Interview: Nihi Hotels CEO on Creating a Cult Property That’s Distinctly Luxurious
Photo Credit: James McBride, the CEO of Nihi Hotels, thinks the new luxury can be rough around the edges, and shouldn't be intrusive. Nihi Sumba Island
Skift Take
It takes old-school hospitality expertise and new-school marketing hustle to create a cult property from scratch. Nihi Sumba Island seems to be the culmination of both, plus it has the right capital and vision.
Colin Nagy, head of strategy at Fred & Farid, a global advertising agency, writes this opinion column for Skift on hospitality, innovation, and business travel. "On Experience" dissects customer-centric experiences and innovation across hospitality, aviation, and beyond. You can read all of his columns here.
When you canvas hospitality leaders around the world for who they look up to or where they find inspiration, hotelier James McBride is a recurring name people bring up.
He began his career in a Durban, South Africa kitchen; worked his way up through the Ritz Carlton for 14 years starting in 1988 and has a Harvard Business School case study referencing his work, and served as managing director of The Carlyle in Manhattan from 2003 to 2009.
In the latest phase of his career, McBride has partnered with investor Chris Burch to open a property called Nihi Sumba Island in Indonesia. It is around a 50-minute flight from Bali. McBride is a partner and CEO of Nihi Hotels.
