Charlie is Scotland's darling as he unveils a hospitality hub like no other

As a school leaver, Charlie MacGregor lacked the inclination and, he freely admits, the grades to follow what many of his his peers considered to be the holy grail to academia and to life as a university undergraduate.

Instead, non-conformist Charlie, at the age of just 16, rolled up his sleeves to demonstrate a strong work ethic that betrayed his young years to work as a labourer, getting down and dirty on gritty building sites.

A businessman who’s now hailed as one of Europe’s most dynamic entrepreneurs, it’s ironic that the student lifestyle on which Charlie turned his back in his youth is now the pillar of his business empire – and the foundations on which his company’s winning hybrid hospitality concept is built.

Having grown up in Scotland’s capital and in Haddington in East Lothian, Charlie had a charmed upbringing, attending Edinburgh Academy and Merchiston.

He chose to follow in the footsteps of his father, Charles, who was the pioneer behind the construction of the first student housing block in 1980 for the University of Edinburgh.

Conceding that back in the ‘80s, Scotland’s student population didn’t have the best PR, Charlie recalls: “Students were seen as a destructive animal who’d destroy everything that came into sight. In those days, nobody bothered much about student accommodation.

“There, if you misbehaved, you’d be fined. It was very much: ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that.’”

Recognising them as the cabinet secretaries, the barristers, the doctors and engineers of the future, Charlie believed that students deserved better than that.

In his first foray as a property entrepreneur, he purchased a small student accommodation company at the age of 25, which he sold a decade later.

Charlie relocated in 2003 from London to Amsterdam, where, propelled by his father’s company’s status as the first generation of student accommodation developers, he established The Student Hotel in 2006.

“When I was in Amsterdam, I saw there was an opportunity,” recalls Charlie, who believed there to be “a crisis” in student accommodation.

“I remember thinking: ‘This is the next generation of our prime ministers, getting world-class education.”

A born entrepreneur and charismatic leader who is instantly likeable, Charlie’s love of community and belief that customers deserve better started it all, and remains the guiding force behind the Netherlands-headquartered hybrid hospitality investor, developer and operator.

With his instinctive drive, The Social Hub has grown to hold 23 assets – with 18 Hubs and nearly 10,000 rooms across Europe – and has raised more than €2 billion from investors, making Charlie a leading voice on the future of hospitality for industry publications and at events around the world.

The Social Hub concept brings together people from all walks of life in the same safe, comfortable and creative space: local communities, students, young professionals, start-ups and large businesses, corporate visitors and tourists.

Says its founder and chief executive officer: “It’s a place where people can connect and learn from one another, a place to find and build a community, where connections grow, ideas spark and change happens.”

The Social Hub in Glasgow’s fashionable Merchant City district is the first in the UK.

The company has injected £90m investment into Scotland’s biggest city, creating 80 new jobs and a new, bespoke landmark building spanning 20,000 sqm, with its own square.

At the helm of the Glasgow offering is general manager Ben McLeod, whose experience as a leader in the hospitality sector spans 25 years.

The progressive company is now eyeing Edinburgh and London, with plans to roll out the brand in the next 12 months in Porto, Rome and a second hub in Florence.

By 2034, up to 15 further hotels will open their doors in vibrant cities, including Lisbon and Turin.

The hybrid concept – which sees vacant rooms being occupied by hotel guests when students depart the city for the summer – is genuis in its simplicity.

And when the hospitality market ‘fell off a cliff’ during the pandemic, it was the perfect storm in which Charlie and his team could put their business model to the test.

“We came out of Covid very strong as an organisation, knowing our model works,” explained Charlie.

“When you look at Glasgow and Edinburgh, there is so much more demand in the summer for hotel rooms. When the students go home in the summer, we can use their rooms as a hotel for different customers. It means that we can handle that demand.

“Not every student wants a 12-month contract and that can result in a conflict between the landlord and student. We can offer the length of contract they want. When the room is empty, we are able to use that room as a hotel.”

In Glasgow, The Social Hub allocates 254 four-star rooms to students and 244 to hotel guests. But that model is fluid and one that adapts in response to demand.

With an enviable brand whose trademark speaks contemporary design and versatility, Charlie said: “I wanted to use design in a positive way.

“Downstairs there are record players and a high level of design.

“When you trust your customer, you get trust back.”

From turntables to table tennis, its fun, contemporary spaces includes bars and restaurants, function rooms, a laundry and a gym, meaning The Social Hub ticks all the boxes as a go-to leisure destination for students, local residents, business travellers and tourists alike.

Yet, the ace the brand has up its sleeve is its individualistic offering to those who seek it out as a workspace.

It sees young professionals, business start-ups and large organisations using its desks, its rooms and its pods – from a freelancer who is writing a proposal, to boardroom brain-storming and team-building sessions.

It’s a catalyst for opportunity that allows students and young professionals to co-work alongside established, expanding enterprises who can use The Social Hub as a talent pool from which to draw the next generation of business leaders.

Although it is predominantly a co-working environment, there’s privacy to take or make a confidential call in its quirky American movie-style phone booths, whose folding doors ignite an ‘On Air’ sign when in use.

Delegates can enjoy coffee and snacks in The Social Hub’s open-plan lounge and break-out area, or socialise and network with colleagues and other users of the community space over an early evening beer.

Glasgow’s newest asset also boasts a 200-seat auditorium which can be used for a lecture, a presentation by a local business, and even as a cinema serving popcorn and hot dogs.

Alternatively, true to its commitment to versatility, its seating can be folded against a wall to reveal a badminton court beneath.

Continued Charlie: “As a hotel customer, you come in here and you instantly think this is different from a normal hotel.

“There is something magic going on here.

“You can work during the day and, at night, it feels like an extension of your living room.

“We are very good at bringing people together in a safe space there they are allowed to be themselves.

“What I am really excited about is watching the different communities coming together.”

He is leader who takes great pride in the diversity of The Social Hub’s newest team, with an eclectic mix of Glaswegians and ‘new Scots’ whose synergy reflects the city’s mantra, ‘People Make Glasgow.’

The Social Hub team includes ‘connectors’ – employees whose role is to find out where customers are coming from, their next destination, and the people and places they’d like to experience in between.

It is, says Charlie, designed to reach out to the local community and extend a welcome to everyone.

Explaining why he and his team selected Glasgow as the city of choice for the unveiling of the brand in the UK, he said: “What we look for in a city is a good start-up community.

“Glasgow is one of the leaders. It is head and shoulders as the most creative city in the country.”

Engaging conversations can be enjoyed in Glasgow, he says – a city with strong design credentials.

“Glasgow City Council have been outstanding,” enthuses Charlie, whose business from the outset formed a partnership with the city’s universities.

“With the council, I had one of the best meetings of my career.

“They bought into the concept and the company.

“They saw how we would help attract the next generation of talent – and retain it.

“And they helped us through the planning process. Hats off to them.”

He added: “We are an expanding company. We go where the doors are open, not to where they are closed.”

Charlie, 48, is a man who is firmly focused, steering from the front to build one team, one community and one global brand, while exploring new territories and changing the landscape of the community-based hospitality concept that is his brainchild.

Find out more at https://www.thesocialhub.co/glasgow/

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