During Day 2 of the 2021 Boutique Lifestyle Leadership Conference by BLLA, Sarah Robbins, COO, 21c Museum Hotels spoke with Steve Wilson, founder, 21c Museum Hotels, about the marriage of art and boutique hotels. The two leaders discussed the brand’s evolution and its contribution to the boutique hotel experience.
“Traditional museums in the community all closed at five o’clock when people are getting off of work or closed on a Monday, but we found that being accessible all day every day really has opened up the world of art to many people…We noticed high school and college classes coming into the space and sketching or doing homework…I love walking in there and seeing people from all walks of life enjoying the art in an unexpected way,” Wilson said.
Robbins noted that people often use the hotel’s spaces for little shots of inspiration.
And, during this period of awakening, it’s all about rethinking the boutique experience and utilizing spaces for a myriad of activities, especially now as business travel has decelerated. The atriums of 21c hotels that are typically used for weddings and group meetings have become a meeting place for theater rehearsals, ballet practice and yoga and sketching classes, Wilson said.
“It really has evolved in ways that we couldn’t imagine from the very beginning. It gives the hotel life and as we change our exhibits, the spaces become completely transformed to people that have been there many times and come back and find a whole new experience,” Wilson explained.
21c is preparing and under construction to open its 10th property in St. Louis, which will happen sometime at the end of 2022, Robbins said. “As you think about that, 16 years later…How does the brand continue to evolve and how do we continue to innovate and stay fresh in people’s minds and relevant?” she asked.
“This is a moment of awakening,” Wilson said. “This is a time when having been isolated, so many people are beginning to travel again and experience a new attitude about being able to travel. I think that our contemporary artists help us stay relevant. Artists are historians of our time; all art was contemporary at one time. As we experience these social dilemmas, the artists are collecting or illustrating that and expressing how they’ve been dealing with the problems of the day.”
