02 May How Conscious Hospitality Is Influencing Soho’s Newest Luxury hotel
Conscious Hospitality; a guiding principle for Soho’s newest luxury hotel.
Located in the bustling city of New York, 11 Howard is a 221 room boutique hotel that has reimagined the hotel experience by implementing Conscious Hospitality. For the team at 11 Howard, this means that they approach every aspect of the hotel experience with awareness, purpose, and thoughtful consideration. The Life-Styled by Stacy Garcia team had the opportunity to sit down with General Manager, Anis Khoury, as he explains the ins and outs of Conscious Hospitality concept.
The exterior of 11 Howard
This cutting-edge approach begins with Conscious Design. 11 Howard successfully combines Danish Modern design with hyper-localism. Natural features and metals intertwined amongst hand-selected artwork is the perfect complement to the hotel’s organic setting. The design of 11 Howard was curated by Anda Andrei of Anda Andrei Design, 11 Howard‘s creative director, in collaboration with Aby Rosen, owner of the renowned design firm Space Copenhagen. The pair worked closely to ensure that every detail of Andrei’s vision was executed properly. Through the use of clean lines, they were able to create a modern urban oasis in the city the NEVER sleeps.
Anda Andrei, designer of the hotel said, “We wanted to create a timeless place, an instant classic, a place that gets better and better with time, not the flavor of the month. We wanted to reinvent how a hotel should look and feel, modest but with a sense of luxury, down to earth with a touch of glamour.”
The concept of Conscious Art floods the hallways. Khoury explains, “collaborations are very much in the spirit of the hotel, the collaboration help to further cement 11 Howard into the fabric of the community. Working with local kids makes them feel like they’re a part of the experience, and hopefully offers them an opportunity of which they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to take advantage.”
Consciousness extends locally at the 11 Howard, collaborating with Groundwell, an organization that works with underserved, marginalized, and economically disadvantaged youth. The hotel’s goal is to provide a creative opportunity for children to work with well-known artists. A great example of the positive effect this collaboration has had on the community would be the hotel’s eye-catching mural on the south-facing wall. Community members worked with artist, Jeff Koons, to bring this project to life.
Mural in collaboration with Groundswell; located on south-facing wall
Conscious Service is the next step in this puzzle. At 11 Howard “service is never in the way but always there.” Many of you may be curious as to what this means exactly. Khoury explains, “Gone are the days where young adults desired to be pampered in the traditional manner of what was considered “good hospitality.” In order to better to relate to their guests, 11 Howard was determined to give them experiences that they would appreciate.”
With the practice of Conscious Locale, the hotel has the ability to offer an extremely modern method of service. Guests that walk through the door tend to be creative, design oriented, and environmentally conscious. Sounds like fun, right? Combine that with the local aspect of their community partnerships and you have the perfect home away from home.
Last but certainly not least is Conscious Partnerships. Social consciousness is at the forefront of all decisions for 11 Howard. Khoury prouds states, “We’re attentive every step of the way in terms of our responsibility to our neighbors, our city, and the environment at large.” Products available at 11 Howard are sustainable and ethically sourced, only working with partners who maintain the same standards that they have built their brand upon. Some of these partnerships include Global Poverty Project, Conscious Commerce, Thrive Market, and FEED Projects.
Almost one year after 11 Howard opened its doors to the public, they have been recognized with Conde Nast Traveler’s 2017 Hot List Award for the United State and Canada. On April 24th, the hotel announced that they had been selected as one of the world’s best new hotels according to Conde Nast Traveler’s Edition & Contributors. This list recognizes the best properties around the world that have opened in the last year.
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