1 HOTELS

Redefining luxury hospitality through sustainable innovation.

Entrance of 1 Hotel Central Park, the first location of the new brand.

President, SWAT by Kirshenbaum. Partnered with SH Hotels & Resorts to scale 1 Hotels from an ethos-driven startup into a luxury lifestyle brand. Unified messaging, refreshed the identity, developed digital communication infrastructure, and launched signature F&B concepts—creating a scalable brand system rooted in sustainability and design.

Making Sustainable Luxury Scalable

As 1 Hotels prepared to scale, they needed more than a beautiful brand, they needed the infrastructure to grow without diluting their identity. With multiple properties in development and a nature-meets-luxury ethos at the center, they needed a unified brand platform that could scale without losing its soul.

As President of SWAT by Kirshenbaum, I partnered with the executive team to architect that growth. We helped align brand strategy, guest experience, and digital infrastructure around a cohesive identity. The work extended from visual identity and voice to internal rhythms, booking flow, and guest touchpoints, with the goal to create clarity inside and out.

Together with the SWAT creative team, we refreshed the visual identity and brand voice, reimagined the booking flow and digital ecosystem, and introduced structured marketing rhythms to drive consistent storytelling across properties. The strategy was built to support both top-line growth and operational simplicity, giving local teams creative freedom within a clearly defined system.

The guest experience extended beyond check-in. I helped concept branded food and beverage spaces including The Osprey, Habitat, and Brooklyn Heights Social Club, ensuring each reflected its local surroundings while reinforcing the larger 1 Hotels story.

This balance of cohesion and flexibility became the blueprint for rapid growth, helping 1 Hotels scale without sacrificing its soul.

Takeaway 

1 Hotels proved that sustainability and scale aren’t opposites. When a brand’s mission, creative, and systems align, growth feels organic, not forced.