James Lohan and Tamara Herber-Percy, founders of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a luxury travel specialist website, are launching their business in Canada, and they want you to know that they’re bringing sexy back to the world of travel. They’re here to provide what other hotel booking sites lack. While the majority of travel sites feed off quantity – such sites have an average listing of 100,000 properties, many of which are hotel chains – the Smith brand is a curator of a carefully hand-picked selection of approximately 850 unique hotels and destinations located all over the world – cool hotels that have that “X” factor. All very intimate, indeed.
Tamara and James, founders of Mr. & Mrs. Smith: the Masters and Johnson of the travel industry
The duo, partners in business as well as in life, hail from the UK, where their love of globe-trotting prompted them to start a luxury boutique hotel curating business (which includes a series of gorgeous hotel guide books) ten years ago. Their company, which has become something of a global phenomenon, takes its name not from that other, considerably more famous power couple (Brangelina, duh), though many make that assumption. Rather, the names “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” are pseudonyms frequently used in Britain by celebrities and clandestine couples wanting to check in at a hotel undetected.
There is no set criteria used to determine what makes a property “Smith-worthy”, but the hotels are known to be hip, stylish and unpretentious. Not all of the hotels listed are five-star properties, but they’re all fabulous. They range from quirky budget boutique hotels like the Hotel San Jose in Austin, Texas or the Pig Hotel in Hampshire, UK; to more upscale resorts like the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino, BC, the GoldenEye Resort in Jamaica (which I visited last year and can therefore personally attest to its awesomeness); and the Palazzo Margherita in Bernalda, Italy which used to be director’s Francis Ford Coppola’s home and still contains his personal movie collection.
In building their reputation as the go-to site for the latest in fun and trendy hotels, the Smith brand also prides itself on its excellent customer service. You won’t be speaking to that person from an international call centre when trying to book your holiday (you know, the one whose voice sounds like the teacher from Charlie Brown?). Instead, you’ll be consulting with a direct hire of the company who, the website claims, will give you the same insider information that they would give their best friend. “Blacksmith” members can join the site free-of-charge; “Silversmith” and “Goldsmith” memberships are subject to annual fees but include more perks and loyalty programs.
With a soiree entitled “What’s Sexy This Summer” held recently at Toronto’s Shangri-La hotel (which is included in the Smith collection of hotels, naturally), the media launch for the Canadian website was something to behold. At first, I wasn’t sure what to expect: I mean, with perhaps the exception of Carrie Bradshaw, journalists are not generally known for their sexiness; I for one was hoping that I would be up to the task. But the party saw reporters and flacks dressed to the nines (and the champagne flowing provided a nice social lubricant).
The festivities began in the hotel’s screening room with a clever video titled “Get a Room” which showed a stylish, young couple obviously in need of a…..vacation. This was followed by a brief Q&A session with James and Tamara where they talked about some of their more notable hotels and their launch in Canada. The festivities culminated in the hotel’s stunning penthouse suite (which, if you really need to know, goes for a cool $10K a night) where more drinks and hors d’oeuvres were served. By the end of the evening, I’m pretty sure everyone was in the mood.
A few days later, I sat down with the couple – again at the Shangri-La, though in a more sober setting this time – to learn about their business in more detail. I was happy to discover that they were just as charming by the light of day.
Lynn: “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. How on earth has a luxury travel business been able to thrive in such a tumultuous global economy?
James Lohan: [With a tough economy] people have become wiser about travel…We offer great value for people’s vacation dollars. People don’t want a bland, cookie-cutter experience…In this economy, people are travelling smarter.
Tamara Herber-Percy: We also attract special occasion spenders (couples celebrating anniversaries, honeymoons).
Lynn: Why launch in Canada at this time?
JL: Our business started in the UK and that eventually attracted American travellers….Since Canadians tend to look at what the U.S. market is doing, it was a natural progression.
A cool bedroom in the penthouse suite at Toronto’s Shangri-La Hotel
Lynn: Ok, turning to a more hard-hitting question: “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is inherently suggestive of a heterosexual couple. Do you cater to same-sex couples as well?
JL: Absolutely. We do not discriminate whatsoever…We thought very hard about this, and even considered having “Mr. & Mr. Smith” and “Mrs. and Mrs. Smith” divisions but [after doing research] we found all of our customers just wanted the same thing…a great hotel experience.
Lynn: But some of the countries your recommended hotels are located in may not have as progressive laws as we have here in Canada or the US. Have you ever received specific complaints in this respect?
JL: Fortunately, we haven’t. We can’t comment on any one country’s national problems, but we take our customer service incredibly seriously…..if we ever heard of any prejudice of that sort occurring at one of the hotels, the hotel would be taken off our list.
TH-P: ….The international luxury travel business is usually somewhat removed from [local politics].
Lynn: Fair enough. I understand you are starting a Smith family travel division [which hasn’t launched in Canada yet]. Where do you see the Smith brand expanding next? Will there be group or solo travel divisions? His and her fragrance lines? What’s on the horizon?
JL: We had CD compilations [when CDs were still a thing] called “In Bed with…” which included a selection of music designed for a weekend getaway…We’re starting a line of designer paints which have been inspired by the colours we’ve seen in the countries we’ve visited.
TH-P: Towels and linens would be a natural fit.
JL: …..We may even launch a travel dating service for singles….where they meet their mate, get married and proceed to the Mr & Mrs. Smith site, and then on to the Smith Family site. Eventually we want to be able to service travellers from cradle-to-grave. Who knows, maybe there will be a “Granny Smith” travel division one day.
Lynn: LOL!
