The added value of a female General Manager at Soho House Rome

Every city with a major artistic ascendancy in the world has a Soho House, a space designed to accommodate the creative undergrowth of each creative center and allow it to feel at home away from home. The concept of the 38 facilities scattered around the world is based on sharing, networking, artistic curating, and activating the creative and communicative realities of the areas where the new Soho Houses are born around the world, from Istanbul to Copenhagen, to build roots and valuable ties among members. The first Italian representative has just completed its first 12 months of operation in the heart of Rome's charming San Lorenzo neighbourhood, one of the centers of artistic life in the country's capital known for its art. The Soho House in San Lorenzo is one of the most innovative clubs under the banner of inclusivity and diversity; it is a project that represents an intriguing gamble for the group and for General Manager Giorgia Tozzi, a true Romana with an important artistic background who tells us how Rome could not receive a greater gift than a Soho House with such a strategic positioning, moreover directed by a woman. 

We give an experience, a memory, and we have a strong memory. Guests come back, we recognize them and recognize us, we call each other by name, it is a different reality from the classic hotel.  Many people find us extremely selective, the truth is that with our guests we have to share the energy, inherent in the way we work at a different kind of hospitality, which is based on attention to detail and care for each other that spans the globe. From New York to Paris, we come in contact with people who adore art and want to experience it to the fullest: from collectors to art patrons, to Roman ladies who shed their bourgeois standards to enjoy the beauty of the art we preserve, our guests share our passion for art.

The fact that we are a club that since first opening in 1995 has selected its members from among the cool kids of the media and film worlds makes Soho Houses true sanctuaries of creativity, places to be absolutely for both the art on display inside and the company. The permanent art collection that populates the spaces at 12 Via De Lellis was created by Kate Bryan, Global Art Director of Soho House, and Sara Terzi, Senior Art Collection Manager talks about the international ecosystem of contemporary-sensitive artists dear to Soho House.

Luisa Me, Guendalina Cerruti,Eve Delaney, Adelisa Selimbašić', Christian Quin Newell, Ilenia Arosio, and Gio Pistone are just a few of the names that populate all areas of the hotel, from the lobby to the rooms, including the guests' personal restrooms, works that harmonize the functionality of the space in which they are placed and communicate the artistic mood of the property to guests. Even the rooftop communicates with the romantic scenery of the capital: site-specific works by Gio Pistone tell the story of the play of light that Rome gives throughout the sun's path in the sky. The inspiring aspect of Rome's Soho House is how everything revolves around art and people: members can eat, drink and meet at the pool, the bar, the Cecconi rooftop restaurant, indulge in wellness at the Soho Health Club or choose to watch a movie in the screening room. 

We see an increase in guests lately, having expanded everything, there is more interest. We've approached a lot of hidden creatives who have approached us with our opening. We came up with afriend membershippier budget (150 € per month) and opened the San Lorenzo Café to open up more to the neighborhood and allow more people to breathe in the artistic incubator atmosphere that every Soho House wants to be, with an all-Roman scent. San Lorenzo was fresh air, a real and authentic Roman neighborhood, with the clothes hanging out and the tough people, not the classic skyline you expect when you think of Rome but so full of life and culture that enriches you, there is an important and ancient historicity. 

Telling the world of female entrepreneurship is one of the goals of Soho House both in San Lorenzo and around the world. For this, the figure of Giorgia Tozzi is exemplary: she established herself as one of the first female directors in the group, without having an exclusively managerial background but growing in the field, thanks to a practical and positively visionary approach, dynamic and proactive for the future. The hospitality world is still full of stereotypes that devalue women because of an old-fashioned cultural legacy, but in the last 10 years there has been an increase in female directors. The demand for female directors is growing because curatorial work requires multifaceted sensitivity and organizational skills, a historically feminine trait:

In the past women have always taken care of everything, from the home to the family, caring is in our DNA I would say. Today to make a career in this world it also helps to relate and make connections, to manage people and management in a genuine and authentic way.For me the world would be better if everyone put effort into what they do, from sweepers to commis to directors. To those who want to pursue a career in the hotelerie world I recommend having a positive attitude to life in general, living with a smile and achieving gratification by doing things well and treating others well: it all adds up, if you do good and work well you will reap results. 

In Soho House's future plans there are definitely new openings such as in Stockholm, Bangkok, Mexico City in 2023, Mikonos and others, including even perhaps the moral capital, Milan, a destination that appeals to Ron Burkle, owner of Soho House. The Italian team is quivering for new encounters, connections and suggestions: considering the concept's ability to merge with the nature of the places where it fits, having a Soho House as a FarmHouse version as in Oxfordshire, but in the south or in Tuscany is an idea that would perfectly marry the spa concept, super foody food and Italian hospitality. For now, to gain access to the Soho House in San Lorenzo and become a member to be kept up-to-date on new openings, you don't need to pick up a card from the floor and pretend to be a member for a day, as Samantha Jones did in "Sex & The City" (a scene that christened the group as even more exclusive) but apply to this email [email protected] and wait for a response.