This was a really insightful piece. On a very very very micro scale, I’m a part of a book club and a supper club with some very cool and connected people. I get asked OFTEN how I got invited, or if we’re accepting new members (which is always funny to me, it’s not that exclusive! We’re pretty open to people joining!) but it’s made me realize that you don’t need to pay a membership to have access to cool people on a regular basis. Anyway. Loved this piece thanks for writing it!
Thank you so much Gabby! I think what you described with the book club is exactly what members’ clubs would love to replicate, but can’t 🥲 because it’s true community 🤍
As a former member and Soho House employee, I just can’t with the constantly being SCOLDED like a child for minor infractions. There’s no sense of generosity and everything just seems like a money grab. There’s vibe is pretty unwelcoming and the crowd is very bad
True hospitality cannot exist without the people extending that hospitality being treated with respect… so no wonder! Literally 101 of operating a hospitality-based business
Great piece, Emma! I do think people are craving community and a place to host meetings in a work from home culture. The disconnect between exclusivity and growth is the real key point here.
I've been a Soho House member for 7 years and find it to be really life enhancing. I'm in London for extended periods and use the London houses for the gyms & spas, rooftop pools, working spaces (a bit), events, screenings, and for dining out. Some of the events are amazing and feel quite exclusive: talks with Booker-prize winning authors, screenings with award-winning directors, intimate concerts with headline acts, special dinners with guest chefs etc. The gyms are constantly being refreshed and have superb wellness and workout facilities, as well as wonderful personal trainers and yoga instructors. I've met some fun people at the Houses too: Soho House members tend to be personable and outgoing. The staff are amazing, and there are a lot of young creatives working FOR Soho House, as well as creative members. I don't care if Soho House is uber exclusive because I don't need that. I'm not looking for a club to curate human connection for me, and I'm perfectly happy to be around all kinds of people anyway. Soho House isn't that kind of club imo -- it's more like a really nice place to hangout. Of course Soho House doesn't appeal to everyone, and it's not cheap (they've recently raised their prices), but for me it's a great offering overall, and I really appreciate how hard the whole UK team work to please the members -- the membership team are easy to reach and responsive to requests etc. I also think things have improved since the buyout -- things just seem calmer and more stable. Overall, I'm not sure why the public voices are so negative, and wanted to add an alternative viewpoint!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience Marianne! I think the disdain is coming from the fact that people understand the selling point of Soho House to be exclusivity or a highly curated community, which is just objectively incompatible with investor growth expectations (aka hitting new member quotas). I think many people would have a way more positive view if it was marketed more with the third space angle rather than the meet someone interesting angle, because the latter you cannot really promise. Thank you for reading and commenting!
I really loved the parallel with luxury here. Both are selling something intangible; belonging, taste, access but it becomes harder to preserve the more aggressively you try to scale it.
I grew up thinking of Soho House as an aspirational club for the cool kids. But the moment I first stepped into one, I was so disappointed that I never recovered. The furniture was worn out, the food was bad, and the drinks were overpriced.
As a side, I recently discovered there is a £100 charge for sunbeds at Farmhouse on a weekend for all attendees. This seems ridiculous - members shouldn't pay!
It's actually a £75 minimum spend, rather than a direct charge, and only applies for a small selection of coveted reserved sunbeds right next to the pool, and only on Fridays & Saturdays.
Fabulous piece. There's a reason I gave up my Soho House membership, and this article felt like validation. Side note: I can't keep up with the number of private clubs in London. Seems like there's a new one opening everyday.
I've been a Soho House member for over 5 years and have finally decided to give up my membership. My main reason for this is that it no longer feels welcoming, interesting or valuable in any real sense. I think it's gone the way of Starbucks in that it's lost all the attributes that made it initially appealing and has now just become 'basic'. As someone who works in film, the biggest let down has been their film programming which has dwindled to things like Grease, Dirty Dancing, etc instead of the broad range of arthouse gems they used to have on offer. The only advantage of staying is having somewhere to hang out after hours in Soho but that's hardly worth the eye-watering fees.
Thank you for sharing your experience! It’s truly unfortunate when initially great concepts get diluted with pressures of growth and lack of intentionality 💔
Thank you for your piece highlighting all these issues. Yes, it is a real shame. On a happier note, The Groucho seems to be doing a good job of reinventing itself to stay interesting and relevant and bring in new people. Have you been following their story at all?
