This photo is from a recent champagne tasting of Laurent’s personal brand, Maison Vernhes. Partnering with Saveur, Tablet Hotels hosted 7 of the best hotel sommeliers to blind taste 14 bottles of champagne, including his own (which ranked #3 out of 14)
A New York-based booking service for people seeking high-end and/or unique travel experiences, Tablet Hotels initially broke all of the rules for a successful website. It curated travel options, rather than selling rooms at all hotels that would opt-in. It did not heavily discount its luxury suggestions, keeping the focus on travelers that primarily seek a road less traveled. It also incorporated editorial into the site, not just focusing on the direct sale to the consumer.
Launched in 2000 by Laurent Vernhes and Michael Davis, Tablet Hotels is based in lower Manhattan; “18th & 5th” is where I’ve been told the headquarters are. The site remains relevant as ever a decade and a half after its founding, now featuring a “Tablet Plus” program to cater to its top customers. Sales and promotions do often pop up on the company’s Twitter page, featuring destinations all around the globe.
Downtown’s Q&A was conducted with Laurent, a native of France that has written for The New York Times Style Magazine. Beyond his work as a writer and the co-founder of Tablet Hotels, he is also a musician and the man behind Maison Vernhes champagne. Laurent can be directly followed on Twitter via the handle @lvj888.
I’ve read that you’ve lived in seven different countries. Which countries are these?
Laurent Vernhes: France, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, and the United States.
Was there something in particular that led you to leaving France?
L: Initially it was FOMO! I took my first commercial flight quite late compared to my privileged peers, which meant that I had a lot of catch-up to do. I came back to France for a year after the first two stops, but by then, I had been hooked on the freedom to build and rebuild my life from scratch.
What was the inspiration to start up Tablet Hotels?
L: The more you travel, the more urgent the need to have a genuine experience. Generic hotels can kill this.
How would you describe Tablet Hotels to someone who hasn’t yet relied on the company?
L: We believe there’s more to hotels than just the data you can quantify, like price, location, and amenities. We’ve looked at every hotel in the world over the last 15 years, so that we can give you a short list of the ones that have taste and soul, across a range of prices and styles.
Because not everyone cares about hotels like we do, we recognize that Tablet isn’t for everyone — though it can be for anyone who does. Our selection is trusted by millions of sophisticated travelers around the world, and we wouldn’t survive if we didn’t get the best possible prices.
Tablet Hotels Head of Marketing, Elizabeth Lahey tasting the champagne with some of the top sommeliers in New York.
How did you and Michael first meet?
L: We worked together at a web agency called Razorfish. I wanted to acquire Internet experience before starting Tablet. He had been there for a while and had more Internet experience than me at the time.
Besides you and Michael, who are people behind Tablet?
L: Passionate people – younger than Michael and I are – although two of them have been here for over 12 years.
How does a hotel or hospitality company go about becoming affiliated with Tablet Hotels? Is there specific criteria?
L: They can simply ask. We do not charge hotels for being featured on the site, but if we haven’t approached you first, there is a token fee to be considered. We set up the token fee because we used to be inundated with applications. Now it’s hotels which sincerely believe they have what our audience seeks. The criteria is intangible: taste and soul that create a unique experience.
Are you regularly looking for new hotels? Or is there more emphasis on keeping your list of recommended hotels exclusive?
L: Absolutely — our mission is to be the authority, so we do not want to be caught not knowing about a wonderful place. We are aware that although we’ve been at this for 15 years, we are still missing properties. These properties are sometimes new, which is to be expected, but more often just new to Tablet. This means that we pay a lot of attention to what our clients suggest. The next version of Tablet will recognize our fans more openly for the central role they play in our curation — not just alerting us when a property declines but also helping us to be comprehensive.
For you, what is the appeal of a hotel over an Airbnb or other sort of rental?
L: A hotel is supposed to be managed professionally. Two critical things are more likely to be missing from an Airbnb: (1) service which is a demanding profession, and (2) managing the punishing wear and tear generated by multiple guests. Airbnb landlords are by definition amateurs in both areas, and it takes full-time dedication to rise to a professional level, which I am sure some of them achieve as they focus on this revenue. To me, the main appeal of Airbnb is price and when like me you have three kids, the cost of family travel can be punishing.
Do you have a favorite hotel? Or a particular hotel that you go out of your way to stay at?
L: For hotels, I am the type who always seeks out new experiences in the hope of falling in love again.
To be a bit blunt, how does your company make money? Is it from referring reservations?
L: We make money from online bookings made on TabletHotels.com, which means not only that hotels don’t pay to join our listings, which keeps us independent, but also that we put our money where our recommendations are. So making you happy is the name of our game. Ultimately, people book on TabletHotels.com because the prices are at least as low as anywhere else. It’s easy to compare through Kayak.
We also sell “Tablet Plus“ premium memberships, which get travelers privileges such as complimentary upgrades in over 1,200 hotels of the best hotels in the world. And it’s only $99 for unlimited bookings for a whole year!
Are there any plans for Tablet Hotels or its parent company to expand into another area of expertise?
L: We have dabbled with music and fashion – applying the same curation approach — and it was fun. These days, we are 100% focused on hotels but in a wider way. We believe that sophisticated travelers should have no reason to waste their time on TripAdvisor, and that somebody needs to come to their rescue – we will. The next version of Tablet will take care of ALL their hotel needs – even beyond our curated hotels through predictive models — without sacrificing the curation.
How did you wind up with an office in the Gramercy area? Has the company always been based around there?
L: One day, it turned out that the people we were subletting from in Chelsea did not pay their rent, so we got expelled. The next day, we found a co-working space aptly called “SOS” near Union Square. We immediately fell in love with the neighborhood, and we stayed around when we moved into our own space. We are now on our fourth office space around Union Square.
What do you like most about working in that area? Do you have a favorite restaurant near your office?
L: I like the understated vibe. Living in Brooklyn, lower Manhattan is as far up as I want to go. It is very convenient from a transportation point of view — we have colleagues coming from all over the city and beyond. I love Gramercy Tavern, Tarallucci e Vino, ABC Cocina, CraftBar and many others.
When you’re not busy with Tablet Hotels, what do you like to do with your free time? Do you still freelance write?
L: I love spending time with my three kids — I am seizing the moment when it is reciprocal while it lasts! The oldest just turned 13…tick tock. I’d love to go back to writing freelance. Meanwhile I bike, play in a messy rock band and just launched my own champagne label, Maison Vernhes.
Finally, Laurent, any last words for the kids?
L: For my kids: “I love you more than anything.” For all kids: “have no fear.”
