Here’s a look at the latest developments with the chains’ boutique/lifestyle brands.
Hyatt: Andaz Each property offers a “kaleidoscope” of local culture, food, drink, art, and design, as well as a collection five meeting studios surrounding a central dining area where chefs can do interactive presentations. There are five hotels currently openi, two in NYC and one in London, San Diego, and West Hollywood. Othersare under development in Amsterdam; Delhi; Papagayo, Costa Rica; Sanya, China; Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands; and Wailea-Makena, Hawaii.
InterContinental: Indigo Since opening its first property in Atlanta seven years ago, the brand’s lightening-pace growth has resulted in 38 hotels, with 62 more in the pipeline. Indigo properties are typically in urban neighborhood settings but in the pipeline is a resort in Phuket, Thailand, slated to open in 2014. A 93-room property recently opened in Baton Rouge, Miss.
Kimpton Hotels The pioneering operator of 51 boutique hotels across U.S. has announced plans to add 10 properties in New York City in next decade. Recently, Kimpton opened 10 properties including ones in Minneapolis, Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Atlanta, and Miami. The 250-room Palomar Phoenix in the city’s downtown area will open in 2012. (Monaco and Palomar are brand names within the portfolio.) Last year, Kimpton acquired Philadelphia’s historic Lafayette Building and plans to convert it into a 271-room hotel across from Independence Hall.
Marriott: Edition Edition properties are planned for Barcelona, Mexico City, South Beach, Bangkok, and London. The 353-room Waikiki Edition opened last year, and February saw the opening of the 15-story Istanbul Edition with 78 oversized guest rooms in heart of the city.
Starwood: W Hotels, Aloft, Element Trendsetting W Hotels is Starwood’s design-led, “contemporary” lifestyle brand, now with 37 hotels and retreats around the world, with plans to open properties in downtown New York, London, Paris, St. Petersburg, and China’s Guangzhou and Shanghai, among other international destinations. W Retreat & Spa Bali opened in March 2011, the fourth W Retreat to open. Aiming for a W experience at a “better price point, Aloft is Starwood’s limited-service lifestyle brand, pitched to young, tech-savvy travelers and usually located in hip urban areas. There are now 50 Aloft hotels, with 30 more in the global pipeline. Scheduled openings include an Aloft in downtown Miami in December 2011 and one in Oklahoma City’s trendy Bricktown in 2013. Launched in 2006, Element is Starwood’s first brand conceived from the ground up to be environmentally friendly. The first Element hotel opened in Lexington, Mass., in 2008, followed by six more, with hotels debuting this year in New York City and in Omaha, Nebraska.
Wyndham” TRYP Wyndham Hotel Group acquired the select-service, mid-priced brand from Spanish hotel company Sol Meliá Hotels & Resorts. The franchise-based brand opens its first Tryp in North America in April, a 173-room property near Times Square in New York City.
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