Love your take! As someone who used to be a member at Soho House and Casa Cipriani I’ve wondered the same. Over the years, I’ve met far more interesting people staying at the same five star hotel as me (and stayed in touch with several of them) than I have at the private members clubs in NYC I’ve belonged to. Which begs the question, what exactly is the point of a private members club today? Is it just a bona fide, expensive place to eat at? Because in my opinion, it’s certainly no longer for meeting new people, building meaningful connections or “networking.”
And if it’s just an expensive place to eat, the F&B programming (and service) would have to be absolutely phenomenal and unmatched elsewhere for it to make sense ‼️ thank you for sharing Kat!
Yes so curious to see where this will go! Soho House in Amsterdam is also dying! I was there the other day, and it was quite empty and it seems there are only people who work there left, also i've been there a few times but never really connected with strangers, everyone is still always in their own bubble, i feel connection is becoming a very important factor. Also, there are some new member clubs opening here, and they are all catered to wellness, more sauna and wellbeing
So interesting! I think wellness is very likely the next big boom in members’ clubs, and even those clubs that haven’t been focused on wellness are trying to add it to their programming. Just came across a company that sets up a reformer studio for the day anywhere you want, and private members’ clubs are their biggest client segment!
Interesting!! I’m a member of several clubs, Soho House included, and through friends I’ve also been to Chez Margaux, Aman in New York, and quite a few private clubs around the world.
For me, the biggest advantage of Soho House is that it’s everywhere. If you travel a lot, it’s amazing to know you have a space you can go to in so many cities.
But I’m sooo tired of the lack of hospitality from the staff and the endless rules. No laptops in certain spaces, even when those spaces are completely empty. Staff practically screaming at you if your laptop is still open at 6:01pm. In the U.S., constantly insisting that you order something throughout the day. It sometimes feels like the rules matter more than making members actually feel welcome.
I still love the concept and use the Houses a lot, but for a hospitality business, the hospitality should be so much better
Thank you so much for sharing Eden! And you’re absolutely right that there is this advantage to scale, namely that you can find a house everywhere and use it as your base!
I honestly think any service-focused company won’t get away with poor hospitality for long. Guests are getting more and more discerning, and attentive and personalized service that is not enslaved to a rulebook is the expectation now. They either get on with the program or don’t ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I was a member and bought options when Soho House first floated. I am no longer a member and made a loss on the shares. The inability to find a seat or a weekend away let alone the quality of the service and F&B made it an easy choice to walk away. The world has moved on. Once upon a time the clubs were somewhere you could escape the world, for a quiet meeting or late night drink it was just unfortunate that they opened the doors and allowed the whole world in. With similar prices clientele and service why pay a fee to access it. There was no longer anything reason to pay the premium.
People harp on about soho house but it's £100 a month for 8-6 access to a workspace and got a really good gym. I'm in Brighton. There's cowork spaces that are more expensive here. You don't have to buy anything. Obvs there's a joining fee but overall still less.
I think the criticism comes from the original value proposition of a curated community and exclusivity, which naturally become undermined by the need to grow memberships. But like you said, this is not to say that there aren’t any other functions like gym and coworking space that Soho House could fulfill :)
I'm a witness (not a member) of Soho Tokyo, which was pompously launched in Japan earlier this year. Once the fanfare of the opening died down, it seems to have become a fairly regular venue for brand events, often involving foreign guests. At least, that's what you can gather from the pictures and tags on Instagram.
I have no idea what the members actually do inside, but I wouldn't expect a particularly interesting local crowd — which perhaps makes the Tokyo outpost less compelling. Of course, an English-speaking elite exists here, but I'm not sure how much they actually have in common with people from outside Japan.
And, obviously, there are thousands of ways to get excellent hospitality in Japan. So the question is: why Soho?
Love this POV! It’s definitely interesting to think about all the cultural variables that go into scaling a concept like this to the global scene. Like you said, Japan is known for incredible hospitality, so I also wonder wether this is more so catering to the foreigner crowd.
This was a really insightful piece. On a very very very micro scale, I’m a part of a book club and a supper club with some very cool and connected people. I get asked OFTEN how I got invited, or if we’re accepting new members (which is always funny to me, it’s not that exclusive! We’re pretty open to people joining!) but it’s made me realize that you don’t need to pay a membership to have access to cool people on a regular basis. Anyway. Loved this piece thanks for writing it!
