Living with Legends: Hotel Chelsea Blog

Lodging vs. Hospitality: Andre Balazs Speaks Out Against BD Hotels

In my quest to learn more about Andre Balazs – projected designer of the new and improved Chelsea Hotel – I found so much information that I finally got tired of reading about the guy before I even had the chance to make fun of him. And anyway – though I reserve the right to future ridicule – at least some of what I read disposed me favorably toward the guy.  Consider this quote from a 2004 interview with Hospitality Design:

“I think the biggest problem…in properties is when you go in and you clearly sense that one entity or one person built it and maybe someone else owns and now a third entity is managing it. And that disconnect is very bad obviously. I think any guest in the hotel feels it.”

And later in the interview he says: “… in America we have two businesses: we have the lodging industry and we have the hospitality industry… And I think this disconnect between ownership, development, and management is a characteristic of the lodging industry. The hospitality industry, which has its roots more in the small European Style hotels is about the hospitality that’s delivered. You don’t get hospitality form a construction manager or a developer. You get it from the hotelier or the owner.”

You see what I mean? He’s practically saying Bring Back the Bards. Why on earth would he associate himself with BD Hotels?

Here’s one more quote that I can’t resist: "Well, a good hotel is fascinating to me because it has always brought out the extremes in human behavior. There are more suicides, there are more romances, there are more illicit affairs. People are unhinged a little in a good hotel.”

Whoo hoo! BRING BACK THE BARDS!  (Photo: Curbed.com)

Screwing Artists Left and Right

     In an article in the NY Post last Thursday, it’s reported that ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is suing Hiro Ballroom in the Maritime Hotel for hundreds of thousands of dollars for playing songs without paying the artists royalties.  BD Hotels, of course, owns the Maritime, and it’s no accident they’re associated with such scoundrels. 

     It’s one thing to play a CD in a bar, but Hiro is a hoity-toity nightclub for the rich.  They can afford to pay the musicians from whom they are profiting. 
     Really though, if you hadn’t already suspected it, this should tip you off that BD has no respect for anyone engaged in a creative pursuit.  If you life isn’t wholly devoted to grubbing for money then you’re fair game.  Luckily, some of our number have the where withal to fight back against these soulless bloodsuckers.  So more power to Bon Jovi and AC/DC!

More Whining From the Artsy Types

In an odd little item in The New York Post yesterday, Born and Drukier of BD Hotels claim to have increased revenue without slashing room rates.  Be that as it may, for me the most revealing part of the article – not attributed to Born and Drukier , but still I assume, reflective of their views – was the suggestion that now residents ought to stop whining that that the “sacred energy” of the hotel is being lost.  It’s as if they thought that, all along, we had been equating the energy of the Chelsea with money!  Boy, aren’t we a confused lot.  Luckily, we have Born and Drukier and their cell phones and bank books to set us straight: not only have they not destroyed the energy of the Chelsea, they’ve actually increased it!  Just look at the numbers, dumbass Bohemians!

    Actually, it’s easy enough to spot a little fudging in the numbers right away.  As proof that they haven’t slashed room rates, the article cites averages ($183 versus $180 a year ago), which of course doesn’t preclude the possibility that they have slashed rates on some rooms.  It’s been common knowledge around here that they are filling the hotel with hordes of tourists who booked their rooms over the Internet on the cheap.  As we reported a while back, we have seen rooms listed as low as $109 per night, a rate not seen since the 1990s.

     Who can blame us if we are let to suspect a little more in the way of creative accounting?  Revenue does not equal profits.  There are a lot more people on the payroll now, and guess what, those Internet booking fees will one day come due.  What we’re seeing here is most likely a short term fix, in other words; the real test is what they do over the long haul.
     It wouldn’t shock me, however, if Born & Drukier were able to generate more profits than the Bards.  For Stanley, as comically greedy as he did sometimes seem, it never was all about the money. And that’s something that Born & Drukier, for all their superior attitude and condescension  toward the residents of the Chelsea, will, sadly, never be quite able to grasp.

     And what the heck are Born & Drukier crowing about anyway the average rate for a New York City hotel room is $273 per night! – Ed Hamilton  (The article is below. Photo: Drukier & Friends)

Richard Born and Ira Drukier want you to know this about the Chelsea Hotel, of which their BD Hotels have taken control - to the dismay of old-timers living there on the cheap: room occupancy last month was 84 percent, way up over the 55 percent reported in July 2006 - a jump achieved without slashing rates ($183 average per night versus $180 a year ago).

