Hospitality Design - September 2011 - 128

Wave of the Future

Sam Nazarian
Founder and CEO • SBE Los Angeles

Once I began working as a young kid I realized that hospitality was in my blood. More than anything, I was fascinated by the idea of earning money at a young age. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I was becoming an entrepreneur. My ﬁrst memory of design was when my parents took the family to Paris. From the architecture to the art, I was fascinated by the form and design I was being introduced to.

My ﬁrst memory of hospitality occurred when I was 16 and I walked in the Mirage in Las Vegas. The energy and attention to every last detail was unbelievable and left a powerful impression on me. At the age of 13, I started working in a deli and by the time I was 18, I was promoting a club in New York. I even spent some time on a factory ﬂoor in Manchester, New Hampshire. My time at NYU took place during the height of the boutique movement and I became a student of what was happening. I knew there was something game-changing taking place in the industry and I wanted to be a part of that. We launched SBE as a vehicle for investing in hospitality and I soon realized there was an opportunity to create a new model; knowing that inspired us to evolve from investor to developer and operator. We’ve been able to seamlessly integrate nightlife, F&B, and hotel under one roof all driven by one agenda: creating the ultimate guest experience. I always try to think like the guest. My ﬁrst reality check was realizing not every brand we created was going to succeed. SLS Hotel at South Beach has been the most challenging project to date. We’ve been immersed in the property for over ﬁve years and our role has evolved from investor to developer to operator. Undergoing that kind of evolution with a project presents a unique set of challenges, but we managed to meet them all head on and are launching the hotel in March. SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills will always be the one I’m most proud of. We took a property that had been written off and redeﬁned the model by aligning hotel, F&B, and nightlife through collaboration with world-class designers, architects, and chefs. SLS Las Vegas is the one I am most looking forward to at the moment. And we are looking to expand in New York. The most challenging part of the job is achieving quality of life. Nearly all my time is spent traveling and in meetings, so making time for family and friends becomes almost impossible. My guilty pleasure at the moment is spending as much time as possible with my new puppy. I thrive on viewing the industry through a fresh lens. I see the industry headed for a big shift driven by technology and the ability for guests to achieve true customization. My mentors are my father, Tom Barrack, Jim Murren, and Tim Leiweke, to name a few. Success is if you love your work you never work a day in your life.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - September 2011