A seasoned hospitality veteran who’s worked for some of the industry’s most notable names (including stints as managing director of Ian Schrager Company and COO of Andre Balazs Properties), David Bowd is now CEO and co-founder, with partner Kevin O’Shea, of Salt Hotels. With three properties currently open—Eben House and Salt House Inn in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and the Chequit in Shelter Island, New York—the company’s approach is a contemporary take on the traditional B&B. Here, Bowd talks his hospitality beginnings and two of his most recent projects—the soon-to-open Asbury hotel and his new, free hospitality training program.
Did you always know you wanted to be a hotelier? How did you get started?
When I was a child, my mother owned and operated a small café and I would go to work with her and loved it; my interest in hospitality began early on. I was a bit of a rebel in school and had no interest for it, really, so when I saw an opening for a management training position at Chateau Impney Hotel in the UK, I went and applied. I was 15 at the time, and my mother actually sat in on the interview—a teenager’s nightmare. But I got the job, started as a bellman, loved it, and the rest is history. Since then, I have worked in every department and part of the hotel business, even having my hand in the kitchen. (I hated the kitchen the most.) What I enjoyed the most was looking after people and meeting different people. No two days are ever the same, and you also get to work with amazing people.
Salvation, the Asbury’s rooftop lounge
You have worked for two industry greats—André Balazs and Ian Schrager—what have been some of your greatest lessons learned?
Both are incredible visionaries but are both so very different. Attention to detail is probably the greatest thing I took from them both.
Why Salt Hotels? What did you want to offer that wasn’t already on the market?
I wanted to create a truly guest-focused company. Everything we do, everything we talk about, and everything we deliver centers around the guest experience. Too many times I have seen rules created by a corporate office not even thinking about how it affects the guest. To me, the guest is both the internal and external—so our team and our paying guest are equally important. I wanted to hand pick some of the greatest people I have worked with and create a really wonderful company.
A rendering of the rooftop pool at the Asbury
How did the idea of a free hospitality training school come about?
Motivated by my own beginnings in the industry, giving back to the community is important to me. For this reason, I created Salt School, a free hospitality training program in conjunction with the Asbury Hotel—Asbury Park [New Jersey’s] first hotel in 50 years. It is a 10-week vigorous training program that will offer locals the opportunity to train under the best of the best and potentially secure them a spot to work at the new hotel. I’ve drawn on industry contacts to help teach classes for passionate individuals with the hope that they will be employed at the Asbury, making the brand a true part of the neighborhood. The school has been so successful that it has certainly become part of our culture, and we will definitely operate Salt Schools as we open future hotels.
Your motto is “hire the attitude, train the skill.” How has this worked for you throughout your career?
Hospitality is one of the only industries where you can work your way up with no formal training, as long as you have the right attitude. It is all about the guest experience. We can teach the skill to anyone who wants to learn.
A guestroom, with bunk beds, at the Asbury
Tell us about the Asbury. How will this be different than the rest of your portfolio?
I love a place that has a mix of natural beauty and local character, and I have found plenty of both in Asbury Park. A walkable beach town, 75 minutes away from New York, with a historic music scene and growing restaurant culture—there is nothing else quite like it. It has always been a great place to hang out during the day, but with the opening of the hotel this Memorial Day, guests will finally have a place to stay at night. The Asbury will have close to 30,000 square feet of outdoor space, and we hope, through this, the hotel will become almost a center of gravity for the shore town. From the rooftop garden where guests can throw down a blanket and watch classic and cult films projected on the wall at night; a beer garden adjacent to the outdoor pool serving authentic street food, craft and local beers, and signature drinks; to Salvation, a chic, monochrome lounge with renowned local DJs playing against sunset views—there is something for everyone. There was so much already there, and we are just adding to it.
A rendering of the Asbury’s grab-and-go food station in the lobby
What are you most excited about at the hotel?
I am very excited about all of the venue spaces and the programming we have in the works, but one thing I am most proud of is that we will not be including a restaurant in the hotel. Rather, because of our desire to work with the community, we are only offering guests a grab-and-go in the lobby—bringing in items from local vendors. If guests would like a more formal dining experience, they can venture out and try the amazing restaurants in town.
What’s next for you?
We are working on a few interesting projects including on the West Coast, in upstate New York, another New England property, and also in the UK.
