The long-running corporate tussles behind one of the world’s most prestigious hospitality groups appeared to have reached a defining settlement last week, as the powerhouse names behind London icon Claridge’s and other Maybourne hotels such as The Berkeley made some key decisions.
But the result may now be less an ending, more a beginning of two very different growth stories – and the luxury sector can soon expect to see the emergence of a whole new brand.
Maybourne's two distinct owners – both Qatari – agreed a new ownership and management framework, formally ending a long-standing co-ownership structure between Regis Maybourne (UK) Ltd and Selene SARL, a subsidiary of Constellation Hotels Holding.
Importantly, the underlying ownership of the hotel assets has not changed as a result of the restructuring: Regis Maybourne becomes the sole owner of Maybourne, the operating company behind the luxury hotel group and continues to own Claridge’s in London, The Maybourne Riviera in the south of France and The Maybourne Beverly Hills in California. Constellation Hotels retains ownership of The Connaught, The Berkeley and The Emory in London, as well as a forthcoming Paris hotel and a development in Marrakech.
Existing management arrangements also remain in place, with Maybourne continuing to operate Constellation’s hotels for an agreed period, so for luxury travel advisors, the immediate message is one of continuity – Maybourne CEO Marc Socker stressed the change will not alter how the hotels are run or experienced, with the company reiterating its commitment to maintaining the service standards and guest experience associated with the properties.
“For many years under dual ownership, Maybourne has operated a remarkable portfolio of hotels; properties that set the standard for ultra-luxury hospitality around the world,” Socker said. “Although we are no longer co-owners, we remain partners, and I want to be clear to our staff, guests, suppliers and industry colleagues that nothing changes in how these hotels are run or experienced, nor in Maybourne’s commitment to excellence.”
The practical effect is that a client checking into The Connaught, The Berkeley or The Emory should see no immediate difference. Behind the scenes, however, the corporate landscape has changed substantially.
The removal of the former joint-ownership structure gives each side a clearer platform from which to pursue its own strategy, without necessarily implying a downsizing or disposal of the properties: indeed, the early signs point firmly in the opposite direction.
Maybourne’s direction has been reinforced by the recent appointment of new chairman José Silva, who luxury experts will know as a very safe pair of hands, as a former head of Jumeirah and with Four Seasons experience.
He joins as Maybourne pursues its ambitious international expansion programme, said to be one of reaching around 15 hotels by 2035, with the expansion increasingly focused on management contracts.
But today’s development sees Constellation showing ambitions of its own, as the company announced the appointment of Neil Jacobs as chief executive of a new luxury hospitality management business, and one with its sights on a new global hotel brand of its own.
Jacobs, one of the industry’s best-known luxury hotel executives, was previously CEO of Six Senses and has also held senior positions with Four Seasons and Starwood Capital. He will now work alongside Constellation Hotels CEO Gianluca Muzzi to build the new business from the ground up, with its foundations rooted in the reputations of The Connaught, The Berkeley and The Emory.
That new collection will also encompass the forthcoming Paris hotel in Saint-Germain (previously slated as a Maybourne property), a development in Marrakech and Hackwood Park, an English country estate. Constellation said the individual hotels will retain their existing names and identities, with the wider collection – and its accompanying new brand – due to be unveiled later this year.
“We’re in the rare position of forming a new international collection with The Connaught, The Berkeley and The Emory as its foundations,” said Jacobs. “Each has a distinct identity and loyal following. Our vision is to build from that strength and create something worthy of what comes next.”
Constellation’s creation of an in-house hospitality company is the next logical step, meaning it can build its own operating platform to run the hotels it has retained, once the current Maybourne management contract completes, as well as developing the next generation of its own hotels.
For guests, the distinction may initially be almost invisible. For the travel trade, it could become increasingly important, as the most important takeaway may now well be that the Maybourne story is not getting smaller – it is fragmenting into two potentially significant luxury-hospitality growth stories.
On one side, Regis Maybourne now has sole control of the Maybourne operating company, a strengthened leadership structure, and an existing ambition to build a global ultra-luxury brand through a mixture of owned and management-contract properties.
On the other, Constellation is assembling its own collection around three of London’s most established luxury names too, with Jacobs tasked with turning that foundation into a new international brand.
Both sides are aligned on one thing for now, with the immediate operational message being that the running of these ultra-luxury hotels continues as before. And while these two entities may now have unravelled themselves from each other from a HQ and corporate perspective, they will soon be in competition – for future property deals, lucrative management contracts, and ultimately, for the hearts and minds of the world’s ultra-wealthy guests. And of course, for advisor loyalty.
