Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ll be well versed with Soho House. The iconic members club started life in 1995 above a small restaurant in Soho, and has grown into a global brand, with houses across the world. I had a Soho Friends membership for a year before upgrading to a full Soho House membership. So I’ve got first-hand knowledge of the application process, and what can improve your chances of getting accepted. In this article I share my 5 top Soho House application tips, to get you one step closer to being a member.
The first thing to think about when applying for Soho House is which membership you’ll apply for. I have a full guide where I go into more detail on the benefits of each membership and my thoughts on them, but here’s a brief overview.
This is the original Soho House membership. When applying, you’ll need to choose between Every House membership – giving you access to all Soho Houses around the world, or Local House – where you’ll only have access to one Soho House, usually where you live.
If you live somewhere without a Soho House, you can still get a membership to join a creative community and get access to the houses when you travel.
In 2020, Soho House launched their Soho Friends membership. It’s only £100 a year and allows you to stay at any of the houses, but you won’t be able to visit if you aren’t spending the night.
If your membership is accepted before your 27th birthday, you’ll pay a reduced rate, as well as additional discounts.
Soho Works is a co-working space separate to the houses. You can rent a desk, or a whole office space if you have a team.
The application process for Soho House takes around 15 minutes to complete. It’s pretty much the same process for Soho House and Soho Friends, but you apply to them through separate links.
Fill in some personal details including your name and email address to create an account. 
Next you’ll need to give a bit more information including your address and date of birth, as well as selecting the location of your main house. This is usually the one you live closest to. If you’re applying to a Soho House membership, you have access to all houses around the world, except Little Beach House Malibu which requires a separate membership.
If you’re applying to a Local House membership, you only have access to the house you select here. 
Choose the membership type you’d like – Every House or Local House. At this point you’ll also choose how you’d like to pay – monthly or annually. The price remains the same no matter how you pay. 
You’ll then be asked to select what you do for work from a drop down list, and asked to upload a head shot.
This is probably the most important part of the application as you’ll be asked to share some information about your hobbies, interests and passions, as well as explaining why you want to be a member. You’ll also be asked for social media handles, and if you know any existing members. You can select no if you don’t know anyone that’s already a Soho House member. 
You can skip this if you don’t want to answer.
Accept terms
The Soho Friends application process is pretty identical to the Soho House one, except you aren’t asked as many questions about why you want to apply (see below).
The biggest piece of advice I’d give anyone before applying to Soho House is to really consider how much use you’ll get from it.
It’s not cheap, and once you’re accepted you’re tied into a contract for a year. So you’ll want to make sure it’s going to be a worthwhile investment.
To make this decision, I’d suggest asking yourself these questions:
When I first got my membership I lived in London, where there’s 11 houses. I now live in Barcelona, where there’s 2.
I visit the houses regularly, and I love having the ability to pop in for a drink, or a swim if the sun’s shining.
Obviously, living near a house means you’ll get a lot more use from your membership. If you’re just buying it so you can occasionally go to Soho Farmhouse, it might not be worth the money.
If you travel regularly and want to stay in the hotels a lot, the membership might come in handy.
If you’re already paying for a gym, Soho House is a worthwhile investment, as they have state of the art gyms you can visit as much as you like.
You can put the money you would be putting towards your normal gym membership towards Soho House instead.
Soho House has a jam-packed calendar of events, featuring some of the best chefs, musicians, artists and creators. If you’re going to attend them regularly, you’ll get a lot from the membership.
You’ll find it a lot easier to answer the questions in the application process if you’re clear on your reasons for joining.
This isn’t essential, but it’ll definitely help your application if you already know someone that’s a member at Soho House. Ideally, you’d know a couple of people.
They’ll be told that you’re applying and be asked to confirm that they know you, so give them the heads up!
I know this sounds like a corny tip, but honestly don’t overthink the answers you give. You don’t need to write essays with all the reasons why you should be accepted, keep it short and sweet and reflective of your personality.
I didn’t write more than 3 lines because I hate writing about myself and I still got accepted. Don’t stress.
That being said, don’t go too far the other way and say something like “I want to be a member so I can drink cocktails on the roof”. That might be true, but it’s probably not what you want to say on your application.
Instead, think about parts of Soho House that really interest you, like networking with other members, learning a new skill or exploring new places.
You’ll be asked to provide your social media handles as part of the application process, so you’ll want to make sure you’ve double checked what’s on there before you click submit.
In the weeks before you apply, think about what you can post that shows the best version of you, and aligns with the hobbies and interests you called out in your application.
If you run any other social media accounts alongside your personal one, add them in too. For example, I linked my instagram, to showcase my passion for travel and good hotels.
I don’t know if this is a hard and fast rule, but I have a hunch that my application got approved much quicker because I’m in Barcelona, where they probably don’t get as many applications.
In London however, where there’s over 10 houses, and considerably more people, I imagine the waiting list is much longer.
If you live outside London, this might work to your advantage.
Soho House requires members to come from a creative background, and typically won’t accept people that work outside of this field. It can help your application if you can demonstrate what you’ll bring to the community – maybe passion, a hobby or a skill.
The Soho House website states that the membership committee meets quarterly, so the waiting list for Soho House should be about 3 months. My application was approved much quicker than this, so I don’t think that’s a hard and fast rule.
It can make it easier to get into Soho House if you know people who. already members. You’ll be asked to provide their details when you apply and they’ll need to verify that they know you. It’s a good signal to Soho House that you’re trustworthy.
It’s not difficult to get into Soho House providing you work in the creative industry and can demonstrate authentically why you want to join. They look for people who can bring something to the community and value interesting hobbies and passions.
I hope you found my Soho House application tips helpful. Good luck!
Hi, I'm Jess, the founder of Where Jess Travels. After studying Psychology at University, I pursued a career in Marketing for 7 years, whilst taking as many trips as my annual leave would allow. I now work full time on my blog, sharing destination guides and hotel reviews.
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