Hotel Designs Brit List HDBritList_eventGuide | Page 22

IN CONVERSATION WITH:
GERRI GALLAGHER,
FORMER ASSOCIATE
EDITOR, TATLER
With more than 25 years’ experience reviewing some of the
world’s most dynamic hotel designs as the associate editor of
Tatler, Gerri Gallagher has seen it all. Editor of
Hotel Designs, Hamish Kilburn, sits down with the famed hotel
expert to finds out how hotel design has shifted in a quarter of a decade…
Checking in and out of hotels is a regular occurrence for Gerri Gallagher, who has seen the
industry grow and develop – and has witnessed design evolve in leaps and bounds. She joined the
judging panel of The Brit List 2018 to view the hotelier category from a consumer point of view.
I was fortunate enough to catch her before she boarded a flight to New York in order to get her
take on Britain’s position in international hotel design.
Hamish Kilburn: What’s the most significant
change you have witnessed in hotel design
over your time as associate editor of Tatler?
Gerri Gallagher: I think, definitely, the
spectacular emergence, which resulted in the
dominance of prestigious, boutique hotels.
When I started at Tatler, there were only a
handful of truly design hotels. Now, the bar
is so high and this is thanks to today’s and
yesterday’s designers.
HK: What do you look for in a design hotel?
GG: I look for is something that stops me
in my tracks. Something that is striking,
not terrifying. I am searching for a natural
welcoming, which after all is the essence
of decent hospitality. But I also love hotels
that are intriguing and almost unexpected;
beautiful definitely but slick and not too
austere.
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HK: Why is Britain such a thriving hub for
international hotel design? GG: I just think
Britain has always been known for its artistic
innovation and it’s very validating, in fact, to
take a look at the hotel industry over the last
ten years and see that we have been world-
leaders in design.
HK: What has been the highlight of The
Brit List 2018? GG: For me, the highlight
has been working with the judging panel
and I was honoured to be asked. I have
thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to take
a new, fresh look at what is going on in this
glorious country. It has been informative and
educational and has made me proud to be a
Brit - and that’s coming form someone who
was born an American.