Izak Senbahar, owner, The Mark Hotel

0:13Hello and welcome to the Monaco Weekly. This time I had the pleasure to speak with the owner of a New York institution, the Mark Hotel in the Upper East Side. The hotel has a close connection with the Met Gala event. Isaac Sembahar tells me all about it and the new exciting additions to the hotel.

0:35I want to start with you from the beginning. Since you've acquired the building from the iconic hotel that was there since 1927, Did you know much about the hotel? Was that something that you always wanted to do or was it something, I don't know, was kind of a last minute decision? Tell me about that process from the early days. Yeah, I knew about the hotel for a long time. I lived pretty close by. So I was very familiar with the hotel. At one point around 2005, Mandarin had bought it prior to 2005. Not many years before that, but I would say a few years before that. Their plan was that they were building in the Time Warner building, their Mandarin hotel, and they wanted to have a west side and an east side.

1:32And after they built their west side, my understanding was that the construction was pretty hard and they went over budget and stuff like that. So they didn't want to take another undertaking of renovation and got renovation of another hotel. They kind of chucked their plans of having an east and a west Mandarin. Through somebody we knew, we got an opportunity to get in. It was only a few bidders and we were lucky enough to buy it from them. My initial intention was really mostly the real estate and retail because I thought Madison and 70s, I always thought very highly of that area because it's very residential, yet all the museums are there, you know, galleries, restaurants, and I was always very up about that location.

2:41So I thought Mandarin would manage it, and we would own the real estate and retail, and that was the business plan at the time. But a few years into it, two years into it, we realized we weren't making much money with Mandarin, or any money at all, and we started to complain about it and then at one point i guess in one of the meetings i said you know what i think i can run this better than you guys this is this is not hong kong i mean if it was in asia you know maybe that's a different market but this is right around the corner where i live i know the marketing so i had an option to get out i got out and then i said to myself okay I spoke a little too big now I have to deliver you know I'm a little bit of an architect and design buff so I have all these books that I put markers on them I have my favorite so I had my eye in Jacques Grange and who had done a lot of not a lot but few very good projects that I really had liked Princess Caroline Yves Saint Laurent and you know a couple of people in New York.

3:55Through another friend, I reached out to him. I said, look, I've never seen you done a hotel. You're in Paris and I'm in New York, but I really like what you do. And I really, what I really want to build is a hotel, which is contemporary, but has some classics, classical look and some timeless. And I wanted to feel homely. I don't want a huge lobby. I wanted to feel like a home, which is what you do. You know, to make a long story short, he was delighted. And I went to Paris. We met, we took a liking at each other. And that was the beginning of this, really. It was a relationship with Jacques Grange that really grew to a very good friendship and collaboration.

4:48And that was the basis of really the whole thing. I loved what you said before as well that you know the market, you know, you live near the hotel. And for me, when I think of the mark, for me, it's about the small details. You know, when you mentioned homely, I think that's quite something that is quite unique as well to the hotel. You know, the little cart at the hotel entrance. is that is that you know am i correct in saying that that kind of that homeliness as well you don't want just a sterile five-star hotel in that sense that's a little bit of my personality in terms of the hot dog cart i really i'm a hotel buff as well like you know i i love hotels and i study them i go stay change rooms and you know i really like everything i look at mini bars i look So to me, I really like luxury.

5:45I think that going over the top luxury is not what I like. I mean, what I enjoy is a little bit of high and low. You know, I mean, you know, everything should not be gold. And, you know, to have a$6 hot dog from Jean-Georges to me makes a lot of sense. You know, I don't see why. I mean, I'm not going to name any names, but, you know, you go to Paris, you go to London, and it's so glitzy. I like glitz, but I'd like to also offer something which is, I mean, I'm not going to name any names, but, you know, Saudi Prince. I saw him in Italy and he was telling his wife how much she likes the hotel and he said, you know what, you're not going to like what I say I said, what?

6:38And he said, you know, I like your hotel not because of the rooms because I can have a hot dog Who doesn't like a hot dog, right? No, but especially in New York, right? I mean, you're not going to maybe have it in Paris but in New York, it's such a New York thing and, you know, if you come And also, I think most people, when they build things, they think about themselves and what they like and what they have. But, you know, you've got to think about every different. You know, if you come to New York from London with two kids, for them to have a hot dog, go to the park, it's a New York experience.

7:18And I'd like that. I mean, I don't think everything should be three Michelin star or Jean-Georges. I mean, the hot dogs happen to be Jean-Georges. But so the same thing with the menu. Like Jean-Georges is a very good friend of mine as well. And when I came up with the idea of just talking to Jean-Georges about the restaurant and we were in St. Bart's and then I said, you know, he was a friend of mine before that. I said, I don't, I know you well, but I don't, I'm going to ask you something which is stupid. it and he said go no he said go ahead and I said oh okay you know what let's have lunch I'll tell you at lunch so we had lunch and I said look you know can I dumb your your your menu down he says what does that mean I said look like dumb it down simplify it like you know I don't want I like can we do a menu where I have a page and you have a page and Jean-Georges happens to be a very open-minded, nice and intelligent.

