At the helm of the "home of the new", CEO Josh Wyatt of collective workspace NeueHouse gave us a schooling in hospitality and innovation, and let us in on his favourite hangouts in LA and New York.
10 December, 2019
Offering the most stylish work-and-play scene around, NeueHouse is a collective workspace designed for today's creative entrepreneurs - namely prominent artists, innovators and Hollywood alumni.
Serving as a sanctuary for the urban elite across it's US collective (from LA to NYC), NeueHouse has a vibe that is very much a business-meets-members-club. San Franciscan CEO Josh Wyatt (who built the world's largest millennial-driven hotel company, Generator Hostels) is the man responsible for communicating NeueHouse's quiddity to its membership of radical thinkers and their guests.
I grew up in Marin County, right outside of San Francisco. The city has gone through huge changes over the years with some of the most important companies in the world having headquarters just a short shoot along to Palo Alto.
I think truly keeping the consumer in mind was the most important contributor to Generator Hostels' success. Focusing on our design and public spaces with a point of view separated the brand from what others were doing and drew the millennial demographic we were aiming to target. It was also good timing, with Airbnb taking a lot of customers from traditional hotels - we were able to cater to this market.
The NeueHouse brand is a potent growth engine living at the intersection of real estate, hospitality, industry brand and digital works. Our vision is to redefine the way creatives, artists and entrepreneurs work, as well as to collaborate, socialise and discover within design-driven spaces through cultural programming and unparalleled hospitality. When I stepped into my role, I aimed to double down on this vision to enhance our offering and scale our boutique platform to better serve our members wherever they may be.
I joined the team almost a year ago in November 2018. We have done a deep dive into the world of sensory moments in technology, design and arts, and also considered our literature, art and comedy programming to ensure that we deliver creative inspiration to both our members and employees.
NeueHouse is the home of the new. We give our members exclusive access to programming and incomparable hospitality, enhancing their work in addition to the creative community we foster. This is something that you can't really find anywhere else.
NeueHouse offers key needs for members and guests as soon as they enter the space. Not only is there an incredible workspace that allows people to function at the highest professional level, but there are innovative food and beverage offerings with seasonal menus and a commitment to healthy eating, in addition to world-class programming at scale. We have full-time teams to ensure our events are produced at a high level and that we bring together people from all different disciplines.
… adaptability and accessibility.
Other than New York and LA, I think that London, where I spend most of my time, is electric and has so many world-class cultural offerings mixed in with the visual historic backdrop that makes it to me such a comfortable place to be. We'd love to bring the NeueHouse concept to Europe starting with this city.
We have some really exciting expansion plans confirmed in the US. Next up will be our Downtown LA location opening in the historic Bradbury building. To bring the NeueHouse network to a new part of LA and also an iconic building is an exciting next step for us. We are aiming to grow mindfully and select buildings that truly inspire, but will continue to share a common emphasis on social and cultural activities.
Night+Market - Great Thai food. It has a few spots around the city.
Grand Central Market - A DTLA food spot like no other, this place is close to NeueHouse Bradbury.
MedMen - What this cannabis dispensary has managed to do marketing wise is revolutionary. Whatever your stance is within the world of CBD and cannabis products it's worth stopping by to see their supreme style branding.
The Broken Shaker - It was smart for Freehand to move its Miami hit spot to New York - it's right by Neuehouse and a great place to grab a summer drink.
The Times Square EDITION - I've recently stayed at Ian Schrager's newest hotel. What they've managed to achieve in a pretty gnarly part of town is so impressive. You'd never know you were in New York.
Inscape - Again this is right near NeueHouse so very convenient when I want to switch off after a long flight or meeting. How Inscape has brought meditation to even the most jaded of New Yorkers and removed stigma against this ancient practice is impressive.
One of the keys to great hospitality is to always put the consumer first - meet their wants and needs at any time of day. There needs to be somewhere for every type of guest; be it business travellers, vacationers or locals stopping by to socialise, it needs to be a one-stop shop. That, and good design of course.
I had the opportunity to chat with Charles Day on his Fearless: The Art of Creative Leadership podcast which aims to unlock creativity in its listeners through these conversations - it's an inspiring series. Other than that, NPR's How I Built This with Guy Raz is great for any budding entrepreneur or business person.
