Chris Southwick, General Manager, The Tampa EDITION

August 2026 —Invest: sat down with Chris Southwick, general manager of The Tampa EDITION, to discuss how the hotel is shaping Tampa’s emergence as a luxury destination and what it takes to deliver memorable experiences in a fast-evolving market. “Experiences can be purchased, but memories are earned through personalization and relationships,” Southwick said.

Over the past year, what developments have had the greatest impact on The Tampa EDITION and its role in the market?

We are now in our third year of operation, and that has brought a real sense of stability in both our service and our product. Any opening comes with bumps in the road, but we have reached a point where we feel confident in the consistency of our promise and how we deliver it to guests.

At the same time, the hotel continues to contribute to Tampa’s transformation into a destination for luxury and lifestyle experiences. Tampa was not historically viewed that way. The arrival of a global brand like EDITION signals that the city is increasingly on the radar of high-end travelers and locals.

A big part of our work has been educating the broader market, especially international travelers, about what Tampa has to offer. When we first went to events like ILTM in Cannes, I often had to show people on a map where Tampa is. Today, with new international lift and growing awareness, we are seeing much stronger demand from Eastern Canada, the UK, South America, and Mexico, and we are still just getting started.

How are you elevating the hotel’s visibility and educating guests about both the destination and the EDITION brand?

A lot of people know the big legacy luxury brands. I spent more than two decades with Ritz-Carlton, and you did not have to explain what that meant. EDITION is still comparatively young as a global brand, even as it gains recognition and accolades. That means we have two education jobs: explaining Tampa as a destination and explaining EDITION as a luxury lifestyle brand.

Industry recognition helps – for example, being highlighted by outlets like Forbes as one of the most exciting hotel brands in the world – but there is still more work to do with consumers. We focus on telling a clear story about what sets EDITION apart, from the design and ambiance to our approach to service, and then tying that to Tampa’s strengths as a city.

New direct flights from key international markets make that story even more compelling. As accessibility improves, we can get in front of more partners and travelers abroad and position Tampa not as an alternative to Miami or Orlando, but as its own sophisticated destination anchored by properties like The Tampa EDITION.

In such a competitive environment for talent, how are you attracting, retaining, and developing your team?

Talent is one of the most important success factors in luxury hospitality, and it has been a real focus for us from the beginning. When we opened, there were no other true luxury brands in the Tampa market, which meant we could not simply recruit from an existing pool of people who already understood this level of service. We were educating the market, educating our future team members, and building a culture from scratch.

That required us to rethink traditional recruitment tactics. The days of hosting a job fair at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday and hoping great bartenders show up for cookies in a ballroom are over. The kind of first-class mixologist or service professional we want is likely working late and sleeping in, so we meet them where they are. We host evening mixers in third-party venues, bring in DJs and create events that feel more like the environments where our ideal candidates already spend time. Social media plays a growing role in that outreach.

Once people join us, development is about aligning them with the brand’s ethos, helping them understand what luxury means in an EDITION context, and giving them the tools to personalize experiences in a way that feels authentic rather than scripted.

What shifts are you seeing in how guests define luxury, and how is The Tampa EDITION responding?

Across the industry, guests are less focused on traditional markers of luxury alone and more focused on the total experience. High-end travelers have a basic expectation that the fundamentals will be there – the quality of the linens, the finishes, the technology. That is the baseline. The real differentiation comes from how you make them feel and the memories you help create.

At EDITION, the entire arrival sequence is designed to be experiential. When you walk in, the first thing you notice is not a row of front-desk stations. Instead, your senses are engaged by the La Labo scent, the art on the walls, the greenery, and the energy in the space. Only after that do you encounter the traditional check-in functions. We always say EDITION is a new, unique, original experience that stimulates the senses and creates everlasting memories.

Experiences can be purchased, but memories are earned through personalization and relationships. For example, thanks to our local partnerships we can arrange a visit to the smallest, oldest cigar factory in Ybor City with the third-generation owner as your guide. You can book a generic factory tour anywhere, but that kind of access and storytelling is what stays with guests long after they leave.

What are the main operational and market pressures you are navigating, and what opportunities come with them?

The biggest challenge is to keep evolving without losing who we are as a brand. We talk a lot internally about being timeless rather than trendy. Our guests range from their mid-20s to their 50s and beyond, and they all consume experiences differently. Our job is to stay relevant for that entire spectrum while remaining true to our core identity.

In practice, that means constantly refreshing our food and beverage concepts, programming, and experiences so that returning guests encounter familiar touchpoints presented in new ways. We will revisit menus, relaunch offerings, or rethink how a space is used, always with an eye toward creating those “aha” moments on every stay.

At the same time, we avoid diluting the brand by trying to be everything to everyone. I often tell our team that not every restaurant needs to put a Caesar salad on the menu just because someone asked for it. Iconic brands are unapologetic about who they are. For The Tampa EDITION, the opportunity lies in embracing that clarity while staying agile enough to respond to shifts in guest preferences and the broader market.

How are you engaging with the Water Street district and the broader Tampa community to support local growth?

The Tampa EDITION has woven itself into Tampa’s social and cultural fabric, and that local embrace is essential to our success. With 172 rooms and seven food and beverage outlets, we rely heavily on local patronage. At the same time, we see ourselves as part of a broader effort to reposition Tampa in the global mindset.

I serve on several local boards, and we work closely with partners like Visit Tampa Bay and our ownership group, Strategic Property Partners, to market the destination. Together, we travel to key markets, such as Mexico City and major European cities, to tell Tampa’s story, highlighting everything from our historic neighborhoods to our performing arts venues and waterfront assets.

Those collaborations, combined with developments across Water Street, are helping shift perceptions of Tampa from a quiet retirement market to a vibrant, sophisticated city. For us, success is not just a full hotel. It is a stronger destination that attracts visitors, investment and talent who might not have considered Tampa before.