Skift Take
Hotel companies may tout things like exclusivity and networking opportunities as reasons to launch a members-only club, but the real upside here is all about financial security. Soho House proved this is a resilient business model, even in the face of a pandemic.
Hotel companies around the world pumped more resources into growing luxury brands over the pandemic. That emphasis on exclusivity is now moving into members-only concepts.
Hong Kong-based Rosewood Hotel Group opened Carlyle & Co., a private club overlooking Victoria Harbor, this summer in its hometown. The membership club is Rosewood’s first in what the company anticipates will eventually grow into a network of properties in some of the world’s largest cities. Its opening this summer coincided with Soho House, arguably the best-known membership club chain in the world, going public.
While company leaders demure at the idea Carlyle & Co. is anything like Soho House, the concept does follow in a growing trend of the hospitality industry putting more stock in members’ clubs. Rosewood leaders just think an actual hotel company can do a membership club better. Analysts expect more hotel companies to follow in Rosewood’s footsteps.
“We have a really good foundation on how to deliver experiences and programming for the club based on what Rosewood has been doing. We're known for creating memorable experiences and really understanding and anticipating our customers’ needs,” Rosewood
