HOUSTON— When the Gustin Property Group and Driftwood Hospitality Management, LLC, open the third Hotel Indigo here next month, they’ll be taking a chance on InterContinental Hotels Group’s relatively untested new lifestyle boutique brand. But helping to quell any undue anxiety, Driftwood, for its part, has a substantial track record with IHG. Meanwhile, the Indigo is located in Houston’s thriving Galleria sub-market that also is home to a successful upper upscale InterContinental Hotel and a Staybridge Suites, IHG’s upscale extended stay brand.
The first Indigo opened last October and was followed this spring by a unit in Chicago. Intended as a conversion brand, these first two examples were conversions from existing hotels. One of the things that sets the 132-room Houston Indigo apart is that it’s the first one to be a conversion from another type of building. The building was a former assisted living facility called The Regency Park. “As soon as we toured the building, we had the sense it was set up perfectly for an Indigo,” said Steve Johnson, vp, real estate, for Driftwood. “The building had a residential feel, which was important. Plus the rooms were good size and the bathrooms were already fitted with walk-in showers,” he said.
Driftwood will manage the six-story Houston property under a franchise agreement and have a small equity position. Albuquerque, NM-based Gustin Property Group is the majority owner. The owners paid a reported $6.5 million for the property and are spending $3.5 million on renovations to bring it up to Indigo standards and incorporate the brand’s lifestyle boutique hotel standards.
Also in October, IHG is scheduled to open the fourth Hotel Indigo in the Chicago suburb of Palatine. The 190-room Chicago-Palatine Indigo will be owned and managed by the DCME Hotel Co., LLC. A fifth Hotel Indigo has been announced for Sarasota, FL.
According to Jim Anhut, IHG’s senior vp, brand development for the Americas, those brand standards include oversized lobby chairs, whitewashed wood furniture in guestrooms, plush bedding, hardwood floors, and spa-style showers. Complimentary wireless high-speed Internet access is another brand standard. It will be available in guestrooms as well as the public spaces.
“The design combined with the location and what we describe as ‘guest-centric’ service should create a superior hospitality experience,” Anhut said.
One unique feature brandwide is the approach to changing design tastes. Rather than wait for the next renovation cycle to make changes in the interiors as most brands do, Indigo makes adjustments on a regular basis through the year. “We see it as a way to keep the hotels fresh, similar to the way retailers change their window displays seasonally,” Anhut said.
Changing Out
Accordingly, guests at the Houston Indigo can expect things like the guestroom artwork, area rugs, duvets, and furniture slipcovers to change periodically.
Driftwood’s Johnson likes the Galleria section because of its mix of leisure and business travelers. “There’s a good corporate component, who maintain offices in nearby buildings, and good high-end retail and restaurant components. The offices attract a significant amount of business travelers, who book during the week. Then there are leisure travelers, drawn to the retail, on the weekends,” he said.
According to Johnson, Gustin and Driftwood are comfortable with the Indigo positioning. “It’s a profile no other hotel in the Galleria area is filling. The price point is right too,” Johnson said, describing the hotel at “the low, four-star level.”
With an eye to the business travel segment, the Houston Indigo will include more than 6,000-square feet of meeting space, which is more than either the Atlanta or Chicago hotels have. “We feel the nearby businesses will generate demand for smaller meeting venues,” he said.