Tell us about your newest neighboring openings, the Robey hotel and the Hollander hostel/hotel.
Our wish was to create original and authentic spaces for Chicago by trying to bring added value to the city. We chose to work with interior designers based in Europe [Paris’ Delordinaire for the Hollander, and Nicolas Schuybroek Architects of Brussels and Marc Merckx Interiors of Belgium for the Robey]. Mixing the landmark component of the buildings [a 1920s Art Deco building and 1905 former warehouse, respectively] with the savoir-faire of European designers made a lot of sense. The reception by locals has been overwhelming. It proves that new design propositions are always welcome in every community.
How do you find the right designers for your projects?
We go out looking for them. We use our instinct and experience to find value in their potential and offer them a chance to step forward. We are very hands on. We only do one or two projects per year and are highly involved in conceiving and developing them. We do not have a repetitive formula. Each new project is a new beginning for us.
Being one with the local community is part of Grupo Habita’s ethos. How do you achieve that?
Our main value is our cultural factor. We try hard to be local but always bring new value to the community through creativity, solidarity, tolerance, and growth. We embrace local order but shake it up as well. We don’t only build hotels, we create smart social hubs.
You have 14 hotels in your portfolio, what’s your strategy to remain relevant?
It’s not how big you are, but how good you are. We stay innovative via our passion and drive to create, and we have a unique human approach to hospitality. We love building hotels, but also curating them. We are the rare hotel group where our staff are as important as our guests.
What’s next for you?
We’re working on four projects: a 32-room maritime hotel in La Paz, Baja California Sur; our fifth hotel in Mexico City—a great site and a historical building just across the street from the cathedral and the zocalo (the city’s main square); an intimate hotel in colonial Puebla, Mexico; and a hotel by architect Rick Joy and his team in Austin, Texas.
