Posted by Susan O’Driscoll
A new 138-room boutique hotel has opened in Los Angeles with the unusual name, Mr. C Beverley Hills. Targeting the hip folks in the flashy Hollywood circles of entertainment, fashion and advertising it is creating a stir in the fast-paced city.
Sam Jagger is the hotel’s general manager and is originally from England. He spent the last couple of years as sales director at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica, but earlier in his career he worked for boutique hotel pioneer Ian Schrager. He helped open the two hotels in London that Schrager created - the Sanderson and St. Martin's Lane.
USA Today caught up with Sam Jagger and I have copied in the interview below for you.
Q. Who's the target customer for Mr. C?
A. "That's the fun thing with this brand. We really see ourselves as being able to cross boundaries from a demographic standpoint - from people in their 20s to their 70s because what the foundation of the hotel is about is service."
Q. Los Angeles luxury hotels can be pricey. What rates will Mr. C charge?
A. "Hotels are divided in three groups: The pack at $200 to $300, then uber-luxury in the $500 to $600 range. There's a gap. There aren't many in the $300 to $450 range, and that is where we want to go."
Q. Will you compete with W?
A. "No, we're as far away as boutique as we can be." Jagger's definition of "boutique hotel," by the way, echoed a conversation I'd had with Schrager just last week. Jagger said the early generation of boutique hotels put design before service, which Schrager himself admitted was the case back in the 1980s when he pioneered them.
Q. Are people booking, given that Mr. C is an unknown name?
A. "I'm confident we'll hit occupancy levels of 60% to 65% in the first month. The last hotel in LA (admittedly during the recession) in its first month it hit 10% occupancy." Los Angeles hotels, generally in June, are expected to fill about 73% of its rooms.
Q. What sets you apart from other hotels?
A. "We're very humble when it comes to service. It's more about anticipating guests' needs and how you make the guest feel. It's not so overburdening to the point to where it's standoff-ish. It feels more genuine in approach, instead of being about checking boxes all the time."
Q. Describe Mr. C's location.
A. We're in a residential neighborhood, although we have a number of different shops on Pico Boulevard. When you look north to the hills, you look over residential homes. It's very quiet, decompressing, yet still within a two-minute drive of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive.
Q. Los Angeles takes fitness seriously. What's your gym like?
A. We have all TechnoGym equipment in a dedicated center. We'll have a gym attendant for instruction and also if you want to do a run in the local area. It's an important part of the California lifestyle. At some point in the future the goal is to have a second Mr. C (Mr. D?), but no plans are in the works right now.
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