Thank you so much Gabby! I think what you described with the book club is exactly what members’ clubs would love to replicate, but can’t 🥲 because it’s true community 🤍
As a former member and Soho House employee, I just can’t with the constantly being SCOLDED like a child for minor infractions. There’s no sense of generosity and everything just seems like a money grab. There’s vibe is pretty unwelcoming and the crowd is very bad
True hospitality cannot exist without the people extending that hospitality being treated with respect… so no wonder! Literally 101 of operating a hospitality-based business
Great article and analysis.
Everyone in the hospitality business should read Horst Schulze's book Excellence Wins.
Yesss! It’s on my list
Adding it to my list too
Great piece, Emma! I do think people are craving community and a place to host meetings in a work from home culture. The disconnect between exclusivity and growth is the real key point here.
I wonder if anyone is able to strike the right balance… thank you for being here, I appreciate you!
I've been a Soho House member for 7 years and find it to be really life enhancing. I'm in London for extended periods and use the London houses for the gyms & spas, rooftop pools, working spaces (a bit), events, screenings, and for dining out. Some of the events are amazing and feel quite exclusive: talks with Booker-prize winning authors, screenings with award-winning directors, intimate concerts with headline acts, special dinners with guest chefs etc. The gyms are constantly being refreshed and have superb wellness and workout facilities, as well as wonderful personal trainers and yoga instructors. I've met some fun people at the Houses too: Soho House members tend to be personable and outgoing. The staff are amazing, and there are a lot of young creatives working FOR Soho House, as well as creative members. I don't care if Soho House is uber exclusive because I don't need that. I'm not looking for a club to curate human connection for me, and I'm perfectly happy to be around all kinds of people anyway. Soho House isn't that kind of club imo -- it's more like a really nice place to hangout. Of course Soho House doesn't appeal to everyone, and it's not cheap (they've recently raised their prices), but for me it's a great offering overall, and I really appreciate how hard the whole UK team work to please the members -- the membership team are easy to reach and responsive to requests etc. I also think things have improved since the buyout -- things just seem calmer and more stable. Overall, I'm not sure why the public voices are so negative, and wanted to add an alternative viewpoint!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience Marianne! I think the disdain is coming from the fact that people understand the selling point of Soho House to be exclusivity or a highly curated community, which is just objectively incompatible with investor growth expectations (aka hitting new member quotas). I think many people would have a way more positive view if it was marketed more with the third space angle rather than the meet someone interesting angle, because the latter you cannot really promise. Thank you for reading and commenting!
I really loved the parallel with luxury here. Both are selling something intangible; belonging, taste, access but it becomes harder to preserve the more aggressively you try to scale it.
This is exactly right!!! I’ve started thinking that luxury at scale is not a real thing
I grew up thinking of Soho House as an aspirational club for the cool kids. But the moment I first stepped into one, I was so disappointed that I never recovered. The furniture was worn out, the food was bad, and the drinks were overpriced.
Building a brand based on aspiration is a really tough one to uphold
As a side, I recently discovered there is a £100 charge for sunbeds at Farmhouse on a weekend for all attendees. This seems ridiculous - members shouldn't pay!
It's actually a £75 minimum spend, rather than a direct charge, and only applies for a small selection of coveted reserved sunbeds right next to the pool, and only on Fridays & Saturdays.
Even so - that’s more than a monthly Under 30s membership. Insane!
👍
Fabulous piece. There's a reason I gave up my Soho House membership, and this article felt like validation. Side note: I can't keep up with the number of private clubs in London. Seems like there's a new one opening everyday.
Thank you my queen! And yes they are RAMPANT!!
I've been a Soho House member for over 5 years and have finally decided to give up my membership. My main reason for this is that it no longer feels welcoming, interesting or valuable in any real sense. I think it's gone the way of Starbucks in that it's lost all the attributes that made it initially appealing and has now just become 'basic'. As someone who works in film, the biggest let down has been their film programming which has dwindled to things like Grease, Dirty Dancing, etc instead of the broad range of arthouse gems they used to have on offer. The only advantage of staying is having somewhere to hang out after hours in Soho but that's hardly worth the eye-watering fees.
Thank you for sharing your experience! It’s truly unfortunate when initially great concepts get diluted with pressures of growth and lack of intentionality 💔
Thank you for your piece highlighting all these issues. Yes, it is a real shame. On a happier note, The Groucho seems to be doing a good job of reinventing itself to stay interesting and relevant and bring in new people. Have you been following their story at all?
