Josiah: What are you thinking of in Food and beverage? What do you feel about where opportunity lies in that world?
Philippe:
Yeah, I definitely still believe that this idea of celebrity chefs is a little kind of in the background, and not to say that quality food and all the things that typically a celebrity chef will bring are not important, but it’s more about what’s the experience? How do I feel, as you said, less so about oh, I’m going to go here because of the name on the door. When, at any time, you don’t recognize the name on the door, you just know that they’re a celebrity chef? I think that the consumer is willing to become much more adventurous than has been in the past, especially in the domestic US. Nobody is scared to go in and try new things. So chefs are pushing the envelope and not saying oh well, you have to have these staples on a menu. It’s the sky’s the limit, as long as you deliver a good story, a good product and there’s a consistency and a complimentary aspect to what you’re providing. So I think venturing beyond the typical culinary choices is what’s happening now and the wave of the future. And then back again to ensuring that when you step into the restaurant, you’re not sitting there and eating just like. You’re not just going to a room. You are experiencing great service. The uniforms tie into what’s happening. The music is part of it, the layout is part of it, so we’re curating the overall content. We’re not just curating the food experience. That is pushing the envelope and being very, very creative.
Josiah:
Has there been a restaurant that you’ve enjoyed recently?
Philippe:
I mean this is kind of pseudo within and not within our group. It’s in one of our hotels, but it’s not within our group. It’s called Lazer Wolf and it’s at the Hoxton in Brooklyn on the roof, and it’s just an amazing experience in terms of the quality of the food. First of all, the fact that it’s kind of Mediterranean, Israeli, but not cookie cutter, so you have a really interesting approach. The menu choices are done very, very carefully, so you don’t feel overwhelmed. You have enough choice, but not too much. And because it’s on a rooftop, because of the way the table is set up, because of the vibe, you’re going there to have a party, effectively, but you’re just, you know you’re eating. So that for me, has been very, very compelling, and I’m not the only one, because it’s impossible to get a table there. So it’s just been very, very successful.
Josiah:
I wonder if we could just spend a moment talking about wellness, because I know you’ve talked in different places about this being a trend and I’m curious about what are you seeing, experiencing, and feeling as opportunities for hotels as it relates to providing wellness options for guests?
Philippe:
So, first of all, this is a passion of mine. I really think it’s really, really important because I believe that everybody now has at least an understanding of the importance of being well-rounded in your life, which includes wellness, and wellness is defined as fitness, nutrition, mental health, all those things that we all see at the forefront. And when we talk about having an experiential type of experience in a hotel or anywhere else, that naturally has to include wellness because it’s part of our lives these days. So, from our perspective, we try to think of how can we appeal to the customer in that regard, and in some ways, it’s a little challenging if you limit yourself to thinking about conventional approaches like okay, well, we’re going to have a gym in the hotel. That may not work because some of the hotels may not have space for a gym, especially, you know, historical lifestyle hotels. So how do you bring that to your customer? Same thing with nutrition how do you kind of bring it? So for us, it is always thinking about here’s the product we’re offering. And how do you rope in all these different facets to the consumer without one typical blueprint? So in one hotel, it may be, we are going to offer a service to the best gym in town in the morning. If you want to go, you can sign up for, or we’re going to offer classes on the beach and our menus and offer nutritional options that may fit your lifestyle. In addition, we have in our spa, you know, cold therapy and ha-moms and so on to make sure that everything is being catered to. So it’s definitely evolving. We are in the midst of assessing our strategy. Does it make sense for us to vertically integrate and add that to our core offering being discussed. But one thing’s for sure Now I said this before 15, 20 years ago if somebody went to a lifestyle hotel on the beach, they would say I’m going to go, I’m going to party, I’m going to wake up, I’m going to drink a little bit more and or whatever I do, but not for one second that they think I’m going to work out. Now the same individuals one have a good time. It’s a priority to feel good and work out and have that balance, and we owe it to them and we’re going to fall behind if we don’t provide it, and we, I think we need to be at the front, forefront of it.
