Sam Gelin is a true believer in successful partnerships and working with people who are the best at what they do. It’s all part of his nature as a passionate, detailed, and curious person. After starting his career in finance and private aviation, he founded Craft Hospitality in New York in 2011. The hospitality and experiential company creates F&B-focused experiences and special events across the country. Unable to find a hotel in New York that understood his demographic, Gelin, 34, decided to develop his own property. In September 2017, he opened Made Hotel, an 18-story, 108-room boutique hotel in Manhattan’s trendy NoMad neighborhood. His first hotel project, the property was designed with contemporary, global-minded, creative individuals in mind and offers four F&B spaces that Gelin created himself.
Gelin is one of 20 rising stars (all 40 and under) HOTELS interviewed for our May feature. All shared their insights about their lives in the business and thoughts about some of today’s challenges and opportunities. In a Wall Street Journal-sponsored series, read Gelin’s responses to our questions and click here to link to the full list of interviews with HOTELS 20 Next-Gen hospitality leaders.
Contributed by Laura Koss-Feder
HOTELS: As are younger professionals like yourself developing contacts and networks?
Sam Gelin: Younger professionals are constantly looking to surround themselves with people they can learn from and be inspired by. For me, I look to those around me who are creative. I look to see what a furniture designer is creating. Or, I find out about something new and wonderful that my chef is doing in the kitchen. I form human connections based on their expertise, and learn from them. Made Hotel came about through strategic partnerships and through working with creative talent.
H: What is attracting young professionals to the hospitality industry?
SG: I think it is the ability to travel, have new experiences and adventures, and feel empowered in their jobs. They want to enhance guests’ experiences and feel like they have a real role in making those travelers feel special. At Made Hotel, we want our Made curators (employees), to share ideas on how to make guests feel special, and to truly think on their feet. I believe in having our staff “own” their positions, and I think they welcome this opportunity. For instance, we had a guest check in late at night and wanted to get his wife flowers for their anniversary, but all the flower shops were already closed. The MC at the front desk went around the hotel and put together a bouquet from flowers planted around the property – bringing this to the guest’s room in about 10 minutes. Another time, one of our MCs literally gave a guest his pants, and he switched into jeans – when the guest needed a new pair of pants as part of his suit.
H: I have to ask you. What does Made stand for?
SG: It is not an acronym for anything. It has a layered definition. It has many textures. For instance, to be “made” in New York is a point of civic pride. Our guests care about where items come from and are “made.”
H: What do you care about most when it comes to hotels and careers at your property?
SG: I want to create new opportunities for my team, so that they can grow their careers. The idea of personal fulfillment is very important to me.
H: What about the business keeps you up at night?
SG: The group-think mentality is something that concerns me. I don’t want to see our industry fall into a routine or pre-set ideas about how things should be done just because they have always been done that way before. It’s important to explore new ideas based on their individual merits.
H: What are some things that you like to do every day or most days?
SG: I do like to pop into a certain magazine shop and leave with creative magazines that I draw inspiration from. I like design magazines, for example.
H: What is your best advice to next-gen hoteliers?
SG: Travel. Travel to other hotels and draw inspiration from what you think you like best.
H: What places have you traveled to that have inspired you?
SG: There is an amazing hotel in Positano, Italy, called Villa Tre Ville, that is just so wonderful. There also is Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, which is so homelike and rejuvenating. I enjoy Hotel Brummell in Barcelona, which is a 20-room property off the beaten path that is so special. These hotels, among many others, really had an impact on me and gave me such special and memorable experiences.
H: Who inspires you?
SG: I am inspired by any individual who follows their passion. This kind of passion is contagious and makes me want to be more creative in what I do.
H: What do you hope for our industry in the future?
SG: I hope that the word “experience” and what it means to have a meaningful experience is better understood by hoteliers. At Made, we want our guests to have a moment of discovery or feelings of discovery during their stays. We want them to be able to share this with others when they leave our hotel.