Boutique Design - September/October 2011 - 34

Q + A

The Kempinski Al Othman in Al Khobar, a branded J/Brice design commission, is slated to open next year in Saudi Arabia.

Also in Saudi Arabia, Ornstein’s rm has designed the Maghrabi Hotel that’s planned for Mecca.

you would call a “sponsor” in the Gulf) or contact in each marketplace, again based upon the trust issues. That being said, once I established a relationship in Qatar, I met perhaps two dozen members of the Royal Family my rst trip. In China, we’re expecting to have more of a challenge linguistically, as English is not as prevalent as it is in the Middle East. Anyone who just arrives in either region and starts knocking on doors without having a sponsor or corporate partner would have a very big challenge ahead of themselves. How do you nd someone? Again, we had the luxury of being referenced in by the Taj Group, which is a formidable force in Asian hospitality, so that helped quite a bit in the beginning. In China, our associates are connected to an exceptionally prestigious law rm (jointly U.S./China staffed) and that too is immensely helpful in establishing credibility and having doors opened at the highest level of decision makers.
BD: J/Brice has worked on several highproﬁle projects in the U.S. How has that work inﬂuenced your designs for overseas markets—and vice-versa?

of turning over the reins to a management company that’s beholden to franchises’ standards would be unappealing to them. They very much appreciate the concept of self-determination, so they are in essence interested in and comfortable with creating boutique locales.
BD: Earlier this year, you joined forces with Strategic Resource Consultants, a company that specializes in helping U.S. businesses enter the Chinese market via joint ventures. What’s behind that move, and what kinds of work do you expect it will bring your way?

The Martinez in Cannes. I try to stay there once a year in summertime, and I love everything about it. Of course, I have family in France, so the whole experiBD: In more general terms, how imporence also conjoins personal time with relaThe Chinese hotel market is about to burst tant are locally based partners in tives as well as R-and-R in a wonderful wide open. In talks with Hilton, I am told landing/executing an overseas design locale with beautiful ambience. And who they are committed to having 50,000 new projects? guest rooms there in the next ve years For introductions, it isn’t just important, it’s wouldn’t enjoy the convenience of buzzing alone. Starwood, too, is making a very essential to have a rep (which is really what up the coast for a night in Monte Carlo? BD

strong investment in the Chinese marketplace. In addition, the Chinese mindset, I’m told, is very similar to the Arabian one. Through our Chinese representatives, I’ve been given a lot of assurance that if we meshed well in the Gulf, we should have no problem transitioning in the Asian marketplace. Again, it centers on the trust issue: “Are you coming back?” I think our extensive work for Hilton and Marriott— we’ve done about 35 hotels in total for those two companies—will serve us well for developers seeking a agged product.

Well, I wouldn’t say they in uenced the design, but they certainly in uenced the clients. The names Helmsley and The Queen Mary are synonymous with iconic style. I even got a personal email from one of the Sheikhs I work for that said, “How proud I will be to tell my sons that our designer and my friend Jeff designed the Queen Merry.” (Let’s not be to too quick to judge that misspelling until we can spell Khalifa or Souk in Arabic.) This was validation to my clients that they had made the right choice by selecting J/Brice.
BD: What’s your favorite hotel in the world, and why?

Boutique Design | September+October 2011

Boutique Design - September/October 2011

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