perthshire Hills in
Scotland in 100 years. We took over this
beautiful Bank of Scotland building in St
Andrew Square a few years ago and have been
reimagining what Gleneagles in an urban
building with an incredible history would look
and feel like. Taking this amazing legacy and
building on it is a huge moment. As much as
we love modern contemporary steel and glass
boxes, that wouldn't be fi tt ing for Gleneagles. It
helps when you have an old, majestic building
to have fun with. Equally, it's also fun to take
a big box and inject a bit of soul into it, which
we've done a handful of times with Hoxton,
including in Barcelona, where we spent the
last 12 to 18 months renovating and converting
an old hotel into the Hoxton, Poblenou. It's
going to be a hotel like Barcelona's never seen
before. Those are two very diff erent projects,
but we inject the thinking and programming
and fun in the same way.
Can you give us a preview of the
Maison Delano brand, which debuts in
Paris this year?
The Delano had a big moment in history in
the world of lifestyle hotels in Miami all those
years ago. How do you take something that's
iconic on the beach and urbanize it in a way
that refl ects that spirit? It helps that we have
a gorgeous building in the heart of Paris,
which is just awe-inspiring-with the most
incredible central courtyard and an amazing
restaurant.
How have the past two years changed
you as a leader?
The human story has impacted me the most.
Seeing our teams having to close hotels,
reopen hotels, make some diffi cult decisions
with staff and with properties-that's been
challenging. I don't think anyone in the
industry ever wrote a business plan that took
occupancy down to zero. You never think this
will ever happen. I don't take anything for
granted. hd
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