Virgin Hotels' newest hotel is a bit of a homecoming for parent company Virgin Group and founder Richard Branson.
Virgin Hotels will open its first London hotel, the 120-room Virgin London-Shoreditch, on Aug. 1, a conversion of the Mondrian Shoreditch London. The hotel's owner is RB Capital, part of the Reuben Brothers Group.
Virgin Hotels Collection CEO James Bermingham said finally opening a hotel in London is extremely exciting for the brand.
“Yes, it is our spiritual home. It is where it all started, and opening there has been a priority since the inception of the company,” Bermingham said.
Branson started business in London in 1970, notably with Virgin Records. Virgin Group has numerous business divisions, including Virgin Hotels; Virgin Limited Edition, a collection of five luxury accommodations options; Virgin Airlines, and more.
“Each part of Virgin is joined at the hip but has its own leadership. The degree of equity varies across the 40 or so companies,” Bermingham said.
One area of the Virgin London-Shoreditch will be converted in an apartment for Branson, which is included in every one of Virgin's hotels.
Bermingham added quite often the hardest part of opening a hotel is keeping a lid on Branson’s enthusiasm.
“Our brands’ secret sauce definitely is Branson. He has been doing this for 55 years, and he has not changed one bit. That resonates. His brand levers are timeless,” he added.
The Shoreditch area is a perfect fit for the Virgin Hotels brand, Bermingham said, adding the company's hotels employ a mix of what he called “super-global, hyper-local.”
“The London hotel is a magnificent hotel in the center of Shoreditch,” he said. “I spent 10 years living and working in London, so it is a return for me, too. Shoreditch is creative and energetic. I will not say youthful, rather young at heart, and the area is thriving from both commercial and residential aspects. It has become a special market within London and is very much aligned with us.”
The Virgin London-Shoreditch features the Bibo Shoreditch restaurant from three Michelin-star celebrity chef Dani García — who was born in Marbella, Andalucia — and, in more Spanish flair, a private members’ club called Blue Marlin Ibiza. The hotel's menus will include local touches, Bermingham said.
While the hotel is to open in August, more room renovations and the addition of Virgin signature touches will put more of a branded stamp on the property by December, Bermingham said. The property also includes a screening room that will remain.
Today, Virgin Hotels has properties in Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Nashville, New York and New Orleans. Virgin Hotels opened the 222-room Virgin Hotels Edinburgh in March 2023 and the Virgin Hotels New York City in the second quarter of 2023.
“We decided to launch in the U.S., but Europe was always on the horizon. I have no wish to offend anyone, but it is my opinion London is the single-best hotel market,” Bermingham said.
For a few months, Virgin Hotels did have another hotel in the United Kingdom. A hotel in Glasgow was forced to close in December 2023 when owner Lloyds Development suffered financial problems.
Bermingham said Virgin Hotels still has a management contact for the property, and the company hopes it will reopen.
“Glasgow is out of our control, but it is a great market and a fabulous hotel,” he said.
Across the Pond and Back
Bermingham was born in Dublin but has called the U.S. home for several decades now. He first came to the U.S. as a general manager at hotels in Houston, Washington, D.C., and Biloxi, Mississippi, before joining Irvine, California-based Montage Hotels & Resorts in 2002, first as the general manager of the Montage Laguna Beach hotel. Following some years at Visit California, he started as CEO of Virgin Hotels in March 2021.
The Virgin Hotels brand will continue to grow its portfolio, Bermingham said.
“Growth for us is important, but careful growth. We choose locations and programming very carefully, as well as the partners that share the same vision,” he said.
Bermingham said Virgin Hotels is eyeing a hotel in the Irish capital, adding that opening a hotel in Dublin is a goal he has long relished.
“It was the first market out of COVID-19, and it has great commercial infrastructure. It is our priority,” he said.
Also on his hotel development wish list are urban and resort destinations in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
The company broke ground on a hotel in Denver in 2025, and Miami will follow.
“We are prioritizing markets where Virgin flies to or Virgin Voyages goes to," he said, referencing the company's cruise division. "We’re opportunistic — the right opportunities with the right partners"
In all, there's plenty of reasons to be excited for the hotel industry going forward, Bermingham said.
“Great optimism comes from two big contributors,” he said. “The first is that millennials are prioritizing travel experiences over other material purchases, and the second is that when you lock up the world for two years, there starts a whole new appreciation for experiences.”
He said it is expected outbound international demand from Japan will have its best travel year this year, and China is still in its reopening phase.
Corporate transient and groups are coming back, too, he said. Virgin’s sweet spot in that market driver are smaller groups of between 50 and 150 people, with nonprofit fundraisers and think tanks notable in the mix.