Expedia’s Cyril Ranque in conversation with Ian Schrager – Photographed by Adam Shane Productions on a Nikon D5.
Hoteliers should stop being in denial about the impact of home sharing on their business, believes Ian Schrager, the hotelier extraordinaire hailed for his ground-breaking concepts.
“They should be panicking,” he said, during an interview at the Expedia Partner Conference in Las Vegas earlier this month.
“The gloves have come off,” he said, jesting, “Airbnb is coming for our kids, better lock them up.”
He noted that regulation would only delay the inevitable and said “we have to do what they can’t do”.
The future is of communal spaces and differentiated product, he said.
His latest project, PUBLIC, opened in the Bowery District in New York City on June 7, and has received rave reviews in the media with Wallpaper calling him “the Steve Jobs of the hotelier world”.
He calls it a ‘disruption’ to the city’s current lifestyle brands. PUBLIC’s fundamental ethos is accessibility, with a focus on style, sharp service and fun facilities. (Photo on top shows the roof of the PUBLIC, credit: PUBLIC Hotel New York)
In the interview with Cyril Ranque, president, lodging partner group of Expedia, Schrager said PUBLIC “may be the most important thing in making luxury available to everyone”.
“It’s special, sophisticated and magical. It’s providing entertainment and food & beverage at a reasonable price and making it accessible to everyone.
“We attract a diverse group of people – ages, income – when you get that diverse group, something combustible happens.
“With pricing being so efficient, it’s the future,” he said.
Asked if he was concerned that technology would dehumanise the hotel industry, Schrager said the issue is not the tech but the wizardry of tech. “It makes it fun.”
He isn’t as concerned about the dehumanizing effects of technology as he is about fixed mindsets and inability to change bad habits.
For example, he said, “The front desk was invented to keep people away from the people working behind it.”
Hotels need to improve the check-in and check-out processes. “They don’t want to have a glass of champagne at check-in and they don’t want to stand in line to check-out.”
He questioned if “all the front desk staff, concierges and duty managers” were necessary.
Citing the late Steve Jobs, he said hoteliers should care more about creating unique products than worrying about the efficiency of processes.
Asked how he keeps going – he is the founder of the mythical Studio 54, the hottest club in New York in the 70s – Schrager said, it’s never about the money. “Anybody who’s good at what they do love what they do. There’s nothing better than having people come in and marvel at what you do.”
His future plans include more PUBLICs and continuing with creating more Editions for Marriott.
