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With easily more than eight figures worth of
‘toys’ on the premises at any one time, needless
to say, security is tight. Kogan smiles, “I could
tell you more about that but…actually I can’t tell
you.” Safe to say, no expense has been spared in
securing the property and your property.
OTTO looked to another star of the hospitality
world, the uber-exclusive Soho House for
inspiration on its membership plan. Not
surprisingly, OTTO is fast approaching the cap
it placed on membership even before opening.
“While we could easily accommodate more
people, we would never risk having a member
feel like they aren’t receiving the highest level
of service, which means they should never wait
more than a few seconds for anything. If you call
yourself ‘exclusive’ you better walk the walk,”
Kogan states. “It’s easy to say you want to be
an entrepreneur and not have a boss. Well,
I have lots of bosses, my members. If I don’t
make my members happy, I’m not much of an
entrepreneur.”
Kogan and his team toured the finest automotive
storage facilities in the world to analyze what they
were doing well and where there was room for
some fine-tuning. “We have engineered every
detail of this enterprise to provide convenience
to our members. Consumers of my generation,
and really all ages, crave convenience more
than anything.” For example, in anticipation that
some members would be coming straight from
Scottsdale Airpark, OTTO provides showers and
lockers so members don’t even have to stop at
home if they are on their way to an important
meeting or perhaps a hot date.
Kogan grew up on the west side of Los Angeles
where his family operated a successful commercial
real estate business. After a stint working for Vail
Resorts, Kogan was looking for a way to combine
his interest in hospitality with his lifelong passion
for the finest motorcycles and cars on the planet –
and so OTTO was born. The name is a tribute to
Nikolaus August Otto, the father of the gasolinefueled
combustion engine.