Love your take! As someone who used to be a member at Soho House and Casa Cipriani I’ve wondered the same. Over the years, I’ve met far more interesting people staying at the same five star hotel as me (and stayed in touch with several of them) than I have at the private members clubs in NYC I’ve belonged to. Which begs the question, what exactly is the point of a private members club today? Is it just a bona fide, expensive place to eat at? Because in my opinion, it’s certainly no longer for meeting new people, building meaningful connections or “networking.”
And if it’s just an expensive place to eat, the F&B programming (and service) would have to be absolutely phenomenal and unmatched elsewhere for it to make sense ‼️ thank you for sharing Kat!
Exactly!!
I quit my membership last year and started a high-end gym membership because it’s more valuable to me. I do miss Soho Farmhouse, though!
If I had the two options I would end up doing the same! Gyms are the new social clubs?!
Yes so curious to see where this will go! Soho House in Amsterdam is also dying! I was there the other day, and it was quite empty and it seems there are only people who work there left, also i've been there a few times but never really connected with strangers, everyone is still always in their own bubble, i feel connection is becoming a very important factor. Also, there are some new member clubs opening here, and they are all catered to wellness, more sauna and wellbeing
So interesting! I think wellness is very likely the next big boom in members’ clubs, and even those clubs that haven’t been focused on wellness are trying to add it to their programming. Just came across a company that sets up a reformer studio for the day anywhere you want, and private members’ clubs are their biggest client segment!
Interesting!! I’m a member of several clubs, Soho House included, and through friends I’ve also been to Chez Margaux, Aman in New York, and quite a few private clubs around the world.
For me, the biggest advantage of Soho House is that it’s everywhere. If you travel a lot, it’s amazing to know you have a space you can go to in so many cities.
But I’m sooo tired of the lack of hospitality from the staff and the endless rules. No laptops in certain spaces, even when those spaces are completely empty. Staff practically screaming at you if your laptop is still open at 6:01pm. In the U.S., constantly insisting that you order something throughout the day. It sometimes feels like the rules matter more than making members actually feel welcome.
I still love the concept and use the Houses a lot, but for a hospitality business, the hospitality should be so much better
Thank you so much for sharing Eden! And you’re absolutely right that there is this advantage to scale, namely that you can find a house everywhere and use it as your base!
I honestly think any service-focused company won’t get away with poor hospitality for long. Guests are getting more and more discerning, and attentive and personalized service that is not enslaved to a rulebook is the expectation now. They either get on with the program or don’t ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I was a member and bought options when Soho House first floated. I am no longer a member and made a loss on the shares. The inability to find a seat or a weekend away let alone the quality of the service and F&B made it an easy choice to walk away. The world has moved on. Once upon a time the clubs were somewhere you could escape the world, for a quiet meeting or late night drink it was just unfortunate that they opened the doors and allowed the whole world in. With similar prices clientele and service why pay a fee to access it. There was no longer anything reason to pay the premium.
Thank you for sharing your experience! And it does seem like here scale came at the cost of quality and substance in the offering
People harp on about soho house but it's £100 a month for 8-6 access to a workspace and got a really good gym. I'm in Brighton. There's cowork spaces that are more expensive here. You don't have to buy anything. Obvs there's a joining fee but overall still less.
I think the criticism comes from the original value proposition of a curated community and exclusivity, which naturally become undermined by the need to grow memberships. But like you said, this is not to say that there aren’t any other functions like gym and coworking space that Soho House could fulfill :)
Yeah, fair. I guess, personally, the curated community aspect was largely irrelevant.
Also, I have found that, with the member discount, soho houses ate basically the most affordable "4.5" star hotels in lots of cities.
I'm a witness (not a member) of Soho Tokyo, which was pompously launched in Japan earlier this year. Once the fanfare of the opening died down, it seems to have become a fairly regular venue for brand events, often involving foreign guests. At least, that's what you can gather from the pictures and tags on Instagram.
I have no idea what the members actually do inside, but I wouldn't expect a particularly interesting local crowd — which perhaps makes the Tokyo outpost less compelling. Of course, an English-speaking elite exists here, but I'm not sure how much they actually have in common with people from outside Japan.
And, obviously, there are thousands of ways to get excellent hospitality in Japan. So the question is: why Soho?
Love this POV! It’s definitely interesting to think about all the cultural variables that go into scaling a concept like this to the global scene. Like you said, Japan is known for incredible hospitality, so I also wonder wether this is more so catering to the foreigner crowd.