If you want to fit in at a new elite private DC club, don't do this
Ned's Club, a members-only space for DC's highest achievers, opened in January 2025, just steps from the White House. While club management doesn't demand that the elite members adhere to a strict set of rules, it's not OK to have the space lit up by the glow of laptop screens.
Gareth Banner, group managing director at The Ned, told Business Insider that the DC club is "open-minded" about behavior and is a less stuffy, modernized take on the city's old-guard spots. Still, he said there's a basic set of behavioral expectations.
"There's a degree of education that's required," Banner said. "It's not about being the headmaster and reading out the rule book, it's about politely explaining. It's more about etiquette than it is about rules."
Members include politicians, celebrities, and private sector titans, all of whom shell out thousands to be let inside. A typical membership includes a $5,000 one-time joining fee and $5,000 annual fee, while an invite-only founding membership is $125,000 to join and $25,000 each year, as of July.
New members go through onboarding and adhere to certain rules, like not taking pictures, Banner said. Everyone gets a small sticker to put over their phone cameras, which he said is more to remind guests of the rule than members. Occasionally, he said, the guest policy itself poses an issue, since some members might try to bring more visitors than they're allowed.
Ned's Club doesn't have a dress code, which Banner said is a "conscious decision," but people are encouraged to dress well. The biggest mistake, he told BI, is misunderstanding what the club is for: having fun.
"We don't want people to join this club because they see it as 50% social, 50% WeWork. We're not WeWork," Banner said. "If you turn up with a headset and a laptop and think you're going to camp out here for the day, it won't take long before someone taps on the shoulder and explains that that's not really how we do things."
Some members will host occasional meetings in one of the four restaurants or answer a few emails in a designated space, but most people want to "let their hair down" and catch up with friends. And there's one move, Banner said, that definitely won't fly.
"Certainly, if you take your phone out and start making a call in a restaurant, that's going to end pretty quickly," he said.
Privacy is key and the motivation behind many of the rules, Banner said, since "the moment a members club doesn't feel private, you're no longer in business." The private club business is gaining popularity, and Ned's Club is itself a spin-off of Soho House. Its DC project has been in the works for five years, though it's not the only new addition to the city's collection of exclusive hangouts — a new, invite-only space for MAGA royalty opened earlier this year.
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