从古至今，人们群居后产生阶层，而今天的社交媒体社区也在蓬勃发展。Soho House因吸纳有创意的会员而获得关注，打破了其它社交俱乐部严格遵守的阶级规则，上层阶级的财富、名望、高档西装和超级跑车并没有那么受欢迎。事实上，创始人Nick Jones在1995年的伦敦创立该俱乐部时，拒绝将会员资格授予任何金融或房地产领域的人，他想要俱乐部的气氛是自由和随意的。所有这些新颖的方式都是为了吸引创意人士，他们通过前卫的思维和作品证明自己的价值，并创造出一个可以休闲聚会的场所。尽管以社区类的生活方式酒店和联合办公空间正在兴起，Soho House仍然保持着良好的发展势头，这要归功于其独特的文化，这种文化是通过24小时实施的标准而建立起来的。例如笔记本电脑**在指定区域使用，禁止拍摄视频和在社交媒体上发布关于俱乐部的内容。Soho House鼓励自由交流，但同时也高度重视隐私。在这样一种氛围中，会员们会获得一种真正的归属感。俱乐部的室内设计也严格遵循这一理念。屋内没有充满刺激性的颜色和形状，而是配备了熟悉的物品，以使会员感到舒适。Soho House在世界各地拥有成千上万名会员，这一成就与信任密切相关，而与宣传无关。在赢得会员信任的同时， Soho House品牌的餐厅、酒店、度假村和水疗馆正迎接着世界。

For quite a longtime in history, individual life was judged in relation to the groups theybelonged to— family, school, company, and so forth. Those groups evolved intosocial classes. In the past, rites of passage were extremely important becausethe group or class an individual belonged to exerted greater power than theindividual alone. A sense of belonging or class consciousness still exists tothis day, but they manifest in different forms. As the power has beentransferred from elite groups to more people, individual power trumps that ofthe group. With various social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram,individuals have formed their own communities. Countless online and offlinecommunities revolving around personal interests, tastes, and social causes arepopping up everywhere now in response to this shift. For the past few years, anumber of creative, community-

based activities even started to proveprofitable. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the business of communities isliterally booming.

Soho House,featured in this issue, is closely linked to the spirit of community as thebrand started as a private membership house. Founded in 1995 in London, SohoHouse has been expanding its community, constructing physical establishmentscalled “houses” in metropolitan cities across the world. The club has garneredattention for targeting the “creative class” for members, breaking the existingclass order or rigorism that had been strictly observed by other social clubs.In Soho House, the symbols of the upper class—wealth, dynastic family names,fancy suits, and super cars—

are not welcome so much. As a matter of fact, whenfounder Nick Jones opened the house, he refused to give membership to anyone infinance or real estate, and he introduced the infamous no-

tie rule to makecertain the atmosphere would feel free and casual. All these novel approacheswere designed to attract creatives, who prove their worth with edgy thinkingand work, and create a venue where they can gather, eat, and drink.

Soho Houseremains undiminished despite the rise of local community-

based lifestyle hotelsand coworking office spaces largely thanks to its unique culture, which hasbeen established through rules and standards that are enforced around theclock. Laptops are only allowed in designated areas, and taking video and postingcontent about the house on social media is prohibited. In Soho House, freecommunication is encouraged, but at the same time, privacy is taken extremelyseriously. In such an atmosphere, members gain a genuine sense of belonging,feeling protected and safe within the premise walls. The interior designfollows this philosophy strictly, too. Rather than being filled withstimulating colors and shapes, the houses are furnished with familiar items andobjects to make members feel comfortable so that everyone can settle in easily.It’s also proven by a staff member’s remark that “being cool” is what theyavoid. They pursue a timeless ambience that is immune to trends.

Making peoplefeel protected and safe is key across all affairs in the hospitality industry.We’ll be always intrigued by new cafés or restaurants, but at the end of theday, only a few places will make us feel like we belong. In that sense, placeswhere we feel sure that we won’t encounter unpleasant situations or regretvisiting and ones where we can expect the same quality service at any giventime are at a great advantage. Soho House has retained tens of thousands ofmembers—an achievement that has to everything to do with trust, and nothing todo with publicity. The expertise that Soho House has honed over the past 20years while earning trust from its members is being used today to refine itsbusiness into even more highquality services. It seems possible that, someday,Soho House brand restaurants, hotels, resorts, and spas may break out frombehind the wall of exclusivity and dominate the hospitality world.