8:21And he said, look, of course, I can do the simple very good as well. And, you know, I can do. So basically we have created a menu in the Jean-Georges, which is really you and I can go there and you can have a crispy sushi. I can have a pizza. The third person can have a hamburger with French fries. And the fourth person can have an elaborate, like, you know, our fish dish, which is Jean-Georges classic. And I like that. I think that sounds like a great idea. And talking about food, I've been reading, of course, besides the Jean-Georges restaurant, you know, the bar, you have Caviar Caspi as well.

8:59And there's some exciting news. I think there's a seasonal kind of clam bar as well, which is, I think, outdoor dining is open, I guess. Can I say that in New York? Is it hot enough? Is it warm enough? Oh, by the way, beautiful day yesterday. Beautiful day today. It's really right now. I mean, it rained for a long time. It was cold. And suddenly in the last couple of days, it's a beautiful, I mean, it's full. It's outside. It's really cheery right now. Everybody wants it to go outside and it's pretty good. And what's the importance, Isaac? So, for example, we have the Met Gala as well coming out, you know, coming up very soon in New York.

9:38I know the hotel has kind of a very strong relationship with the event, right? Look, it's multifaceted. You know, we can take a lot of credit for it, but, you know, geography has a lot to do with it. We are the closest hotel to the Met in terms of geographically. And, you know, you've got to understand this. Most of the talent are dressing with very elaborate, big outfits, which doesn't do well with travel. Meaning, you know, it's tough to come here with those kind of outfits from downtown. So basically, we have that advantage. And early on, we have understood that we have that advantage. And we started catering to them.

10:25And throughout the year, you know, we have it pat down. We know what they need. We know how the departures. Departures, you know, the logistics are really, really hard because you have 50 to 60 talent. And they're all going to the same place at the same time. And there's 60 cars waiting for them. And the elevators, you know, you can't fit more than two people or three people because the dresses and everything. So basically, we have to give everybody a slot on the elevator. So we have people in each floor that's directing this with the car. The right car pulls up. And so there's a lot of logistics that it's relied upon that they rely upon us.

11:12So basically, we deliver consistency, immediate service, whatever they need in the last minute. We have everything you need under one roof, whatever they need. And that kind of, you know, it's more logistics, geography, you know, than glam. And, you know, we have that every day. But in the Met Gala, we deliver logistics and we deliver practicality. That also leads to an after party type of thing, because what happens, most people don't eat much before and they don't eat much during the Met Gala. So we have had, so the first after party, it's usually in our place where we serve, you know, mostly they like hot dogs and French fries.

12:05Always the hot dogs. Yeah, because you know what, they're hungry. And no, we offer a lot more, but like, you know, the parties are fun. So we usually, the party scene goes like everybody goes back, comes back to change and go to the first party and they hang around till 12 or 1 and then they go to other parties. So basically we have got that down, you know, to perfection almost. And so we deliver consistency and that's what people need at that point. And going back to what you said earlier in the interview about the city of New York and the connection of someone who goes there and visit. If you go to the Mark Hotel website, there's so many information about, you know, life of the Mark.

12:52You know, what can you do around the city? I feel very much that it's not just for people perhaps who are staying there, but it's something that New Yorkers can enjoy as well, right? including yourself, a resident nearby. No, look, it's all from the get-go. When I took the challenge and I said, look, what makes a successful place and a place which can last long, right? Because, you know, we're not doing something for a year or two. So I figured it has got to be a hub. Like, you know, everybody comes for a reason. let's say you come to stay because you need to be in New York I want people to come there to the genre let's go back to what I say to my they don't like it when I say it, I like a three ring circus and they say oh we're not a ring, we're not a circus but we are because we're in entertainment and people by and large have short time attention, like the span attention.

13:58It's just people need to be entertained in a quick fashion and not just. So basically, I always think that if you bring enough things under one roof and you are entertaining people, that's why. OK, we have Jean-Georges, which does the room service and gives you the or your whatever the three star Michelin menu plus plus the perks of pizzas and burgers and whatever have you. And then, for example, we have Caviar Caspia, which is a different venue, which people come for brunch. The brunch is great. They come for anniversaries, birthdays, celebrations. A lot of fashion business uses it as their canteen, let's say.