Room revenue soared to $480,000 in July from $299,000 last year. Based on bookings to date, August revenue will be $700,000 and occupancy 90 percent - compared with $330,000 and 61 percent one year ago, when the place was being run by longtime manager Stanley Bard.

So, all of you artsy types grumbling that the hotel's "sacred energy" would be lost following the Chelsea board's ouster of Bard in favor of BD - quit whining, OK?  (Source: NY POST)

Sorry Marlene, We’re Just a Bunch of Dumb Artists Here

In a recent amNY article, Marlene Krauss  M.D., M.B.A., Pld, board member and mastermind of the hostile takeover of the Chelsea Hotel, seems to have finally put her finger on it when she says, “I think the tenants don’t understand what is happening, that this is all for their benefit.”   
    The diabolical Stanley was paying himself an exorbitant salary, she claims,  and while this may perhaps be true, I somehow doubt that replacing him with an entire corporation will save the hotel much in management costs.   And even if there are savings I somehow doubt that any of the residents will be getting rent reductions anytime soon.
     Thus, it remains a puzzle as to why BD hotels, which specializes in building boutique hotels – was hired, especially since Marlene says she has no intentions of “changing leases made under Bard, converting rooms to condos, or otherwise altering the hotel’s ambiance.”  Well, as we reported last week, it seems that some leases are already being challenged, that is, those belonging to tenants who have moved in since the first of the year.  (Some of them were sent letters informing them of their expected check-out date, among other shady tactics.)  As for the ambiance of the Chelsea, it has already been altered by the deployment of toadies such as David Elder to lay around the lobby and listen in whenever anybody tries to have a conversation.  We are also not too thrilled about the partitioning of the Grand Ballroom into office space.
     Oh, and as for David Elder, we now learn that the fish head he received was really just a goldfish head, which makes it seem rather less like the work of The Godfather than of Spanky and Alfalfa.  Soon we’ll learn that the “dog poop” left outside his door was really nothing but a sprinkling of rabbit pellets. – Ed Hamilton

Guests both Human and Otherwise Mistreated at the Chelsea: Ira Drukier Addresses the Issue

Lulu Selby, a gallery owner who represents some of the artists who live here at the hotel, has been staying here since July 17.  Last week, she had an extremely unpleasant encounter with the new director of operations.  Her full story is below.   
Lulu contacted Ira Drukier (the D in BD Hotels for the uninitiated) She said that Drukier was very nice and could not understand how something like this could happen.  She also received a phone call from David Bernstein, of BD hotels, and according to Lulu, he apologized profusely and said it will never happen again.  He said that the Director of Operations was new and didn’t know the proper procedures.  So we want to know, why are they  putting somebody with so little experience in charge at a high profile hotel like the Chelsea? Do you think that guests get treated like this at the Mercer?  Do they lock people out of their rooms at the Maritime?  As for the dog, maybe somebody should sic the ASPCA on BD! 

Hi there guys, I am in apt.#1024 I had an altercation with Glennon Travis our new fearless leader, I was locked out of my room after being in DR. Peter Ferro's office for 5 hours of procedure. I went upstairs to get my purse to pay DR. Ferro and to take care of my service Dog only to find that the fearless leader had locked me out with my dog locked in. I called the police and he had no valid reason, he told the police that I would not sign a piece of paper which was totally untrue. he tried to raise my rate by $59 doolars which I would not approve and they had alredy had gotten an auth. fro AMEX for $4000.00 for 7 days on the 24th of July I checked in on the 17th of July. I called our fearless leader this AM and informed him of a problem with the TV,George Duane and Victor all tried to fix the TV but all agreed that it was not possible so they would get me another one then they were told by our FL Glennon that they would have to have his approval so I called and he informed me to be patient and he would locate one even though the employees had alredy done that. Now he is offering to change me to another room with a TV that works and should he charge the one that is not working to my charge since he does not know if I broke this one!!!!!!!! I called the Police and they had him open the door and told me that it was not a Police matter but none the less they had him open the door!! I have contacted the New York Times and they are very intrested in this story and everything else I can tell them. I have to put as much in writing and Fax to Paul in the Metro desk please get back to me I am in apt.# 1024

BD Invites Residents to Check Out

Yes, we’ve got a request, bring back the Bards.  Some of our fellow residents got surprises in their box this month.  Instead of an invoice, they got letters in their boxes informing them they are expected to check out.  Even though you may not have been here for long if you have lived here for more than 30 days in the same room you may have rights.  Certainly they can’t just invite you to leave.  They have to legally start eviction proceedings.  We are not lawyers, but perhaps you should talk to a lawyer or a tenants advocacy group.    Don’t panic and don’t leave! 

