Soho House waitlist hits 100,000 as member spending slows

The waitlist to join Soho House has passed 100,000 for the first time as the group focuses on improving the experience of its members.

 

Group chief executive Andrew Carnie said the figures showed the continued “strong appeal” of the private members’ club worldwide.

 

However, he admitted members were spending less money in its houses, tying into a wider economic trend fuelled by the cost of living crisis.

 

Total membership rose 10% to 198,000 in the first quarter of the year as the group opened its first club in Portland, Oregon.

 

The waitlist stretched to 102,000, up from 99,000 in the previous quarter and a 17% increase year-on-year.

 

The New York-listed company has faced questions over its future after analyst Glasshouse Research published a scathing report in February claiming the company had a “broken business model” and was effectively worthless.

 

Soho House has always strongly denied the claims but last year said it would stop accepting new members in London, New York and Los Angeles to prevent its clubs becoming too overcrowded.

 

In the first quarter, total revenues rose 3.1% to £209m, while in-house revenues dropped 5% to £87.5m.

 

Revenue per available room (revpar) fell 3% on a like-for-like basis.

 

Soho House posted underlying earnings of £15m, down just over £600,000 on the previous quarter.

 

“What we’re seeing is when members come in, they’re just spending a little bit less and little bit more cautiously,” said Carnie.

 

“The good news is we’ve definitely been seeing it get better sequentially throughout the year…the trend is improving, especially through March and April into May.

 

“[We’re] protected differently from other folks in that we have revenues coming in through memberships. That’s why we can post total revenue growth for the quarter.

 

“We are more confident than [we were] eight weeks ago.”

 

Soho House was founded by Nick Jones in London in 1995 to act as a hub for people working in the creative industries.

 

It now runs 13 houses in the UK, where global membership costs over £2,900 a year, and more than 50 locations including hotels and co-working spaces worldwide.

 

Soho Houses’ first clubs in Manchester and Glasgow are expected to open this year along with a relaunch of the former Hush Mayfair site in London.