HotelChatter

We have to admit, after staying in Thompson Hotels ourselves, writing about them incessantly over the past few years and most importantly, hearing what you readers think of Thompson Hotels, it was a bit surreal to be sitting down with the man who started this all.

We spent almost two hours talking with Jason about his hotels and his career. You know how dog owners tend to look like their dogs? Well, the same can be said of hoteliers. They really resemble their hotels. So by spending time with JP we got an even more inside look at the pyschology of Thompson Hotels. And we learned a little bit about Jason's life as well.

Here are some choice quotes from Jason.

Hotelier Philosophy: Jason doesn't have a "one size fits all" experience ready for his guests.

I think it's different for each guest. We want our hotels to be different things to different guests. They can be aspirational--like what they want their homes to be like. They can be places where you can be yourself and be relaxed and open. Or they can be places where you don't have to be yourself. In a way, sort of escaping your life. We like to blur the lines between fantasy and reality.

Distinct Thompson Hotel Personalities: Don't call them a chain.

We were not out to build a chain of hotels like so many others do today. What we have is a collection and each of our hotels is extremely distinct. For instance, Thompson LES is super contemporary. It's not what's now, it's what's going to be. Yet all of Thompson Hotels share a common thread both physically and psychologically.

Physically at Thompson Hotels you will always find high-quality linens, beauty and bath products, minibars, rooftop bars, pools and the like. The size is also always similar with about 100 rooms or less. Psychologically, all Thompson hotels share a high level of service and the Thompson attitude, meaning structured, yet liberating, welcoming - yet inspirational, intelligent without intimidating, luxurious without being pretentious.

The Life of a Hotelier: No sleep for the restless.

A hotelier in the modern sense has to be a jack-of-all-trades. It's both interesting and intense. At times you have to be a banker, a chef, a designer, a lawyer. You have to turn your brain from left to right, back and forth. You don't ever finish working.

Even Hoteliers Second-Guess Themselves: Just put the design down.

It's all so subjective. You're constantly judging and asking, "Is this nice?" "Does this look good here?" The hardest thing to do is step back. That's why I bought a house here in LA. Because if I had to stay at our hotels all the time, I wouldn't be able to step back from it all.

Is Ian Schrager On Speed Dial?: We really wanted to know if Jason had Ian Schrager on speed-dial. We can't really explain the notion but we just sort of envisioned a mentor-protege/successor relationship. Sort of like Brian Flanagan and Doug Coughlin in Cocktail. The answer?

No. Of course, if I see him and other hoteliers out and about, I will go over and say hi and something complementary.

Endquote: And just in case we didn't get the message about how serious Jason is about his work:

I'm not ashamed to be out there exploring whether it be social, travel, the art world. I like dabbling in all that but I am very passionate about my work from both a creative and business standpoint.

And there you have it. A chapter is now closed here at HotelChatter. Thanks Jason for taking the time to meet with us, although we're not quite ready to give up our Google Images RSS feed on you just yet.