PROFILE
A loft accommodation at Bowie House , in Fort Worth , Texas , which opened in December 2023 .
Hacienda AltaGracia is a 50-casita resort in Costa Rica . Stays are inclusive of all meals .
directed “ Killers of the Flower Moon .” ( Friedkin , no relation to the late film director William Friedkin , is named as a producer on the film .)
Reid was brought into Auberge in 2014 and was promptly given a mandate by Friedkin to scale the company fairly quickly . “ He wanted it to be a meaningful business and also one that his kids , in their 20s and 30s , could relate to ,” Reid said .
According to the Peruvian-born Reid , Friedkin ’ s number-one ask of him was could he recruit . Reid laid the foundation for what
Auberge is today by promptly bringing in four of his Four Seasons colleagues who “ formed the cornerstones of the team ,” Reid said .
Friedkin , according to Reid , is very hands off when it comes to the business . “ I suspect he might be more engaged if we sputtered , but we ’ ve had great success ,” he said .
A VISION In Auberge , Reid envisioned a luxury hospitality business that didn ’ t necessarily show antipathy toward branded experiences , but promoted the idea of a collection of distinct hotels , which , while all unique in design and feel , always maintained a luxury level , which is to say , once a guest stepped on property , they understood the value they were paying for .
Reid drew on other similar-minded hotel companies like Auberge that operated under a similar ethos . He characterizes the 1980s through around 2010 as in-your-face luxury , which meant the brand front and center , emblazoned everywhere you could imagine , from purses ( think Louis Vuitton ) to tops ( Snoop Dogg ... on stage ... SNL ... 1994 ... wearing a Tommy Hilfiger rugby shirt ). At the same time , hotel brands like St . Regis , Four Seasons , Ritz-Carlton were populating and popularizing , the name instant cachet , a label of status .
Things began to shift , Reid said . “ I felt that the world was changing 15 years ago ,” he said , drawing back on his coffee analogy and tying it to his own family . “ My three girls are all coffee drinkers and they go to three different coffee shops ,” he said , all in the Dallas area , where he lives . “ One likes Drip Coffee , another likes Oak Cliff Coffee and the other likes Bluebonnet Coffee — each of their coffees fits their personalities .”
He takes that same approach to hotels and draws inspiration from other hotels and hotel companies that don ’ t play by brand rules . He cited Chateau Marmont , André Balazs ’ pleasure-palace-cum-hautehideaway nestled off Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles , and properties under Firmdale Hotels , such as Haymarket Hotel in London or Crosby Street Hotel in New York , like Auberge , absent the Firmdale name .
“ Beware of sameness ,” Reid warned . He compares Auberge to a manager of multiple brands — 27 , in fact —“ and we ’ re trying to create that sense of independence , that sense of uniqueness , and the more we can do that , the more successful our properties are going to be .”
To Reid , luxury is simplicity , it need not be over the top . Consider Auberge ’ s Wildflower
50 hotelsmag . com Jan / Feb 2024