As the co-founder and former CEO of Tablet Hotels, Laurent Vernhes spent two decades redefining how discerning travelers discover boutique properties. Following his departure from the hospitality pioneer, Vernhes pivoted his signature eye for curation toward another deep passion: small-batch, artisanal winemaking through his exclusive club, MVA.wine. In this expansive conversation, he reflects on the evolution of travel, the illusion of modern luxury chains, and why true curation is an antidote to an increasingly homogenized world.
Muhammad Aljunied: Looking back at the trajectory that led you to co-found Tablet Hotels at the turn of the millennium and guide it through a historic twenty-year run, how did your early experiences shape your philosophy on what makes a place truly special?
Laurent Vernhes: When I started out in Asia working for News Corp, my job was essentially scouting early-stage startups and hidden gems. That mindset stuck with me. Back when I lived in Asia in the late nineties, properties like the early Aman resorts were more accessible, and they completely reshaped my perspective on hospitality.
When Michael Davis and I launched Tablet, the hotel landscape was starkly divided between sterile corporate chains and unverified mom-and-pop joints. We wanted to prove that point-of-view curation matters. With very few exceptions, the top three hotels in any major city are never part of massive cookie-cutter chains. True hospitality relies on character, soul, and an uncompromising dedication to an owner’s specific vision.
Muhammad Aljunied: After stepping away from Tablet following the pandemic, many expected you to retire to some remote corner of the globe. Instead, you established Maison Vernhes in the Val d’Orcia region of Tuscany and launched MVA.wine. How did the transition from curating boutique hotels evolve into curating small-batch wine?
Laurent Vernhes: I toyed with the idea of moving somewhere completely off the grid—like the wilds of Big Sur—before realizing that what I actually needed was a brand-new creative challenge. MVA.wine took the exact same muscle I used at Tablet—rigorous curation—and applied it to wine.
We source exclusively from independent, artisanal winemakers whose bottles survive strict blind tastings at Maison Vernhes. Just like a great boutique hotel, a vast majority of what sits on commercial shelves today is not an honest representation of its origins. They are industrial products masquerading as agricultural heritage. We wanted to strip away the marketing noise, the heavy intervention, and the status-symbol pretension that plagues the wine world.
Muhammad Aljunied: Now that you’ve had some distance from leading a global hotel platform, are there things about the travel and luxury industry that you felt you couldn’t say as CEO that you feel comfortable addressing now?
Laurent Vernhes: Hotel pricing has gotten completely out of control. While I’m deeply grateful for the loyal relationships Tablet built with independent hoteliers who offered exclusive rates, the broader luxury market has leaned too heavily into inflating costs without raising the bar on genuine soul.
Another truth? People love to romanticize every traditional method, but you don’t need to romanticize handpicked grapes just for a marketing label—when harvest time comes, it has to happen fast. Similarly, in travel, people get caught up in flashy brand names and famous appellations. Whether you’re booking a room or buying a bottle, the only shortcut to true quality is finding a relationship with a creator whose taste you can implicitly trust.
Muhammad Aljunied: Whether you’re managing an intimate wine collective in Tuscany or playing bass in a New York rock band, what remains your core north star?
Laurent Vernhes: Taste is the only thing that ultimately matters. In a world obsessed with automated algorithms, mass production, and status-chasing, the human element is everything. Whether it’s an understated room with a view of the Inland Sea or an unadorned, beautifully balanced glass of wine from a small vineyard, you look for things that respect your intelligence and anchor you to reality. Trust your own palate, stay curious, and cut out the noise.