14:46There are a lot of parties. So what happens is now what Michelle was telling you, I guess, now we have a clam bar on Madison, which looks like a Long Island clam bar. And so now there's an excitement around that. So basically, our job is to create excitement every day. So if you want to come and have a lobster roll, it's right there. And you want to have some clams, it's right there. It's outdoors. It's it's very it's all red, very eye catching. So and, you know, we have we have Frederick Fekai, which, you know, most of the Upper East Side is whether they're coming for a blow dry or or haircuts or manicures, whatever have you.

15:37So basically, you come to Frederic Feckeye for a blow-dry. You can have room service and eat there, or you can go down and eat in any of the restaurants we have. And then you meet your friends. So I kind of, then we have John Loeb. You come for a shoeshine. And so we have created all these different parts that we want everybody to come into this roof, under this roof, for a reason. and then maybe you'll sit down and have a coffee. Then that will make it a place where people see each other. People go out to see people and we know who wants privacy, who doesn't want privacy. Some celebrities want privacy, some don't care.

16:24So we have learned throughout 15 years of running this place, you know, we can place you in a restaurant in a place that nobody's going to see you, but today you want to be seen and that's a different so it's all just about entertaining you not just giving you a roof and a comfortable bed you know what can I do to entertain you that's fantastic I mean the way he's talking about entertaining you know because people should enjoy themselves you know when they go to a hotel they shouldn't feel like I don't know like a bit strange I was going to ask you as well I need to ask because here in Europe people are talking about you know, Trump, the tariffs, tourism to the US.

17:04As a hotelier, are you worried about that? Or do you think perhaps the mark might not be affected by this? What do you have to say about this? I mean, the mark is, you know, it's not a macro. We have 153 rooms. Our clientele is either from like LA, Hollywood people or fashion people that have to be here anyways, or the kids in Colombia. and NYU, they have to come and see them. The business is still going on. So the effect is minimal, but there is an effect. But overall, it's not a good thing, correct? I mean, the buzz out there is not the trend. I don't like the trend. And there is no reason for us to offend the rest of the world or Europe or any place because, you know what?

18:01money and people can have a lot of options. I mean, you don't have, if you want to go on vacation, I know New York is a very, very attractive city with all the theaters and restaurants, museums and this and that. But you know what? I think we cannot say, oh, we're the best and people will come anyways. No, people will go other places. So the trend, I don't like the trend. Hopefully it will change and hopefully things will change. But no, the buzz right now, it's not good. Yeah, it's a shame because even Monaco recently we did a story on this rise of new menswear brands from New York. So, I mean, New York is amazing.

18:39There's amazing potential places to stay. So, it would be a shame if, you know, something political change that you know, that tide of tourism. Are you a big fan of New York? I mean, you've been living there for quite a while, right? Are you originally from Turkey, right? No, yeah, I was born in Istanbul and I moved to another amazing city oh yeah that's true it is an amazing city it's east meets west I'm not objective about New York because I wouldn't live anywhere else so basically my I love New York it it has got energy all around the clock you can you can eat you know at three o 'clock in the morning you can you know there's life and there is a lot of culture you know it's not just entertainment the culture is like it's not Miami you know it's just we have every kind of things here and so basically if I'm a French person or if I'm an English person I'm a Brazilian person right you know I mean everybody gets excited about coming to New York I mean it's It's an exciting city to come because it has a lot to offer.

19:51The theaters, you know, everything is here and everything is big and everything is so, we have that going for New York and that's not going to change. And that energy is here. And I actually was having lunch with the mayor on Monday. We were talking about that. but you know i always in business i've always learned to be paranoid you always have to watch it's like a marathon you have to always see who is running your pace who is running behind you who's so you know even if you think you're the best you gotta see what's going on and improve upon and so it's not we cannot say new york we're the best people are going to come anyways no the The environment has to be corrected.

20:42And people will have to feel good about coming to New York. Not, you know, right now there's this anti-American feel a little bit, especially in Canada. You know, their pride is hurt and I don't blame them. I mean, so all the things we're living through has happened before in the history. In 1920s, the same thing has happened. And time takes care of it because at the end of the day, U.S. and European countries, South American countries, Brazil, Mexico, or Canada, it goes back. Relationships go a long way back. And we're not going to let a year or two in between. Like, you're not going to catch me say, oh, yeah, I'm mad at whatever, some French guy or some French policy.

21:38Oh, I'm never going to know. You know, you know, there's a huge friendship throughout the years, throughout decades that should not be dissolved in a matter of a year. So I think I am pretty confident that cool heads will prevail. people will forgive and forget because forgiveness and forgetting is the best way to go forward. And I hope for that. I agree 100%. Isaac, thank you so much for talking to us. Thank you very much, Isaac. And if you want to book a stay, go to themarkhotel.com. The show was edited by Elliot Greenfield. Thank you very much for listening.

22:25Thank you.