Karma Group And Sanctum Hotel Group Join Forces To Develop Luxury Rock Styled Hotels
John Spence, Chairman and Founder of award-winning international travel and lifestyle brand, Karma Group and Mark Fuller, hotel legend and CEO of Sanctum Hotel Group have announced a joint venture to develop a series of authentic luxury rock styled and orientated hotels in strategic locations around the world, accompanied by an exclusive private membership club.
Spence and Fuller have identified a huge gap in the market for this style of hotel, which will combine the credibility and glamour of being frequented by rock royalty and music industry management. Combining the ultimate in luxury and comfort with a rock edge, the hotels will be the number one destination for the discerning traveller accustomed to a stylish and vibrant lifestyle. Boasting the finest quality furnishings and impressive attention to detail, the hotels will feature top of the range facilities such as recording studios, cinema screening rooms, spas, world-class restaurants and bars.
Additionally, there will be a highly aspirational and exclusive membership club based around these properties, providing members not only great rates and discounts at the properties, but also ‘money cant buy’ benefits such as preferential tickets to rock concerts as well as VIP experiences like meeting bands and back stage tours. Initially the members club will focus on the existing Sanctum Hotel Group properties in England, as well as Karma Group’s stable of resorts, but the partnership is currently investigating options to roll out new hotels, primarily in major music hubs visited by leading touring artists, such as New York, Los Angeles, Melbourne and Berlin.
“Bringing together our enormous collective experience, in both the music and hospitality industries, to plug the gap in the market for authentic, quality rock and roll inspired hotels seems only natural,” said John Spence. “Both Mark and I feel that our brands are ideally aligned to create an extremely successful venture and, above all, we share the mantra is that we are not in the accommodation business, but rather the entertainment business. Our global partnership uniquely opens the world’s finest locations to lovers of music and followers of our philosophy of life being a celebration of hard work followed by hard play.”
“We’ve created a strong brand in the UK and our existing hotels, year upon year continue to achieve fantastic success,” said Mark Fuller, CEO of The Sanctum Hotel Group. “We provide a unique offering; a five star hotel experience, a twist of rock ‘n’ roll and an abundance of incredible facilities. We’re thrilled to be working with Karma Hotels to bring our vision to 20 key cities across the world.”
Spence and Fuller have both enjoyed extensive and successful careers in both the music and hospitality industries. In the early ‘80s, John cut his teeth as a music agent in London and it was during this time that he formed a friendship with Fuller who has had huge experience over the years setting up and running some of the leading clubs and venues in London. Mark’s partners at Sanctum Hotel Group, Rod Smallwood and Andy Taylor are two of the most prominent managers in the music business who have looked after many high profile bands and artists, including Iron Maiden.
About Karma Group
Karma Group offers extraordinary experiences and exclusive curated entertainment in the world’s most beautiful locations from Europe to Asia. As 100% owner of Karma, John oversees three global divisions; Asia and Australia; India and Middle East; and Europe and Caribbean. John was the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 and in June 2013, was invited to join leading entrepreneurs from around the world in Monaco to join the judging panel for the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year. In July 2013, John was honoured by the Yale University School of Architecture by being appointed the Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting Architecture Fellow for the fall semester 2013/2014 and has also been awarded a Distinguished Visiting Fellowship at UCLA in 2015. Karma Group is the market leader in its field and is poised for dramatic growth with future projects providing a global reach and an array of distinctive destinations beyond any other boutique hotel group in the world today. With resorts operating all around the world, Karma is currently developing projects in Carcasonne, France and Spain.
About Sanctum Hotel Group
Sanctum Hotel Group opened The Inn on the Green in Berkshire, a fine dining restaurant which was later re-branded and re-launched as Sanctum on the Green, a beautiful country house getaway. The Group went on to acquire Geales restaurant in Notting Hill in 2007 and refurbished it to create an upmarket fish and chip restaurant. Shortly after, both partners embarked on their most ambitious project yet, the five-star, boutique hotel Sanctum Soho. The Group’s interests include Geales at Le Meridien Dubai and the legendary Embassy Club.
