GROUNDBREAKER
Zobler credits his grandmother Sydell , who owned a successful antiques business , for his passion for interesting and old things ( she ’ s also the company namesake .) He used to travel with her to Europe in the summers and accompanied her on antique hunts , fostering his appreciation for design while teaching him the ins and outs of business .
At Starwood , working with Barry Sternlicht , who Zobler still speaks with regularly , he saw first-hand the evolution of a hotel brand , W Hotels . Later , working with Balazs further exposed him to design , particularly with regards to the guest room experience .
But it was partnering with the late Alex Calderwood of Atelier Ace for the Ace New York Hotel , Sydell Group ’ s first venture into the hotel development world , that showed Zobler the importance of partnerships . “ Alex was just a super lovely human being ,” Zobler says . “ And he taught me about the value of partnering with young , talented artists .”
Indeed , what has made Sydell Group properties so successful and endearing to guests is that there are collaborations in every brand , at every property . Freehand Hotels has the Broken Shaker bar from Gabriel Orta and Elad Zevi , a tropical bar oasis that originated at the first Freehand in Miami and has now expanded to the Los Angeles , Chicago and New York locations . NoMad has partnered with French interior designer Jacques Garcia and Be-Poles branding for all three of its hotels , as well as with Chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara for the NoMad Restaurants . Designer Sean Knibb has set the style for all three Line Hotels but the brand has also picked up chefs and bartenders from their individual cities .
Being willing to partner up with artists and other brands is also what ’ s given Sydell Group their edge over other hotel companies , particularly as bigger brands continue to mimic boutique style . “ The hotel industry is just taking what has
Lobby space at The Line in Austin , Texas
statistically proven to work and they keep doing that over and over ,” Zobler says .
When going through the design process with MGM Resorts , which has 42,000 rooms in the Las Vegas market and very thorough market research behind it , Zobler says he was grateful that MGM gave his team the latitude to do their thing . “ I ’ m not saying we weren ’ t edited ,” he says . “ But we were definitely given a chance .”
Another challenge for Sydell Group in Las Vegas was to create something that ’ s beautiful and bespoke but also durable . “ Anyone can design a beautiful hotel room but it really comes down to the materiality ,” he says . “ We try to prepare as best as we can for what guests will do in the rooms , but we don ’ t always get it right .”
ABOUT PARTNERS Another testament to Zobler ’ s success is who he surrounds himself with . Sydell Group is a partnership between Zobler and investor Ron Burkle who ’ s also an investor with Soho House . But the operations and development team at Sydell is stacked with industry vets from indie and major brands alike such as W , Standard , Sixty , Bunkhouse , Kimpton and Four Seasons .
“ He ’ s assembled a high quality cast of talent ,” Hennessy says . “ It ’ s a testament to
his leadership , especially on the creative side of the hospitality industry .”
Here too , Zobler has been willing to cede control to those with more in the know . “ When I was younger , I was out all the time ,” Zobler says of his time scouting out what was cool and happening . “ But now I ’ m happy at home in the country with my dogs .”
And he ’ s not worried about what the competition is up to either . “ I don ’ t really look at what other people are doing to be honest ,” Zobler says . “ There are some people who absolutely hate the NoMad in New York . They say , ‘ I just didn ’ t get it .’ And that ’ s fine with me . Then there are the people who love it . They feel as if they are staying in a Fench ’ s girls apartment with a little New York flair .”
Looking ahead , Zobler says he would like to do more partnerships like the one with MGM and Soho House . Also on his mind for the future is revamping traditional hotel meeting spaces or as he sees it , “ bringing the soul to it ” particularly for large technology companies like Google and Amazon .
As for slowing down , or stepping away , that ’ s not a chapter he ’ s ready to start . “ We had a moment where we could have sold the business ,” he says . “ And that was a bit of an introspection process for me , but ultimately this is what I want to continue to do .”
30 hotelsmag . com April 2019