Vibe Squad, A Lifestyle Journey
Vibe Squad
Vibe Squad is an award-winning hospitality group specialized in creating elevated & sophisticated lifestyle experiences
Vibe Squad and its founder Sebastien Noat in a few questions....Explain your background and the Company’s in detail.
SN - I have been in the hospitality industry since 1997, some 24 years ago. Following my graduation from the hotel management school of Lausanne, Switzerland, I did join some of the world’s most famous hotel groups and properties. From the Ritz-Carlton Group, to the Shangri-La Group and the Societe des Bains de Mer of Monte-Carlo, I have been fortunate to work in some of the world’s most iconic buildings, with some of the industry’s very best captains and colleagues.
Vibe Squad is the natural progression of my adventure. When you are very creative and you have set-up successful concepts year after year, country after country, in all the companies that you have been a part of, you start receiving offers to do the same but on an individual capacity, for independent owners. This is how Vibe Squad was born. The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC is arguably one of the most prestigious private member club in the world) wanted to recruit a lead consultant that could help them drive successfully the conceptual creation phase, the pre-opening phase, and the launch phase of their new 1.2 bn USD project, the Happy Valley New Clubhouse.?
Looking back after a year and a half with the club, and since the new clubhouse opened, you now need in excess of 2 weeks on the waiting list to get a table on the 8TH, the top floor of the clubhouse that we helped conceptualize. When I look back I am proud and excited to see that our job was completed well. We reached our common goal, creating the pinnacle experience within the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
What are your goals?
SN - I have many goals. Some of them personal, some of them professional,?some of them that have to do with legacy. As an individual, I want to pride myself as being able to spend the right amount of time with my baby girls, and my beautiful wife. I want to make sure that I prioritize my family life properly. During my hospitality days,?12-15 hour days were the norm. Today, I have the luxury to be able to manage my schedule and I must say that I am quite efficient. As a professional, I want to make sure that all my projects are successful: from a product perspective (I want to make sure that what is being produced is on par with the world’s best in each and every respective category), from an entertainment and vibe perspective (we are notorious for creating atmospheres -the Vibe in Vibe Squad - that do make our guests feel good, and ultimately spend more time and drive the average spend higher than our competitors), and last but not least from a bottom line perspective (how do we ensure that the investors do get their committed returns and how do we scientifically engineer strategies to guarantee these returns).?
Finally, I guess that all this leads to legacy, to leaving a trace, a heritage, a history of success. In the 15+ countries and capital cities where I have worked in, people will always have special lasting memories of my time with them. The drive, the energy, the constant push for perfection, the humor in the middle of the battle, the comradery, the human touch and the ability to listen to everyone from the ground up. That is what I wish my legacy to be.?
What do you feel is the biggest strength of yourself/company right now?
SN - We do provide an integrated 360 approach to hospitality management with a clear focus and specialization on pre-opening and F&B launches.?
I have personally been involved in over 80 different F&B outlet launches, with some of the world’s foremost designers, from Pierre Yves Rochon, to Philippe Starck, with Adam Tihany,?with Super Potato, with Zaha Hadid (etc…), with some of the culinary universe’s most influential chefs, and in some of the very best locations… Experience and track record of success are our biggest strengths right now.?
Vibe Squad develops success stories, one victory at a time.
What was the path you/your company took to get to where you are today?
SN - I have seldom said no to any new challenge in my career. I am where I am today because I have embraced each and every challenge that presented itself to me. From my first job in?the US Virgin Islands with Ritz Carlton when our hotel was wiped out by a hurricane, to San Francisco and my award of “Best restaurant in Ritz Carlton Hotel Company” won in the very last month of the year (December 1999) as we were tied with the flagship Atlanta Buckhead Ritz Carlton until November. In January 2000 we received the results and RCSF’s The Terrace was elected by the company’s guests through the JD Powers Survey as the best restaurant in the Ritz Carlton Company and it was my first job as Restaurant Manager. I have personally and through Vibe Squad garnered over 80 ‘best in class’ awards over the years from leading publications, TV channels and customer surveys.?
?Why did you start (or want to be the head of) this company?
SN - We started the company (its first iteration) in 2007 in view of the Beijing Olympics. The name back then was Alchemy. Within 24 months, Alchemy was managing in between Beijing and Shanghai 7 master accounts and achieved over 30,000 bottles of champagne in sales yearly.
Then I did close Alchemy for some 10 years. And in 2019, we had the opportunity to give another shot at launching a Hospitality & F&B lifestyle company that could create, pre-open, launch and market concepts, or bring international brands to any specific region.?
Vibe Squad was born.
What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome?
SN - There have been many, and there will be many more. Someone said that growing up was understanding that life was often about ‘losing’. And that while all success in business and in your personal life must be the end of mind, there is rarely any success that manifests itself without a fair amount of failure.?I have had so many challenges to jump through over the years….?In the end, it is about trust. This business is about entities (owners, funds) often investing a lot of money in projects and in an industry that they usually don’t understand. Often times, investors think that because they like to dine in restaurants or stay in hotels, they understand our business.
Hospitality now more than ever is about an emotional connection with your guests, your staff, to ensure that your restaurants and hotels are full, and that your staff is happy. Then the financial success comes, and the investors start seeing returns. The challenge since 2008-9 and now with the pandemic, is that a lot of owners-investors do not value gut and risk taking anymore. They often prefer to lose money ‘safely’ rather than make money based on an aggressive game plan.?There is a whole range of hoteliers here in the UAE or elsewhere internationally who are embracing this job as a 9-5 job, as a banker would, as a no frill no thrill environment.?
