Hotel Maven Sean Macpherson Always Ready to Expand

“There’s nowhere in Manhattan I wouldn’t open a hotel,” New Zealand-born California-raised hotelier Sean MacPherson tells the New York Post. In the past two years, MacPherson has seen two consecutive hotel openings: the 2014 debut of the 175-key Ludlow on the Lower East Side and his 2013 delivery of the 107-room Marlton in the Greenwich Village.

And though this may be the first time in years he’s not in construction, MacPherson is still keeping busy these days.

The Post caught up with MacPherson to discuss what keeps hotels relevant and the key NYC neighbourhoods-to-watch for hotel development.

“Different hotels last for different reasons,” MacPherson explains. “There are classics, like The Plaza and The Carlyle, that become intertwined with the culture and history of the city. For instance, The Plaza is everyone’s acquaintance. We all know it’s reliable, and we all know we can go there and get a quintessentially New York experience.

“When it comes to newer hotels, those that last are the ones whose teams care about them. It’s easy to sense whether those in charge really care about the entity as an entity, or if they’re only in it to get a return.

“[In Manhattan] you’re always five to 10 minutes away from something great, and there’s probably something wonderful even closer that you don’t know about.”

Original article by Zachary Kussin, New York Post, October 20, 2015.

Photo by Brian Zak.