IDEALIST BLOG
Meet an IdeaList: Hotel Creative Director Claire Darrow
So when hotel creative director Claire Darrow casually mentioned over dinner party conversation that she launched an entire hotel chain's initial branding from a Kinkos on Sunset Blvd, my ears perked up. Clare is VP and Creative Director for André Balazs Properties, a group of eight of the most exclusive hotels in America that includes the Mercer, Chateau Marmont, the Standard and more). I asked her to share the story here.
I'm curious to hear more about the early days of the Standard Hotel and how it's possible to create the identity for a top-class hotel chain from a copy shop? I always assumed a huge amount of assets and resources would be needed for an endeavor like that.
I came onboard after the hotel was halfway under renovation, about a month before the first guest stayed there. We literally opened the hotel one room at a time. The first guest was basically in the middle of a construction site--the hotel had no graphics, no sign--I guess Andre just made a few phone calls and invited a few people to stay for $95 dollars a night.
I came onboard after the hotel was halfway under renovation, about a month before the first guest stayed there. We literally opened the hotel one room at a time. The first guest was basically in the middle of a construction site--the hotel had no graphics, no sign--I guess Andre just made a few phone calls and invited a few people to stay for $95 dollars a night.
Since (this was) before people really, really used email, I didn’t even have my own computer. I would use the sales directors Mac after she left for the night and would save files on floppy disk and walk down Sunset Blvd to Kinkos to print signs: Do Not Disturb signs and mini bar menus. We didn’t even talk about budgets, it was just “make this happen,” do it the cheapest way possible.
Inspiring. So how did you get from that one room to four hotels around the country?
It was a long process. Generally hotels operate this way, the rooms open first then the public space opens after. We look to those people as being guinea pigs in a way. People that are going to be understanding of what we are, a preview of what will be.
So how does branding a hotel differ from, say, product branding?
With the Standard, André came up with the idea of doing a hotel that is basic, but at the same time it wasn’t standard—everything in the hotel is in good taste but comes from really humble places. Almost everything in there came from a catalog called the American Hotel Register. It's a catalog about 800 pages thick and every motel and hotel in the country orders their trash cans there, their room service trays, Do Not Disturb signs, blankets, pillows. So it was mining that catalog for the things that are actually kind of cool… accidentally.
What are the daily duties of a hotel creative director?
I style the hotels—make sure they have a personality and a voice that’s consistent and fresh and they always feel like someone’s touched everything. All the uniforms, the shops, the minibars, the execution of all the marketing materials, the websites.
How has technology changed that?
Huge. I spent half my time now working on our online presence. Whether it’s marketing, PR, improving our websites, thinking about SEO. It's interesting to me the kind of statistics your able to get now about your guest. We found out recently that 80% of people that come to our website come from a smart phone, which is a lot. I think it says something about our clientele. They call it “look to book”, which is how many visits turn into a transaction. So we modified our sites very quickly after that.
And maybe it’s because of some of the collaborations we have been doing, but the online shop has an audience that is much bigger than the people that actually stay at the hotel.
It’s become a larger brand at this point, not just a hotel.
I’d like hotel rooms to be just one aspect of what the Standard does. And I think the Internet has allowed that to happen. The new site has a culture section, calendar of events, a panel of guest bloggers. So someone can participate in the culture even if you’re never going to stay at the hotel. Flavorpill is doing the editorial. Downtown Records is providing Standard Sounds. We’re going to be doing more things with Downtown: for instance when you get your keycard there’s a code to download a specific mix. Or when you get your confirmation letter staying at the hotel it also has a code, giving people The Standard Spirit before they get there, and while they are there something they can take home with them… music is a great one.
This is our main focus right now, growing this aspect of the business. The Standard is like its own little city within a city in a way. So everything comes together through the site.
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