Confusion Reigns at the Chelsea: Even the U.S. Mail is No Longer Sacred

Tuesday afternoon there was a sign in the Chelsea Hotel elevator:

TO PREVENT ANY CONFUSION PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT BD HOTELS IS NO LONGER THE MANAGING AGENT OF THE CHELSEA HOTEL.  ALL INQUIRIES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO DAVID ELDER, OFFICE OF THE MANAGER. 

     I went downstairs to see what it was all about and saw three of my fellow residents discussing the flyer in the lobby.  “Everybody got them in their mailboxes,” Rupert said (name changed—I hope nobody here is named Rupert).  “You should have one in your box, too.”  They all wondered whether or not what it said was true.  “What is this, amateur hour?” Rupert asked. 

“It can’t possibly be true,” I said.  “Elder’s not qualified to pick out his own socks.”

I went up to the front desk and had one of the bellmen get my letter out of my box.  “What’s the meaning of this,” I asked the smiling young man who appeared to be in charge.  (He turned out to be Glendon, the new Director of Operations.)

“That’s a hoax,” Glendon said, and snatched the letter out of my hand and threw it in the trash.

“Give that back,” I said. 

“No, it stays in the trash,” Glendon says. 

“You can’t just steal my mail and throw it in the trash,” I said.  (It had come through the U.S. mail, stamped and postmarked.)

“It’s your mail but it goes in the trash,” the bellman broke in.  (The staff must take a lot of heat due to these confusing signs.)

I kept arguing and finally Glendon realized I wasn’t going away and so got the letter out and handed it back to me.  (I think he was also worried that I was causing a scene in front of some transient guests.)  “I know you’re the one who writes that really ha ha funny blog,” he said. 

“No, it’s ha ha really sick,” I corrected him. 

“Yeah, you’re right, it is sick, he said. 

“So who are you, anyway,” I asked. 

Glendon introduced himself and shook my hand.  “I’m trying to meet all the people in the hotel.”

“Good luck.”

“I hope we’re not going to have any trouble,” he said. 

“Just so long as you don’t throw anybody out on the street,” I replied.

“Oh we’d never do that,” Glendon said. 

I went back and told the other residents that the letter was a hoax.  “I asked the new guy, Glendon,” I said.  “Have you ever met him?”

“No,” Rupert said, “I don’t interact with any of these people.  Is Donald Trump running the hotel now?  Is that guy one of his apprentices?”

‘If he wins he’s really gonna get a booby prize,” I said.

Though my exchange with Glendon was all fun and games since he did eventually give back my mail, it has come to our attention—though we haven’t yet verified it--that someone from BD Hotels may have been throwing away more of these letters, apparently taking them from residents boxes before they had a chance to read them.  This would represent a serious breach of trust, and an abuse of power, not to mention being (in our understanding) a federal offense.  We hope that this rumor is not true. -- Ed Hamilton

Ways to Help The Chelsea Hotel Community

     Did you keep a souvenir from your stay at the Chelsea?  For many of you, even if you only stayed a short time, you may have fond memories and you may have saved a souvenir.  Now those souvenirs could help us keep the Chelsea as it is and avoid having BD turn it into a high priced luxury boutique hotel.    Souvenirs from any time period will be valuable, however anything from the 60s, 70s and 80s could prove particularly useful.   
     If you have possibly kept any sort of rent receipts or leases or letters or anything indicating a room number or a price we would appreciate it if you would send us a copy.  Even if you don’t have a receipt write us and let us know when you stayed at the hotel and which room you stayed in.  Do not send this information to the Hotel.  If possible scan it and e-mail it to us at chelblog@yahoo.com .  If you are unable to scan the document send us an e-mail and we’ll give you an address to send the copy to. Below is an example of a receipt.

Lets keep this place the way it is so that future generations can experience what it’s like to stay at the Chelsea.