Above: Nagel is an award-winning Realtor with Las Vegas Sotheby’s International Realty. Due to her global experiences, she can literally sell you a home internationally. Photo by Charles Henry
Alliteration: Living the Las Vegas Life
BY BRIAN G. THORNTON
Alliteration for an apprentice linguist is a tongue twister’s tournament. As I sat down with local lifestyle lover Claire Nagel, clarity and clues abounded regarding her lifelong leaps. I had known about her through mutual design professionals, but this assignment allowed me to take a longer look at the lady. At 57, this tall active redhead captures your attention no matter where she arrives. A native Brit, Claire is the person everyone wants to know or asks, “Who’s that?” As we take a few longitudinal and latitudinal leaps, you may want to pop a bottle of your favorite bubbly or, better still, put the kettle on and read along. I was so fascinated with her ease of conversation that interviewing her for a story was impromptu. There has been a lot of living and loving, so let’s begin with location.
LONDON LIFE
Claire’s story begins in Romford, East London, in the mid-60s. Romford is a part of Greater London. Today, it is one of the largest commercial, retail, entertainment, and leisure districts in London and has a well-developed night-time economy.
What a vibrant time to grow up in the UK. Digital newsletter historyhit.com describes it as a “decade of change in Britain. Shifts in law, politics, and media reflected a new individualism and growing appetite to live in a more liberal ‘permissive society.’ People began to stand up for their rights, both civil and at work, and express themselves in new ways.”
It was no wonder she worked retail in the beginning. Nagel responded, “My first job was a management training course at a department store called Debenhams, and I also bartended to make extra money.” At some point, many creatives discovered that ‘extra special gift.’ In her case, she had an interest in people and personalities. That naturally led to nightlife management in hospitality, design, and luxury. “I knew early on I was a people person and began work in the cashier’s office for a department store as my first job following school. It was doing accounting in a room with four walls and three other people. I had to get out … it was the most boring job I ever had.”
“I worked for Peter Stringfellow at the Hippodrome Nightclub in Leicester Square, a celebrity hot spot and live music venue,” Nagel recalls. “I loved the interaction with so many people; no two days/nights were the same.”
For the unsuspecting, Stringfellow was creating his world-class celebrity-laden venues in London. Around that same time, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager were likewise earning global reputations with their Studio 54 in New York. Nagel would later go on to work with Ian Schrager in LA.
“I also worked at The Village Bars and ran a regular night at the Limelight, a chain of significant and infamous discotheques with a sister club in NY. So much fun! After work, we would go dancing at Trade, Ministry of Sound, and Heaven, to name a few. I worked hard and played hard; it was a great time to be in London. I worked in nightclubs and bars in London from 1985 to 1993. It was an amazing time in my life.” Even with all the activity in London, she was ready for something more. The move to America in 1996 was inevitable by way of three years in Spain. “Though Spain is still my retirement plan. I love it so much. It is laid back and easy going with great food and music.”
It’s people like Claire that unabashedly drop in from global travel and make us appreciate even more just how very special a place we call home can be. Photo by Charles Henry
THE LONG LEAP
Claire Nagel lived in several countries and states before landing in Las Vegas. “So, I have been coming to America for holidays, etc., for a long time before I decided to move. My mother lived in Germany, Utah, Texas, Louisiana, and Southern California.” Later, as her stepfather fell ill, Claire chose to leave the east coast and go to LA to be nearer to her mum. Following his passing, her mother retired to Las Vegas, and that was when Claire relocated to Nevada in 2005.
“So that’s how I ended up here. I have always been a traveler, from early on in Europe to visiting Mum in the USA. My stepfather being sick was just another reason for me to be closer to my mum after so many years living across the world from each other.” After Miami and New York, Nagel made it to the west coast. “I loved working with Ian Schrager: he was just such a hotel visionary, and working at The Mondrian in LA, we got to host the Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and Entertainment Tonight after parties, and they were star-studded events. It was amazing to be up close and personal with so many celebrities.”
She further offered, “I was actually star struck a couple of times from helping Mickey Rooney and his wife into the hotel for a charity event, to showing Stevie Wonder and his wife to their table in the restaurant to helping Paris Hilton get away from the paparazzi outside through the employee exit under the hotel. It was a blast working there and also very demanding – these people expected the best in service and experience. You learned to be very organized and on your A-game at all times.”
