The founder of hotel and club chain Soho House caters to jet-setters and celebrities around the world. But his own travel approach is no-nonense.
By Richard Siklos, contributor
Nick Jones founded Soho House in London in 1995 as a members-only hotel and restaurant club. In 2008 he sold 80% of the company to Richard Caring, a London-based clothing and restaurant mogul; now Jones is exporting his brand of exclusivity around the globe with seven new locations in cities from Miami to Berlin. All told, he spends 100 days on the road per year but manages to make it appear he’s in all places at once. Here’s how he does it.
60-second pack
I can’t be waiting for luggage on the other end, so everything has to fit in my Tumi wheelie. It’s like my pet. It takes me one minute to pack. I don’t wear suits, so I just put a couple of pairs of jeans and sweaters and my gym kit and toiletries into a plastic bag, and I’m off.
Fickle flier
As far as airlines go, I mix it up. For international I like Virgin, I like BA — and at the moment BA is where I get the best deal. I’m very critical of the American carriers, and when I book my flights from Miami to L.A., I have to know what plane it is and what the seat configuration is. When I fly back from the U.S. to the U.K., I fly back at nighttime — Flight 188 from Newark to London, a 777-200 with new first-class seats. I have a sleep ritual. It’s called pop-a-pill [Jones takes melatonin].
