Since the Ace Hotel brand debuted in Seattle in 1999, it has promised a quirky yet comfortable experience for guests ranging from 20-somethings to Baby Boomers. Concepts for these sometimes-edgy experiences are often hatched in its Atelier Ace offices in New York City and Portland, Oregon, where collaboration rules as one of the company’s most unique characteristics.
President and Co-partner Brad Wilson refers to the Ace culture as an environment where good ideas count. “Things are discussed and debated,” he notes, “and generally speaking, the good idea wins.”
Those “good ideas” have included thriving social spaces such as a buzzing lobby in the New York City property to a distinctive rooftop area in Los Angeles, and the brand has no intention to stop innovating, thanks largely to the spirit forged by Co-founder Alex Calderwood, who passed away in November 2013.
Ace locations often are off the beaten path, at least when they first open — its newest property has helped continue to spearhead re-development in downtown Los Angeles, for example, and it is working on a hotel in an emerging neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Yet the brand’s growth is steady, with seven hotels currently open and a goal of opening a couple more each year. Although predominantly in the United States, Ace also has a presence in London and Panama as well as designs on expanding in Europe and entering Asia.
HOTELS spoke with Wilson, who joined Ace in 2011 after holding leadership roles at other noteworthy brands such as W and The James, about topics that include the legacy of Calderwood, the ongoing evolution of the brand and the impact of the increasing number of “lifestyle hotels,” especially those launched by more mainstream companies.
Editor’s note: As president and co-partner, Brad Wilson helps lead an ideas-driven team at Ace Hotel Group as it pursues steady expansion into new markets while maintaining properties’ quirky, comfortable feel. The following is an excerpt from an interview with Wilson published in the January/February issue of HOTELS.
HOTELS: How has the Ace Hotel brand evolved over the years?
Brad Wilson: As much as things change I think in a lot of ways they stay the same. We started with Alex Calderwood starting our first hotel with a couple of his friends with the intention of building a hotel for their friends, and in a lot of ways that’s really what we do today. We really are building hotels for the type of people we are.
HOTELS: Why has Ace put such a strong emphasis on social spaces in hotels?
Wilson: We look at how we build community and how people work today and how spaces work within that reality. When you travel now, it’s more than just going to find a place to stay. You’re looking for an alternate office for the period of time you’re there. You’re looking for entertainment. You’re looking to experience the city you’re in. So what we’re trying to do is create these community hubs that kind of bring that together.
HOTELS: Why has Ace focused on more “off-the-beaten path” location in terms of expansion?
Wilson: We like interesting projects, so we tend to get drawn to buildings and neighborhoods that are interesting to us. Our next opening is in Pittsburgh, where we’re renovating a historic YMCA. That property kind of called to us. It’s in a new area that’s redeveloping called East Liberty just out of downtown, and it’s an amazing little building. We don’t necessarily start with the idea we need a hotel in Pittsburgh, but we start with seeing what’s interesting — buildings we think can be creatively repositioned.
HOTELS: What is your overall focus in terms of development — do you acquire on your own or with partners, or is your focus more on strict management?
White: We have ownership interest in various properties. We’re not going out and finding the world’s most expensive real estate; we’re actually changing real estate. In the end, really what we do is creating value in real estate.
HOTELS: What are your thoughts about the increasing prevalence of lifestyle brands, particularly those being launched by some of the industry’s major players?
White: People today are demanding more than the generic, cookie-cutter stuff. Starting years ago, we’ve seen design improvements go from boutique design hotels into more mainstream hotels, and today you see all the big players bringing out their lifestyle brands. All of that makes sense to me with where the customer is going and people’s expectations. It used to be safe and secure and consistent were the values that were best. You didn’t necessarily have that much knowledge of where you were going. Today, with the Internet, we can know everything — from what other people who stayed there think to pictures to 360-degree walk-throughs. The information process allows people to do more interesting things. That process also has raised everyone’s expectations.
When it comes to everybody launching new brands, we have a different concept of what a brand is. A brand is so much an emotional thing to us; I’m not sure all these can be emotional brands. But it’s probably very positive for the customer in the long run because the products are becoming less generic.