ONE YEAR INTO HIS TENURE , CEO JAMES BERMINGHAM TALKS ABOUT MORE RIGOROUS GLOBAL GROWTH VIA MOVES INTO RESORTS , RESIDENTIAL AND THROUGH A REWARDS PROGRAM .
by JEFF WEINSTEIN , EDITOR IN CHIEF
business after business … I was a happy camper at Montage and living in Southern California . So , any opportunity had to be something really extraordinary to get my attention , and Virgin was it … It has been fun . It has also been rewarding and enriching . I ’ m having a great time .”
Having a great time during a pandemic is no easy feat , but Bermingham attributes it to the Virgin teams and efforts made to persevere cashflow while maintaining the guest experience , which he says lead to substantial increases market penetration at stabilized hotels .
During the pandemic , Bermingham says the Virgin Hotels portfolio showed year-over yeargrowth in market share of 38 % in 2020 and 40 % in 2021 . He adds that Virgin Hotels ’ F & B revenue
RICHARD [ BRANSON ] DOESN ’ T DISTINGUISH BETWEEN WORK AND PLAY – IT ’ S JUST LIFE . THAT HAS REALLY INSPIRED THREE PROJECTS THAT WE ’ RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW .
– JAMES BERMINGHAM
per occupied room was 190 % of the brand ’ s comp sets on average , which really helped with cashflow during the pandemic .
“ We ’ re super sensitive to our owners and work very closely with them to mitigate the losses ( reducing hours of operation , suspending some brand standards )
Exterior of the Virgin in Edinburgh , Scotland , set to open this spring and maximize cash flow ,” Bermingham adds . “ It is something that our team did extraordinarily well .”
Performing for and listening to owners is also critical to Virgin because they want to do additional deals with them , Bermingham adds , citing The Buccini / Pollin Group , which developed hotels in Nashville , Tennessee , and New Orleans , Louisiana , and is looking at a third Virgin project not quite ready to be
May 2022 hotelsmag . com 9