Boutique Design - June 2016 - 26

2 Top-shelf spirits and highprofile art give a room in
Miami's Nautilus South Beach,
a SIXTY hotel, a perfectly
curated personality.

CONTINUINg EdUCATION

It can be a lot easIer to be

a hero than a maverick. Just ask
Pomeranc. In the boom years of
the early 2000s, his vision for a
grown-up hotel that bypassed
the nightlife vibe and flash of
most boutiques in favor of a
perfectly pitched, service- and
F&B-centric insiders' hangout
put his name up in lights for
guests-and propelled the
family business from airport
hotels and real estate to buzzy
New York industry darling.
But, even for an impeccably
connected former lawyer, reallife story arcs need a protagonist
with as much craftsmanship as
showmanship. No amount of
dash could have kept Pomeranc's
first attempt at condos from
being a casualty of the recession-or prevent management disputes in the unit's
restaurant, Plein Sud, that ultimately closed the venue's doors.
Redeeming the golden ticket fate seemed to have given him (along with his
less outspoken brothers Michael and Larry) wasn't a straight line to success,
either. Geolo Capital's founding partner and director John Pritzker might have
jumped at the chance for a stake in Pomeranc's chic Big Apple empire in 2011
with the merger of Joie de Vivre and Pomeranc's Thompson Hotels (a brand he,
26

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his brothers and then-partner Stephen Brandman launched in 2001-yes, one
day before 9/11), but the pressure on the Pomerancs to grow in a more corporate, less organic way was a no-go.
Walking away from that left Pomeranc with just a handful of hotels and no
brand name to call his own (three hotels in NYC and one in California, all of
which had to drop the Thompson name as part of the Geolo off-load).
Rebuilding his business meant breaking his approach back down to the basics
of marrying dynamo moves (think opening a Miami outpost in a Morris
Lapidus icon) with a more nuanced approach to crafting a virtual lifestyle
around each hotel. The SIXTY blog functions as a sizzle reel of what and who's
hot in each SIXTY destination.
For the design-loving Pomeranc, it also meant taking a step back from
being the face and tastes of the newly-formed company. "I'm just myself and
true to my vision. If that makes a personal brand, so be it-but I always start
every project by looking at the location, the meaning behind it, who stays, and
what will click with that particular guest type," he says. Given his own aesthetic
grounding in SoHo cool, it's not a stretch to think that most guests are fine
with what he loves.
Gleaning that knowledge started by being willing to head back to the
school of life, networking in the right circles to find thought leaders to amp up
the brand's Geiger Counter, seeking out designers who could not only interpret
his vision but spin it perfectly for post-recession travelers and, most of all,
burning enough midnight oil to make it all happen.
So, what's his five-year plan? You'll have to ask him again in 2021. "I hope to
continue to look for inspiring places and opportunities that are a right fit for the
brand," he says. "We aren't driven by a particular formula, or to achieve scale for
scale's sake." While the SIXTY pipeline is currently under wraps, Pomeranc plans
to scour the globe for places with just the right attitude for SIXTY.

COUR TE S Y OF SIX T Y HOTEL S (NAUTLIUS, POMER ANC)

Jason Pomeranc | Partner and ceo | sIXtY Hotels

http://www.boutiquedesign.com

Boutique Design - June 2016

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