Christian Clerc has a simple philosophy about luxury hospitality: stop replicating and start reinventing. As president and chief executive officer of Auberge Collection, Clerc is leading a portfolio that refuses to follow the industry’s well-worn playbook.
“The industry today, everybody’s using the same designers, the same standards, the same restaurant chefs, the same concepts,” Clerc explained during an interview with WWD. “We’re the opposite of that. Every experience we create, we reinvent the wheel every time, and you’ll never see it again anywhere else.”
This philosophy extends from the brand’s hyper-local design approach to its latest initiative, the Auberge Concert Series. Now in its second year, the series brings intimate performances by Grammy-winning artists like Maren Morris and Leon Bridges to properties ranging from Primland in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains to Bowie House in Fort Worth, Texas.
Music as Cultural Currency
The concert series emerged naturally from Auberge’s arts and culture pillar, but it carries personal significance for Clerc, whose father cofounded the Montreux Jazz Festival, one of the world’s oldest independent music festivals. That connection helped secure artists like Leon Bridges, whom Clerc first introduced to Quincy Jones at Montreux 12 years ago when Bridges was an undiscovered talent from Texas.
“These top performers are so busy touring,” Clerc notes. “We can’t just compete with the big venues and stadiums. Our angle is to really connect them with experiences that speak to them personally.”
The venues are deliberately intimate, between 100 and 150 people, allowing for storytelling and connection impossible in larger settings. Maren Morris’s September performance at Primland exemplified this approach. Between songs from her new album “Dreamsicle” and hits like “Bones” and “The Middle,” she spoke about the value of hearing songwriters discuss their creative process, reminiscing about her early days as a musician. “This is really special and unique for me, playing out here to a small audience.”
Maren Morris performing at Primland, Auberge Collection in Virginia.
The next concert, on Oct. 7, will have Bridges performing at Bowie House, Auberge Collection in Texas, a location that carries additional resonance for the artist. The Fort Worth native regularly visits the hotel, and proceeds from the concert benefit his nonprofit The Big Good, which addresses community needs in North Texas. In November, actor-musician Luke Grimes of Yellowstone fame will perform at The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Collection in Utah.
The Anti-chain Approach
What unifies Auberge Collection properties despite their radical individuality? Clerc points to the “design-led, one-of-a-kind” philosophy and an obsessive focus on sense of place. At Primland in Virginia, which is set across 12,000 acres, that means locally sourced produce, team members predominantly from the Blue Ridge Mountain region, and experiences like stargazing from an on-site observatory with professional astronomers.
“We create this very authentic microcosm of the best that particular destination has to offer,” Clerc said. “We’re not a hotel chain. We’re a collection of unique, special hotels that are fiercely independent.”
This approach resonates with contemporary luxury consumers who, Clerc argues, are tired of being told what to do, wear, or experience. “If you want to show up with jeans and a T-shirt and a really beautiful watch, or you want to have a cheeseburger with a $1,500 bottle of wine, it’s on your terms,” he said.
The well-being program reflects this philosophy. Themed around “joy” rather than guilt or obligation, it positions the hotel as a platform for guests to define their own version of wellness (whether that includes a fine bottle of wine or not).
Post-pandemic Acceleration
The pandemic proved a catalyst for Auberge Collection, whose remote, outdoor-focused resort properties aligned perfectly with shifting travel preferences. But Clerc sees another accelerant: social media’s democratization of storytelling.
“Everybody is looking for a unique story, bragging rights to be able to bring to their friends and family something they haven’t seen before,” he said. This drives demand for distinctive design, unique restaurant concepts, and one-time experiences like the concert series, performances guests will never see replicated elsewhere.
The company’s recent name change to Auberge Collection, from Auberge Resorts Collection, reflects the portfolio’s expansion beyond resorts into urban hotels, countryside estates and residences. With 30 properties worldwide and strategic growth focused on urban markets and Europe, the brand is positioning itself as an alternative to what Clerc calls “predictable luxury.”
Recent openings include Collegio alla Querce in Florence and The Woodward in Geneva, with forthcoming properties in London, Dallas and Miami Beach, where Auberge Collection will take over the iconic Shore Club.
For Clerc, who previously served as president of Four Seasons, the evolution of luxury hospitality mirrors broader cultural shifts. Just as fashion consumers seek independent brands over mall ubiquity, travelers increasingly want experiences that feel discovered rather than prescribed, he said.
“At some point, people look for differentiation,” he says. “You get enriched when you try something you’ve never tried before, when you put yourself in an environment outside of your comfort zone. It’s hyper stimulating.”
As Auberge continues expanding into urban markets and deepening its European presence, the challenge will be maintaining that fierce independence at scale. If the concert series proves anything, it’s that the brand understands scarcity creates value, and that luxury increasingly means experiencing something no one else will, exactly as you experienced it, ever again.