the concept of that property and that's
what I want to try and create.
“I recently drove out to the
countryside and looked at two sites - it
would tie back to this property. That
experience of the best of what we've
seen elsewhere and try to combine it
into our own vision."
So does that rule out another
property in London for the Achenbaum
UK empire?
“I would do one, we are talking to
people,” he teases. “I’m looking in New
York and here, so it may be a case of
which one comes first because I only
have so much time and capital. I have
no set number I’d like to get to, I just
want to do projects that are fulfilling
for my guests; I’m looking at Portugal
and Amsterdam too.”
Money moves
Earlier this year, Achenbaum sold The
Curtain to property investor giants
the Reuben brothers in a deal that was
described as ‘purely transactional’.
The lease agreement allows Reuben
Brothers to benefit from additional
upside through a share of the hotel’s
operating income. Achenbaum says
he was looking to do a sell lease back
and following a broker introduction
decided that the brothers were ‘the
right party at the right time’.
“They've been super supportive,” he
says of the partnership, “very hands off,
only things they've done actually is make
suggestions and introductions, so it's
been a really great relationship so far.”
The sale freed up capital for
Achenbaum to plough on with
further expansion plans, with the
new countryside venture firmly in the
pipeline now.
“It puts us now in position to do
other deals,” he adds, “especially the
countryside deal we are looking at. In
New York I’m hoping to be signing up a
membership club in Brooklyn to be able
to do something there as well which I
think ties in well to this area. We always
try to be a little bit ahead of the curve
when it comes to location. Financially
the rewards are greater but we are also
willing to take the risks as well.”Building business
The Curtain strives to bring a breath
of fresh air to both the hotel industry
and members club environments in the
city and its cultural events programme
helps to add value for members, whilst
also bringing an attraction for hotelguests too. From resident DJ sessions
to film screenings and wellness
workshops, the regular schedule of
creatively-led events seven days a week
encourages integration and interaction
among members to ensure The Curtain
is a hub of its local community.
Right now the split between members
and hotel guests is around 45% / 55%,
but Achenbaum says that in the long
run he is focused on increasing the
membership base, which is ultimately
what drives the business.
“If you look at net dollars it will be
driven by membership club, not all of the
membership fee goes to the bottom line
but as you get to an incremental level
where you have covered your fixed costs,
it starts to look like that. Eventually as
we grow it should be that way.”Across the pond
The Curtain was Achenbaum’s first
opening in the UK and compared to
developing a hotel in New York, he admits
he has ‘learnt a lot about the intricacies of
British law’. In New York minimum wage
has just risen to $15 an hour (around £12)
making it expensive to run restaurants,
with the pressure to roll this out across
the country escalating.
“It all adds up very quickly when
you are doing a very labour-intensive
business,” Achenbaum adds.
He also says that business law in the
U.S is much more ‘clear cut’.
“In the U.S, especially somewhere
like NYC, it's much more clear cut what
your rights are; here you have to ask
the local council what plans they are
comfortable with.
“It's less delineated by structure that
you can count on, and here it's a little
bit more subjective so it's a bit of scary
feeling as a developer.
“We're not just managers or creative
partners we are investors in most of
our projects, so very early on I need to
know the economics as to whether I'm
going to pursue it or not.”
So a year on from the sale of The
Curtain, Achenbaum is already getting
his teeth sunk into his next project and
this ambitious entrepreneur shows no
signs of slowing quite yet.I WAS LOOKING IN
SOHO ORIGINALLY,
BUT I WAS JUST
PRICED OUT, IT NEVER
REALLY MADE SENSE.”The Green Room bar was
the newest unveiling at
the hotel.August 2019 | BOUTIQUE HOTELIER 17MICHAEL ACHENBAUM TALK