Soho House is shutting its doors to new members in London, New York and Los Angeles, following complaints that its city centre clubs have become overcrowded.
In a letter to members, Nick Jones, the founder of Soho House, said he was working on “making sure our houses don’t feel too busy”.
He said: “For that reason, next year we’re closing the doors to new members across our houses in London, New York and Los Angeles, and will only be accepting members in locations where we have capacity.”
It follows criticism that Soho House has been accepting too many new members, prompting complaints that this has led to its clubs losing their exclusivity.
The private members’ club has recently been facing criticism that its properties have lost some of their exclusive sheen, after letting in too many new members.
Between October this year and last year, it took on 21% more members. By Oct 1, it had 184,542 Soho House members, a dramatic jump from almost 118,000 two years earlier.
Videos on TikTok and Instagram have mocked the crowds in some of the clubs.
Soho House has nine clubs in London, as well as three in New York and four in Los Angeles. In London, an annual membership costs £2,750, which includes access to all of its clubs around the world.
It had 42 locations as of Oct 1 across cities including Rome, Hong Kong and Mexico City. These clubs often include cafés, restaurants and communal areas, as well as cinemas and swimming pools.
The company also has other membership options including “Soho Friends” which does not give access to its clubs but allows members to book at its restaurants and get discounts on Soho House-owned products.
Jones, who stepped down from the day-to-day running of Soho House late last year after recovering from cancer, said he had been “spending a lot more time in our houses” after having the “space to focus more attention on the clubs themselves”.
Soho House last stopped accepting members during Covid as part of efforts to make sure people could socially distance once the clubs were allowed to reopen.
