Boutique Design - March 2018 - 12

1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, new york

STAR MAKER JOINS SH GROUP
Arash Azarbarzin has earned a reputation for
having two of the hottest hands and one of the
coolest heads in the luxury lifestyle hotel sector. His
knack for achieving performance targets without
"interrupting" the guest experience helped him
ace opportunities from property-level managerial
posts at leading 5-star chains and independents to
a key role on (then Starwood Hotels and Resorts
chairman) Barry Sternlicht's team working on the
launch and development of the groundbreaking W
Hotel brand. More recently, he proved his brandbuilding prowess as co-founder and president
of sbe Entertainment's Hotel Group, delivering
20-plus hotels in 12 years for sbe chairman Sam
Nazarian. His latest job was helming the growth of
Proper Hotels, the brainchild of Brad Korzen, Brian
De Lowe and Alex Samek (named among Boutique
Design's 2018 Up-and-Coming Hoteliers).
Late last year, a phone call changed all that. It came
from Sternlicht. In "about 14 minutes," Azarbarzin
recalls, they set up a time to meet in San Francisco.
Azarbarzin says he and his mentor talked "for about
two-and-a-half hours and shook hands." The 52-yearold hotelier accepted the job as president of SH Group,
overseeing operations for the nature-inspired 1 Hotels
brand as well as the ultra-luxury Baccarat Hotel New
York. Here's his view from one of the most-watched
corner offices in the hospitality business.
The new brand standards: Design is important. But what's included in "design" has changed.
It goes beyond just the look and feel of interiors; it's
about the sounds and scents, as well. And it's not
just visual. For 1 Hotels and its guests, sustainability
is central to operations and to the choice of FF&E
and layouts. Every decision is filtered through the
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boutiquedesign.com march 2018

question of whether it will be better for the environment to do X or Y. That's 1 Hotels' differentiator;
it's what's been missing in the marketplace. It's also
something that resonates worldwide, which will
benefit us as we grow. Eco-friendliness is not a New
York mission or a corporate mission; it's universal.
What's next for design: COMFORT. The acid
test for a great interior will be whether that space
makes the guest comfortable. Is the seat cushion the
right width and depth to make a guest want to linger?
Is the lighting program both flattering and functional? What's the perfect height for a table? Design
can't dictate comfort; comfort dictates design. A
really talented designer can create an environment
that's both welcoming and aesthetically pleasing.
We're not into minimalism. We're about nature, and
the natural world is beautiful. For Baccarat, we have
endless possibilities. We can play with visual themes
reflecting all of the different crystals the company has
used. And, just for the record, no, Baccarat was no
more expensive to build than most luxury hotels. In
fact, it was less than some because of our negotiating
power and operations experience.
Why restaurant design needs to be flexible
(according to this Culinary Institute of America
alum): People's tastes change and hoteliers have to
be open to re-evaluating their restaurants. Profits
are made every day, not just quarterly. The signature
dining venue at the 1 Hotel South Beach was open
just two years before we decided to reimagine it as
Habitat. We're looking at refreshing Jams at New York's
1 Hotel Central Park. For designers, that means prioritizing lighting that can survive different iterations;
tables, chairs and booths that can be repurposed; and
an effort to limit built-ins or any element that can't be

changed without major reconstruction. Generally, you
need a good mix of deuces and four tops. You don't
want your team to spend half of Valentine's Day night
trying to rearrange a lot of large tables.
What's in SH's pipeline: Near term, we have the
1 Hotel Haitang Bay in Sanya, China, and the conversion of West Hollywood's The Jeremy to a 1 Hotel
coming online, followed by the 1 Hotel in Sunnyvale,
California, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. All of these
properties will open in 2019. We're actively seeking
deals in Austin, Texas, Chicago, Nashville, Portland,
Oregon, Salt Lake City and San Francisco, as well as
London and Paris for future 1 Hotels. We're looking at
20 1 Hotels and 10 Baccarat properties in the next 10
years, but knowing Barry, it could be twice that.
Who gets the job: I've worked with giants such as
Philippe Starck, Rockwell Group and Yabu Pushelberg
and next-generation leaders such as DesignAgency,
Meyer Davis and INC Architecture & Design. I'm open
to collaborating with different firms because I don't
want to limit our ability to learn. For international
work in certain cities, we probably will prioritize a
local firm that knows the market and culture. But local
doesn't always mean better. Some firms have too many
blinders about their home cities to get the big picture.
Why he travels 250,000 air miles a year: I like
to be in the trenches-I'm not a micro-manager,
but I like to be part of the team and spending time
on property puts me in touch with our associates.
What it's like working for a legend: Barry's the
visionary. I'm the executor and the numbers guy.
To be successful, you have to be profitable. But you
can't let that impact the guest experience.
For more on what Azarbarzin sees ahead, visit
boutiquedesign.com

E R I C L A I G N E L (1 H O T E L B R O O K LY N B R I D G E ) ; C O U R T E S Y O F S H G R O U P ( A Z A R B A R Z I N )

BY marY scoviak

http://www.boutiquedesign.com http://www.boutiquedesign.com

Boutique Design - March 2018

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