Industry Insiders: Sam Nazarian, Guard of the Empire

Hotelier and restaurateur Sam Nazarian -- the man behind the Philippe Starck-designed SLS brand (SLS Beverly Hills), celebrity hotspot Hyde, and future Vegas landmark, the revamped Sahara Hotel & Casino -- gives BlackBook the inside scoop on his top picks around the country, academic lecturing, and the luxury of flying private.

When you're not visiting your own bars, clubs, and restaurants, where can we find you?
I love Houston’s. It’s a very contemporary American brand. It’s not the most trendy and not the most chic, but it's one of the most successful brands, and I love going there because I know exactly what I’m going to get every time. I love Giorgio Baldi in Malibu. There is something that is so timeless in the personality of the staff, and the food is amazing. You get transported into this Italian world. It’s really a staple of our community. I like going to Tenjune in New York and Lavo in Las Vegas.

How would you describe yourself?
As someone who doesn’t take themselves too seriously. And is hopefully very eager to keep learning.

How did you get your start?
I got my start by being an investor in this industry. I first started my own telecom company when I was 19. I sold that when I was 22, and I became an investor in real estate and ultimately in hospitality.

Who do you admire?
One is Tom Barrack with Colony Capital, and the other one is Jim Murren, who is the chairman and CEO of Mirage.

What is enlivening to you about the hospitality industry?
I think it’s exciting when you can incorporate several different disciplines of giving people a place to stay, giving people something to eat, giving people an ability to escape, and capturing them for the three or four days while they’re staying with you.

What are some of the positive trends that you’ve noticed in the industry?
The emergence of brands, brand accountability, brand differentiation, and customer loyalty. Those things are not only important to a Southwest customer, but also to a luxury customer. Really speaking to that, being proactive and learning your customer base and not just taking them for granted and really appreciating them—I think that’s a trend that’s growing more and more in this industry.

Any negative trends?
I think we’re all living in a negative trend, which is over-building and building for the sake of building. I think every market has experienced it, whether be it the housing sector of hospitality or any real estate back sectors. We’ve experienced things that should never have been built, and this is something that has been saturating the market with product—but not good product, just average product that doesn’t speak to anyone specifically.

Any non-industry projects in the works?
I’m doing a lot more speaking. I’m on the board of SCI-ARC University, which is a very prestigious architecture school. I lecture four times a week. I’m also lecturing at Harvard this year.

What’s going on in 2009?
2009 is about stabilizing and maintaining current assets in market share. We have two major projects that are still running full force in Las Vegas and in Miami Beach. Most importantly, fortifying our position in our current projects.

Is it all domestic, or have you already branched into international territory?
We’re looking at international opportunities right now. We’ve looked at everywhere as far as Asia to the Middle East to Europe to Mexico to Canada to the Caribbean. I think that is what the opportunities will bring in 2009 and 2010. Until now, we’ve been focused on launching our brand, which we did in late 2008. We finished all that. Now we have a great flagship to be able to show the world what we can do and find partners that want what we have and launch in their markets.

Which of your properties is your favorite to visit?
I really love XIV. A restaurant with Michal Mina on sunset. I think it’s one of the best restaurants we’ve ever built. And I still love Katsuya in Brentwood.

What are you doing tonight?
Tonight we have a friends and family dinner for our newer menu at XIV. Our terrace menu. Then I get on a plane and fly to Vegas at around midnight.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?
I guess having a private jet. Not only environmentally, but also because it’s obviously a very expensive endeavor. It’s one thing which I’ll never be the same without because I travel so much.