Simon Woodroffe - Chairman, Founder of YO! everything
Simon left school in 1967 and entered the rock 'n' roll world. He rose through the ranks of roadie and stage manager to stage designer, and by 1985 his company was designing the stage of Live Aid, the biggest charity music event in history. Later that year he left the increasingly technical stage design industry, in his words "before I got found out", and went in search of a business that was closer to the end consumer.
Simon opened his first YO! business in 1997. YO! Sushi in Poland Street introduced Londoners to sushi on moving conveyor belts, with drinks served by robots, and people queued to get in. Within 2 years, YO! Sushi had 4 restaurants in London, and was being heralded as the most exciting new restaurant brand in London.
In 1999 Simon was Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2000 he won the Catey "Group Restaurateur of the Year Award". 5 years on and YO! SUSHI celebrates further openings in France and the Middle East and there are 5 new London sites opening in the first half of 2006. Simon now owns 22% of YO! Sushi and a royalty stream in perpetuity. The business is run by Robin Rowland.
Simon continues to build new YO! businesses. He provided the seed capital for YOTEL and is its public figure and driving creative force. YO! JAPAN, the clothing range continues to trade with outlets through Europe and in the USA. YO! ZONE, the spa, continues in the development of a central London riverside site due to open 2008. YO! HOME, is Simon's homes of the future project and a prototype is being developed.
Simon is a highly sought after business and motivational speaker and is developing a solid television profile based around the growing interest in business as the new rock 'n' roll. Simon lives on a boat with his teenage daughter and still loves coloured shoes.
Click here to find out more about the world of YO! and Simon
Gerard Greene - CEO
On a mission to revolutionise the hotel industry and save consumers from expensive and boring hotels, Gerard gave up work after five years as a hotel analyst, sold his home and joined forces with Simon in July 2002. Gerard's vision to provide a visually and mentally stimulating experience at an affordable price drives the YOTEL project.
Previously, Gerard worked at an operational level for Hyatt International, Marriott Hotels and Conran Restaurants. "The majority of hotels in the world are either poorly designed, badly managed or ridiculously expensive. Operators such as One Aldwych, Hotel du Vin and Malmaison have led the way in excellence and value for money. YOTEL will continue this mantra but at the more affordable end of the spectrum."
You may find him on his bicycle training for a triathlon, cruising in his classic car or even snooping around hotels, checking out the competition.
Nigel Buchanan - Operations Director
Nigel joined from Hotel du Vin, one of the UK's leading boutique hotel companies. During his time with the Group he held the positions of General Manager (opening the Brighton hotel) and Product Development Manager. Nigel previously worked with myhotel and The Capital Hotel Group.
Nigel runs marathons for fun (well sometimes it's fun) and lives in Brighton with his young family.
Hugo McNestry - Finance Director
Hugo has a background in hotels with Travel Inn, the UK’s largest economy hotel chain where he held the Finance and Business Development briefs and with Marriott Hotels. Prior to that he worked in the brewing and tour operating sectors and more recently as COO of a chain of children’s nurseries.
Hugo has a young family and lives in West London. When he has time he tries to get some sailing in and the odd triathlon.
Jo Berrington - Marketing Director
Jo joined the team from London’s most famous icon -‘The London Eye’ where since its opening she headed up the Marketing and Communications team. Jo trained originally in printing, photography and design in Leeds and then spent 17 years at British Airways in various sales, account management and marketing roles at BA’s regional airport hubs.
John Graham - Construction Director
John has a background in hotels, joining YOTEL from the Travelodge. During his time with the group John held the position of Director of Construction - directing the construction of 80 new hotels. Prior to that he worked in the restaurant business as head of Design and Construction for Pizza Hut UK Ltd. John has 26 years experience in design and construction and has developed considerable expertise in modular construction techniques.
In his spare time John enjoys long walks in the Bedfordshire countryside with his wife Sally and dog Millie. John & Sally have two teenage sons: Tom & Sam
We’re always interested to hear about possible new sites and innovative locations
Our unique design with 7 and 10m² cabins and internal rather than external windows allows us to go boldly where other hotels can't - tricky central city locations, airport terminals, even underground.
To give you an idea of what we’re looking out for our ideal site criteria is anything from 10,000 to 100,000ft², from major international airport locations, to international cities including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Beijing, Chicago, Dubai, Dublin, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Rome, Singapore, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo
Ideally we need to be in close proximity to major attractions, transport links and/or the central business district
We’d be interested in properties that may be freehold or leasehold and particularly redundant or limited use 50's - 80's buildings
Joint ventures/franchises
Our plans include rolling out the YOTEL concept around the world and we are looking for global partners to help us realise our ambitious expansion plans.
If you have ideas, development opportunities for partnerships, joint ventures or properties you’d like to talk to us about please contact Gerard Greene, development@yotel.com