Authenticity and Culture with Brian Cooke
Episode description
Brian began his career with Ritz-Carlton but quickly transitioned into boutique lifestyle hotels as a manager with The James brand in Miami.
After launching the re-branded James Royal Palm property, Brian then made his way to New York to manage The James Hotel in Soho NYC. His experience in the New York Market was growing by the day, and Brian was eventually given the opportunity to move over to the iconic boutique lifestyle brand - none other than GrandLife Hotels.
Most recently, Brian teamed up with Generator Hotels to create a Global Sales team overseeing their newly developed US properties, in addition to their newly acquired brand, Freehand Hotels.
What You Will Hear:
- How Brian entered the hospitality industry
- Ethos and mission of both Generator and Freehand
- Hostel revolution
- The authenticity of New York culture
- The Django at The Roxy. Entertainment centered.
- Sales strategies for boutique hotels. Rights and wrongs.
- Investing in boutique hotels and cross-marketing and business alignment
- What boutique means to Brian
Quotes:
“Generator really was the leader in what we called the hostel revolution. They know community better than any other kind of hotel.”
“They really know how to infuse the energy of the neighborhood into the energy of the
property and seamlessly where you're not necessarily taking away from the guest experience because it's so infused into the neighborhood.”
“I love New York because everyone is welcomed. Everyone's embraced, and everyone is very authentic in their own light.”
“When you're in a hotel, you're experiencing a brand's culture. You're using all five senses, mostly to experience what the brand's mission, their ethos, their culture is. You can't do that in any other type of business except for a hotel, and you're just engulfed in it.”
“Authenticity is key.”
Mentioned:
Three Lives and Company Bookstore
Life Stories; Profiles from the New Yorker
Sponsored by Solonis