Love it or leave it, Las Vegas can be a playground or a polarizing place, “I love it and even appreciated my own country’s history much more after living in America.” Photo by Charles Henry
LAS VEGAS LIFESTYLE LODGING LOYALTY LUXURY
Love it or leave it, Las Vegas can be a playground or a polarizing place. With her life experiences steeped in European nightlife and hospitality, it was inevitable that Nagel would find a happy place in Nevada.
“I really loved to be able to turn an upset customer into a loyal customer, and that was what started me enjoying dealing with challenging guests. The people that had something bad happen during the stay—we messed up the reservation, the room type was not available, they did not like their view, or they were checked into a dirty room. The recovery was so important, how we dealt with fixing the mistake and changed a bad stay into an amazing one; ‘recovery guests’ were the ones who became the best loyal customers, and some followed me from hotel to hotel just proving that service is more important to people than we realize.”
“I love it and even appreciated my own country’s history much more after living in America. I adored the queen and remember as a child my grandparents taking me on the tube to St James Park to feed the ducks and sitting on the side of the street for hours (with sandwiches and a flask of tea) just to wait for a glimpse of the queen or other members of the royal family to go past in their coaches. I would wave my flag and feel so excited to have seen her. It was so much fun.”
LINKING LEGACIES
Claire is an award-winning Realtor with Las Vegas Sotheby’s International Realty. Due to her global experiences, she can literally sell you a home internationally. When asked how she knew luxury real estate was her calling, she began: “In 2015, my mum passed when I hit 50 years old, and I wanted a better work-life balance. I did not know what that looked like at the time, but I knew it would no longer be in hotels. I quit my job that I loved at the Cosmopolitan without having a job to go to.”
Nagel knew it was time to leg it and needed further excitement. “Some jobs I just outgrew. When you’re not learning anymore, some jobs become mundane, and that’s another reason to move on. I always want to love going to work and be evolving, growing, learning.”
“I took three months off and traveled to Bali, India, and London before deciding to get my real estate license. My broker Tom (who is still my broker), said, ‘Why don’t you get your real estate license until you figure out what’s next for you?’ So, I did, and I have no regrets and am so glad I have found another career that I love.”
Her background in hospitality saw a significant crossover from making that leap into selling high-end real estate. Claire Nagel was recently named in Sotheby’s Top 25 Agents in the first two quarters of 2022 for her efforts. “Instead of making sure a guest has the best stay and returns, I handhold clients through the biggest purchase/sale of their lives, and I have learned that people fear the unknown, so for new or first home buyers, I educate them about the whole process prior to ever looking at homes. I show them every paper they will sign and share timelines, so they know exactly what to expect. No surprises, but of course, as in life, things can always go wrong. As in hospitality, it’s how you handle it. Always be positive and calm, and don’t show stress because if you act stressed, the clients will be too.”
On summer holiday, Claire strolls along London’s renowned Regent Street amidst the commemorative flags for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee Year.
BONNE VIVANTE
“I love what I do, and I love Vegas. I’m really happy here, but yes, there will be something next, and when that time comes, I will embrace it.” We spoke about off time from real estate: travel, yoga, food, and dining. “Some of my favorite spots to eat are (best-kept secrets) La Strega, Harlo Steakhouse & Bar, DW Bistro, Anima by Edo, Vintner’s Grill, Locale, an Italian restaurant in Enterprise. Finally, I plan to retire to Spain to be closer to the family.”
Alliteration may have been a convenient trope telling this story about our bonne Vivante. Her story is about LOCATION, LONDON, LIBATIONS, LEAPS, AND LIFESTYLE. Ultimately, it’s about LOYALTY, LEARNING, LOVING, LIVING, LUXURY, and LAS VEGAS.
Claire enjoys the good things in life. Always seemingly upbeat and an ambassador for our desert Sin City, she is one of a kind. Completing the circle, she has generously volunteered for local entities like Las Vegas Rescue Mission and Opportunity Village by supporting their local events. Often, we live in our collective bubbles—even more so now following the global pandemic—and we tend to isolate and insulate. It’s not only the legacy locals that know this town, but its people like Claire who unabashedly drop in from global travel and make us appreciate even more just how extraordinary a place we call home. Whether you’re passing through for a weekend, a month, or a few years, there is much to learn from this trans-Atlantic transplant.
Nagel in the historic Alfama District in Lisbon, Portugal.