Hospitality Design - December 2018 - 42

perspectives interview
our resort product and Mondrian as the fun,
younger sister of SLS, which is not as intensive
as CapEx or as amenity driven, even though the
Mondrian in Doha by [Dutch designer] Marcel
Wanders has eight F&B outlets and there's an
SLS in South Beach. Moving forward, this is
what we're committed to, and it's probably 60
percent SLS, 30 percent Delano and Mondrian,
and 10 percent Hyde," he says, pointing to the
pipeline of seven Delanos and six Mondrians.

Test Kitchen

Bronze-encased green columns and geometric
tile add drama to the SLS Lux lobby

He says he's proud that sbe was the first
hotel to start construction in South Beach postrecession, and the first hotel to start a casino
in Vegas post-recession, "which means four or
five years of [no money], and no construction
loans, so we had to sacrifice. We are still the only
casino on the north end of the Strip. A lot of
people with a lot more money failed; we're proud
of what we were able to execute with the limited
dollars we had."
Nazarian isn't one to live in the past. "I don't
have the luxury of dwelling. You have to keep
these brands relevant, keep evolving, and getting
into new markets," he says. "One of the reasons
[my family was] so successful coming out of
Tehran after the revolution in 1979 is because

my dad never said, 'I can't believe this happened
and this is what I lost.' I was always looking out
the front windshield, [not the] rearview mirror."
That means evolving Mondrian and Delano
as well. "When we bought Morgans, the
company had been through so much strain. The
demographic had gotten older; the relevancy of
the brand had been dying off because other ones
were coming in." Nazarian and his team had
to redefine the brands and figure out how they
fit with SLS and the nightclub-turned-limitedservice 4-Star residential brand Hyde without
cannibalizing each other (as well as the Redbury,
a 4-Star extended stay offering with a bohemian
feel from photographer Matthew Rolston). "It
took some time, [but we positioned] Delano as

The sleek pooldeck at the SLS Baha Mar

042

December 2018 hospitalitydesign.com

Reinvention is what drives Nazarian. He
launched Disruptive Group as an innovation lab
to rethink the restaurant and nightlife world.
The team-made up of alums of Stephen Starr
and Sands Corporation in Las Vegas-creates
upwards of five new brands a year, as well as
overseeing existing concepts. (Currently, sbe
has 85 restaurants and 53 nightlife venues.)
Take Umami Burger, which sbe partnered with
in 2011. They recently brought in Impossible
Foods to introduce meatless burgers to the
menu, ultimately increasing sales by 27 percent
in the first six weeks. The team will soon open
KrispyRice by Katsuya, a fast casual version of
the sbe showstopper (which now has locations
in the Middle East). Looking ahead, Nazarian
is interested in supper clubs, and hints one is in
the works. "Activation during dinner is going to
be the next [big] thing-a combination of a show
and dinner."
Indeed, Nazarian says he stays in the
nightlife business because it is the ultimate
avenue for research and insight. "I'm getting
real time data on the next generation who wants
to congregate. With people swiping left and
right, they're not going out [to clubs] as much
and they're not spending as much money." Ten
years ago, he says, champagne, vodka, and bottle
service were all the rage, whereas today, "it's
tequila and mixology."
Expect more surprises from Nazarian and
his team in the 50 restaurants, 17 nightlife
venues, and 38 hotels and residences sbe has
on the boards, the majority in international
locations. "I love that," he says. In addition,
they are also developing a loyalty program.
"My ambition has always been a lot more
expansive than our capability, because we
didn't have the scale. Now, Accor has the same
ambition." Paris is on the wish list, as is the
Maldives. But overall, Nazarian seems humbled
and excited about where he is today. "Who
would have thought I'd be sitting in Schrager's
office? It's crazy." The next chapter, in new
offices with a new partnership, begins now. hd
See m ore at hospi t ali t ydesi g n.com

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Hospitality Design - December 2018

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