My vision
While waiting to meet Myhotels founder Andy Thrasyvoulou in the library of Myhotel Bloomsbury, I am brought a cappuccino. The chocolate on top forms the word my, the coffee is Illy. A brand junkie would have a field day here. First, the My. It's everywhere in the My empire, not just in Myhotel, but also Mycafé, Mybar, Mychoices, Mymusic, Myneeds (toiletries). The idea is to make you feel at home, as if what is being created is especially for you, and not as if you have just checked into another cookie-cutter, probably rather soulless hotel. In a recent survey, guests perceived Myhotels to be unbranded and applauded this fact, although ironically the word my has become a brand
Second, the Illy coffee. It's a good example of the type of relationships that Thrasyvoulou is trying to forge, taking like-minded brands and putting them into his hotels, although by no means into every hotel. And if those brands don't evolve as Thrasyvoulou wants, then they will be out, replaced by the new best thing. There's not a lot of room for manoeuvre, and Thrasyvoulou is clearly a hard man to please - but that's because he's at the relatively early stages of building up his hotel empire, with just two Myhotels so far, in Bloomsbury and Chelsea, and two more in the pipeline, one in Brighton, opening in early 2005, and another in London's Paddington, opening in 2006.
So what is Myhotels all about? Cypriot Thrasyvoulou is an architect by trade, who got into hotels because he felt the standard of accommodation in London was in the Dark Ages. He wasn't welcomed by his critics. When he opened Myhotel in Bloomsbury in 1999, just ahead of Ian Schrager launching his St Martin's Lane property, he upset some mainstream hoteliers. John Jarvis wrote in London's Evening Standard that "terrorist" boutique hotels were coming in to take business away from the big chains. Thrasyvoulou remained undaunted, however, as the comments proved that he had something to offer. That something was a boutique hotel (anything up to 100 keys) with high levels of design, based on the Chinese concept of feng shui, and an atmosphere where the senses are awakened by aromas of scented candles and sights of brightly coloured fish in large tanks.
Myhotel Bloomsbury was followed by Chelsea in 2002. But it's the opening of Brighton, dubbed "MyBright", that really excites Thrasyvoulou. It's the group's first hotel outside London and the first new-build. The fact that it is in Brighton, where a minor revolution is taking place in the hotel industry with the arrival of groups such as Hotel du Vin, Alias and maybe even Malmaison, is significant.
"We believe that Brighton is on the cusp of going through a major turning point. There's always a project that creates a critical mass wherever you go, and it's good to have the competition," says Thrasyvoulou. As with all the Myhotels, Brighton has a theme, summing up the values of the hotel. This one is "The Maharishi meets Freddie Mercury". The 94-bedroom property will be located on Jubilee Street, in Brighton's North Lanes, and will be part of a complex including a library, upmarket retailers and residential letting. It will have a full spa, a Mybar, and a restaurant attached. Here, the complementary brands also spring into action. Thrasyvoulou is in discussions with Aveda to put in the spa, and is considering which partner will be suitable for the restaurant - Yo! Sushi (currently at the Myhotel Bloomsbury) and Wagamama are the type of brands under consideration.
Business case
Sounds great, but isn't all this kind of stuff just a fad that will soon have had its day? "My take on this is that a hotel fundamentally will only work if the business case is right, irrespective of what it stands for," responds Thrasyvoulou. "It's still a case of location, location, location; and some locations are easier than others.
"Then you've got to cater for uncertainty in the marketplace, such as terrorism and Sars. Then comes the concept. I believe concept can affect the fundamentals up or down by 15-20%, and branding can affect your business case by up to about 20%. If you've bought correctly and you're in the right location and you're in the right cycle, then you stand a fantastic chance of getting good returns and succeeding without the brand. With the brand you improve on that, because you've got something that people can identify with."
Thrasyvoulou says that Brighton will probably be called a boutique hotel by the press, although he sees it more as a designer or concept hotel. "Anything under 100 rooms probably classifies as boutique. Over the 100 mark depends on what level of service you've got. Claridge's, Dorchester, Savoy - I consider those to be ‘old boutique' even though they've got more rooms. They were fashionable and they were very personalised."
But it's been a long slog to get Brighton off the ground, and Myhotels contractors will not be able to get on site until January - indicative of the sluggish market in general. But this, in itself, has prompted another turning point in Thrasyvoulou's thinking. "Because of the uncertainty of market, we've now decided to start courting potential partners to help us go forward with our projects. If we continue on our own, it's going to be too slow a process in a sluggish market," he reveals.
There are plenty of permutations. Financial partners could own individual assets, pushing Myhotels down the route of being a management company, and Thrasyvoulou says he is also looking at managing other people's properties with the Myhotels brand.
Currently, Bloomsbury is owned, Chelsea is a 30-year lease, Paddington is owned and Brighton will be owned. "We envisage that in the next 6-12 months some of the hotels will be co-owned with a partner." This could even allow expansion into Europe, starting, possibly, with Athens. The plan is to have a critical mass of 10 hotels by 2008, provided partners can be found. Otherwise, it will be more like five or six hotels.
After Brighton comes Paddington, with the catchline of "Where travel meets speed" and due to open in 2005. The hotel is currently being operated by Myhotels and is trading as the Royal Norfolk. It will be closed for a complete refurbishment to become a Myhotel.
Factfile
Myhotels: Bloomsbury, Chelsea, opening in Brighton and Paddington
Chairman and managing director: Andy Thrasyvoulou
Group turnover: £7m
MyBright
Bedrooms: 94
Entry rack rate: about £100
Corporate to leisure split: 65%-35%
Thrasyvoulou soundbites
Who is your role model?
Four Seasons. They are amazing and have very well designed and built products. The size of the room, the quality of the linen and the bed are all impressive. There is huge integrity in the product.
How long will you remain involved with Myhotels?
Don't know at the moment. Once we get to 10 hotels, that's a conversation I'll have to have with myself. It might be that I will leave someone else to develop the brand and do another project. Running hotels just to please the City is not what I am about.
Doesn't that mean that the brand will lose its way? Not necessarily. There is a danger that when the brand champion exits, the environment becomes more corporate. But you have to be clear about what the brand is and where it leads. Provided you create a clear succession policy, you can do it. Four Seasons is a good example of expanding the brand while maintaining the integrity.
What future trends do you see in the hotel world?
The next big thing will be design-led hotels, in the way that Cerruti and Bulgari are already doing. I think we will see much more of that. How long would you spend in a designer store, 10 minutes perhaps? Imagine exposing someone to your brand for 12 hours or more. That's massive.
Feng shui
To many people feng shui is just another fad in hotel design, and one that will pass from favour soon. For Thrasyvoulou, feng shui is a way of life that he has been practising for many years. In hotel terms, it means providing an environment where Eastern and Western cultures cross.
Real feng shui is the study of the movement of energy and how it affects every aspect of our lives. The aim of well-practised feng shui is to arrange a space so that chi, or energy, can flow harmoniously to create balance. Smooth and soft energy movement creates a feeling of relaxation, whereas straight lines, angular corners and sharp edges can make us feel more stressed.
Brighton design
Of the 94 bedrooms in Brighton the top floor will be for penthouse suites, a dozen in total, each with a terrace. All the rooms come under the remit of industrial designer Karim Rashid.
Spaces are soft and curved with state-of-the-art technology, such as 24-hour internet TV and wireless keyboards with rotating flat screens, cordless phones and digital locks using fingerprint technology. In the bedrooms, activities are focused on the centre. Beds rotate; some headboards are coloured, mirrored dividers; and there is a mobile table for working or eating in bed or anywhere in the room.
