Understanding the Philosophy of Maslow’s with Founder Guy Ivesha

Though Guy Ivesha has spent his entire career in the hotelier business, he has always seen the bedroom itself as the means to create a more fulfilling experience for the guest, so when he decided to change his focus from hotels to Maslow’s, a members house, this philosophy stayed at the core of the business. We sat down with Guy, founder and CEO of the venture, whilst shooting our December 2024 Homepage at Mortimer House, one of the 2 current locations in the Maslow’s family, to talk about how Londons rapidly growing members house got started, and where it’s going next!

Stepping into Mortimer House, you’re immediately greeted with a sense of warmth and luxury as the houses eclectic members make their way around the interior designed spaces. This bustle speaks to how Guy views the building as more than just a space to work, but a community of likeminded creators and entrepreneurs. “When I created Mortimer house, it was actually the first non-hotels project I was involved with, but I treated it very much like a lifestyle hotel in every sense of the word.” He tells us, sitting in a top floor shared space with beautiful views of Fitzrovia. “Quite simply I’ve replaced the bedroom with a private office, and everything else within the offering that you typically see in a premium upscale lifestyle hotel remains. The bedrooms and the offices are always the excuse to do everything else.” The goal of Maslow’s is essentially to become a third space, giving members a single space to fulfil both personal and professional needs. This includes lounges, a handful of restaurants serving hugely varied menus, meeting rooms, events spaces, private offices and gyms – essentially a one stop shop for somebody who wants to fulfil everything they need to do under one roof focused on both work and well-being, which is so much more time effective. Anyone who needs to enter clients in a wonderful setting, is a great fit for a Maslow’s membership.

This is, of course, how Maslow’s got its name, drawing direct inspiration from Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - a model of what a person needs to achieve self actualisation. Guys goal is to provide his members with each of these necessities, embodying each with a different aspect of the business. Basic needs like food, shelter, and security are covered by the house itself and its restaurants and bars, a sense of belonging comes from the community fostered within the houses, and self esteem is promoted through the many events that take place, including wellbeing workshops. “Its everything from talks on business and entrepreneurship to art and culture workshops, sound baths or fitness and longevity related programs.” Guy explains. “We have a team that focuses purely on the programming. We check with our members what they liked.” With an update each month, members of all backgrounds can find or organise something enriching and enlightening!

This community isn’t limited just to the members though, as the architecture of the houses themselves has been carefully planned to incorporate aspects of the surrounding area into its design. Guy tells us that choosing the right building is the first step in finding a new location for a Maslow’s house, and that history plays a huge part In that decision. Mortimer house was built in 1930 in a historic neighbourhood known for its textile production, and was chosen for its large windows and open plan, and 1 Warwick was built in 1910 as a neo-baroque building. “You want to honour the history of that neighbourhood and the people who live and work in those neighbourhoods.” Guy says, “So we look at that first. The building almost tells you what it wants to be.” With London’s architecture increasingly becoming corporatised, the attention to detail in these buildings is a refreshing revival of their heritage. In order to create a feeling of home and timelessness within the buildings, vintage furniture is used as well as custom made fittings to suit the building. “We wanted it to feel like its been collected over the years, and it's not something that feels created without much thought or consideration.” The overall design philosophy of Maslow’s, in a sense, is to create a place that feels like its always existed, and all interior design decisions are made to enhance how our members feel when they visit.

Because London is filled with so many unique neighbourhoods, Guy’s goal is to expand into each corner of the city to serve the needs of members wherever they are. He explains that the draw of Maslow’s is its comfort with a focus on quality and great service, believing that members clubs usually have an air of pretentiousness which his does not. “If I can combine [the aspects of] quality and comfort, it's probably what I would go for.” He says, pointing out that any member can wear what they like, and there’s no expectation to look a certain way. There’s the atmosphere of luxury and style you’d expect from a high end product, but without sacrificing comfort or sense of genuine connection and being relaxed. With more open days and plans to expand not just through London, but into mainland Europe, Maslow’s is without a doubt one of the most exciting, designer work and wellbeing centred spaces that’s appeared in recent years, and we’re excited to follow what happens next.