GROUNDBREAKER
The Long Bar at The Ned in London
ON ANDREW ZOBLER ’ S MIND : REVAMPING TRADITIONAL HOTEL MEETING SPACES OR AS HE SEES IT ,
BRINGING THE SOUL TO IT .
opened there in 2017 in a partnership with Soho House . More hotel announcements will come soon , Zobler adds .
In the meantime , there is the ongoing “ bob and weave ” strategy , as Zobler described the adjustments being made at the just-opened hotels including The Line Austin , The Line DC , and The NoMad Hotel Las Vegas , a hotel-within-a-hotel at Park MGM .
“ I always ask , ‘ Is it going to be as good as the NoMad New York ?’” Zobler says of his expansion philosophy . “ Probably not . But can it be better than what ’ s already there ?”
DEALER WITH CREATIVE CHOPS Zobler ’ s hotelier career is at once predictable and unexpected . His background as a real estate lawyer and investor gave him the negotiating chops necessary to hold leadership positions in both acquisitions and development for Starwood Hotels & Resorts , and as general counsel and chief investment officer for André Balazs Properties . But to have joined the ranks of visionaries like Ian Schrager and Balazs was something out of the blue .
“ When I first met him , I was not convinced he was an industry mover and shaker ,” says Sean Hennessy , chief executive officer of Lodging Advisors , LLC and an assistant professor at NYU ’ s Tisch Center for Hospitality . “ But he has won me over . The boutique hotel market is an increasingly crowded field , which makes it difficult to do what he ’ s done , which is stand out from the rest .”
28 hotelsmag . com April 2019