This industry is based over and above on personal connections with your clients, with your customers, with your fans. Because if you are to succeed, you need to convert your guests into loyal and repeat guests. You must create an engagement with your brand. You must face this challenge head on. You can only do that from the center of your hotel lobby, your restaurant, greeting and engaging, creating 1OAK (one of a kind) experiences for your guests to further make you the ‘first choice’, to make sure that you are creating a community around your venue. Community is not a social media tool. It is the reality of what you MUST create as a hotelier and a hospitality specialist. I have met a lot of GM’s, VP’s and CEO’s who are great at juggling spreadsheets and making presentations during owner’s reviews, but fail to understand their basic role as drivers and creators of communities.
Give us one word that describes you the best.
SN - RELENTLESS. I never give up. I am like a pitbull. If I know that there is a better solution, or a better way, I will not let go. It does not matter who I am facing, I will always speak the truth, share what my years of experience have taught me. We may not agree in the end, but I will never hold back. That translates at work into saying the same thing, day after day, 100 days in a row if that is required. Most managers give up after a few times. They take for granted the fact that staff will not learn, will not change, will not evolve. I don’t. Repeating is the art of learning.
What do you value most about your culture and vision??
SN - I do believe that my ‘gut’ approach and ‘fearless’ understanding of situations has proven ‘on point’ most times. In the past centuries, our forefathers needed to reach instinctively because in the wild or during tough times, as society was less ‘regulated’, one had to make decisions ‘on the spot’. No emails, no memo, no feasibility study… The best historical leaders just had gut feel, and the inner confidence that the decision of what to do was always within their reach.
I feel that nowadays,?managers (especially in hospitality) look to survive, not to make an impact. People rather not make decision than to take risks. There are so many hotels, so many restaurants, and barely any manage to make an impact. Interior design makes an impact… architects make an impact… but what about Hoteliers? Restaurateurs? I am an instinctive,?emotional, passionate hotelier / restaurateur and overall hospitality specialist. My job is to seduce my guests through creative and innovative strategies. Financial success comes after you have made yourself irresistible to your community. I create a style, a way of thinking, a way of behaving with guests, that allow my colleagues and team mates to be themselves, to behave freely while of course politely and with certain boundaries. But I value attitude over skills. And personality over anything else. I want to feel at home and welcome for me to come back. It is not about the SOP, it is about the science of optimizing our colleagues’ human skills and soft touches. Then comes financial success.
?Tell us about a project that forced you to be innovative and creative.
SN - Each and every project. One of our latest project was the Opus Tower by Omniyat, designed by Zaha Hadid. Our brief was to create excitement, magic, as the existing shell was not sufficiently attractive in terms of F&B, such a key component of Dubai’s skyline. Great hotels with great F&B are a minimum.?
?In July 2020, we were requested to conceptualize a whole new twist on the F&B offering of the Opus by Omniyat in Dubai, the gorgeous tower designed by Zaha Hadid. Together with close friend Paul Bishop and his team, we conceptualized in less than 3 weeks the award winning DESEO concept.?
?From the ID to the actual opening, we managed to deliver a turnkey project in less than 4 months. The venue opened and made quite a “bang” on the local scene, culiminating on our SPACE COWBOY New Year’s Eve celebration with Dean and Dan, the owners of D-SQUARED #wearevibesquad?
?Awards 2020-21 received by DESEO
Cosmopolitan Magazine Middle East
Best Friday Brunch, Dubai 2021 -??DESEO @ OPUS by ZAHA HADID –?ME Hotel Dubai
?OPAL AWARDS 2020
Property Development - Redevelopment & Renovation: DESEO @ OPUS by ZAHA HADID – ME Hotel Dubai
?LIV HOSPITALITY 2021
Interior Design – Renovation: DESEO @ OPUS by ZAHA HADID – ME Hotel Dubai
?MUSE 2021
Interior Design – Restaurants and bars: DESEO @ OPUS by ZAHA HADID – ME Hotel Dubai (PLATINUM winner)
?Commercial Interior Design Awards 2021
Interior Design of the Year: Outdoor - DESEO @ OPUS by ZAHA HADID – ME Hotel Dubai
?IDENTITY 2021
Outdoor Space of the Year: DESEO @ OPUS by ZAHA HADID?
What are the strategies of your company and how do they stand unique from your competitors?
?SN - There are 3 main strategies in what we differ from our comp set.
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What are the key values which helped you to overcome the roadblocks/challenges in your career? Tell us something about your memorable incident in your leadership?
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SN - Over and above everything, there is always an enthusiasm about my approach to life.?No matter when the ‘going gets tough’ I always tend to be a ‘glass half full’ kind of manager. I am quite fearless in my approach and that has always proven successful. I have countless examples when people have warned me or cautiously advised me that things ‘can not be done’. I always followed my gut feel and I have mostly been successful (almost always).?
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How do you see the company changing in two years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?
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SN - We do believe in a major strategic development in KSA over the rest of the world. We are part of some of the leading developments and projects in KSA and we do see our role regionally as being focused on KSA. The country shows endless potential, and most importantly, incredible creativity towards meeting their goals.
Where is your leadership going? What benefits do your clients are getting from your company in this competitive world?
?SN - Enthusiasm. Creativity. Positivity. Success. Access.?
We are an integrated solution with a track record of creating hospitality success stories on 4 different continents, a front and back approach from creating to asset managing these successes that allow us to optimize in real time the bottom line.?
We also can get in touch with pretty much anyone in the industry within one (or two) phone calls.
What are the services/solutions or products offered by your company as par with the current industry standards? Tell us something about your upcoming products or services?
SN - We believe in innovation and turnkey solutions where we are a one stop shop interface for our clients. This is old school. This is about service. We now integrate so many IP / AI driven solutions. We are morphing into a high tech integrated solution interface.
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