NATIONAL REPORT— One of the results of the booming hotel industry has been the bevy of new brand announcements. While some are beginning to officially open, others are poised to make their debut over the next couple of years. InterContinental Hotels Group’s Hotel Indigo is one brand that is already off and running. The brand recently opened its fourth property, the Hotel Indigo Houston, in late June and has plans to open five additional properties in Dallas; Sarasota, FL; Knoxville, TN; Scottsdale, AZ and Ottawa, Canada by the end of the year. Additionally, Hotel Indigo has another 11 deals “in the license/execution stage,” according to Jim Anhut, senior vp, brand development, IHG. “Those are all scheduled to open in late 2007 or early 2008…and five or six of them will be new builds,” he said, adding the Sarasota property set to open this year will be Hotel Indigo’s first new build hotel. “Hotel Indigo was launched as a conversion brand, but we’ve always contemplated a new build product [as well]. Now that’s becoming a reality.” With plans to open up a second Hotel Indigo in Atlanta and expand out to the Midwest and West Coast in the coming years, Anhut reported, “we feel good about the progress we’ve made.” He said the company has spent the last year refining the brand concept and focusing on creating a unique physical and emotional experience for guests. After a very strong response following the April opening of its flagship property, the James Chicago, James Hotels, Inc. is moving forward with plans to create a new luxury brand. “It’s really outperformed all of our expectations,” said Brad Wilson, COO, James Hotels, Inc., and added the company is using the property to establish a “strong brand training program.” Zeroing In On Key Markets Wilson reported the company already has two solid deals for future James Hotels. One is in New York, which will be a renovation of a 1920’s building is slated for opening in 2007 and a new build property in Los Angeles that is scheduled for completion in 2008 or early 2009. The company is also in discussions for a fourth property in Miami. “The plan is [eventually]for about 10 properties in major cities like Boston; San Francisco; Washington, DC and London,” he said, adding that he expects future properties to be a mix of new builds and conversions. “We’re committed to finding perfect locations so we have to have the ability to redo existing, under-utilized buildings.” Also building off its flagship property is Hilton’s newly announced Waldorf=Astoria brand. Having recently announced plans for a new build property in Orlando, the hotel will contain elements of the brand’s famed New York hotel. According to David Greydanus, senior vp, brand management, Waldorf=Astoria Collection, construction for the Waldorf=Astoria at Bonnet Creek should take approximately 24 months, putting the hotel on pace for a summer 2009 opening. While the brand has no target number of properties for its portfolio, future possible locations for Waldorf=Astoria properties include major U.S. gateway and resort cities as well as locations in Asia such as Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and a few possible locations in the Middle East. Although the Waldorf=Astoria brand will be primarily new builds, the also recently announced Waldorf=Astoria Collection will be targeted to conversions. “They will also be very luxurious, but have a broader range in terms of size and will vary in look and feel,” explained Greydanus. While the collection currently contains three properties, he noted there has been “lots of interest in both the brand and the collection…the Waldorf=Astoria name is a great untapped icon. It’s been around for over 100 years, but there’s only been one hotel.” Another luxury brand in the works is Solís Hotels & Resorts. Part of veteran Horst Schulze’s West Paces Hotels Group, the brand’s flagship property, the Solís Chicago is on schedule to open this fall. “Things are going very well, the product looks fantastic,” said Kit Pappas, vp, sales. “We should be ready toward the beginning of October.” On the heels of the Chicago property is the Solís Resort, Spa & Residences in Sunny Isles, FL. Already under construction, the new build property will be opening in the first half of 2008. Pappas noted both properties will contain a residential component. The company is looking to major cities and resort markets for future properties. Solís has plans to rebrand the Ocean Branch Hotel in Long Branch, NJ and also open a property in Frankfurt, Germany. Both are scheduled to come on line in late 2008 or early 2009. “We’re a young brand and there’s lots of opportunity out there so we’re looking aggressively and we’re very optimistic,” said Pappas. Having recently celebrated the grand opening of the first Hyatt Place in Lombard, IL, Jim Abrahamson, senior vp, Hyatt Corp. is pleased to report the select-service brand is “actually ahead of schedule in terms of product roll out. We have over 30 applications approved and the plan was to have 50 by the end of the year, so we’re well on our way.” Three more Hyatt Places are also scheduled to open this month— two in Atlanta and one in Scottsdale, AZ. While the majority of the first Hyatt Place properties will be converted AmeriSuites, Abrahamson is expecting the first new-build properties to be ready in late 2007/early 2008.“When we complete the renovations, we’ll eventually have 130 hotels renovated. With our development pipeline, we expect to have 50 this year and then hopefully 75 to 80 per year in subsequent years to reach 500 hotels over the next five years,” he said, noting the brand has “about 75 projects under analysis right now and we’re seeing interest in all corners of the U.S.” Also eagerly anticipating the debut of its select-service brand is Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. With a reported 100 deals for its aloft brand in the works, 35 applications have already been secured in markets such as Chicago; Boston; Washington, DC; Charlotte, NC; Baltimore; Minneapolis; Tempe, AZ; Mount Laurel, NJ; Chantilly, VA and Lincolnshire, IL. “We have started to execute several deals and we expect developers to begin breaking ground as soon as possible— as early as fall 2006,” said Paul Sacco, vp development, Starwood Real Estate Group. The first aloft properties are scheduled to open in 2008 and will be corporate owned. Of the five Starwood-owned properties— located in Tucson, AZ; San Francisco, Philadelphia, Lexington, MA and Cherry Creek, CO— Sacco noted “some of these sites may include plans for our Project Extended Stay by Westin in a campus situation with aloft, such as our development in Lexington, MA.” Starwood has already received seven applications for its Project Extended Stay by Westin brand. Although ground has yet to be broken on any aloft property, he reported, “the feedback we have been receiving from developers and architects who are in the development and planning phases has been terrific.” Starwood aims to have more than 500 aloft properties by 2015. Planning Ahead Yet another entry into the select- service arena, Choice’s Cambria Suites brand is scheduled to open the doors of its first property by the end of the year. After recently holding its topping off ceremony, the Cambria Suites in Boise, ID is getting ready for a December opening, according to Paul Edmondson, vp, brand management and strategy, Cambria Suites. Edmondson reported the brand’s pipeline is full well into 2007. A Cambria Suites in Green Bay, WI is scheduled to open in April of that year, while properties in Akron/ Canton, OH and Savannah, GA are looking at June 2007 openings. “We should have quite a few ground breakings in 2007,” he said, adding the brand expects to have 11 properties by the end of 2007 and an additional 16 in 2008. Edmondson noted that expanding internationally is also in Cambria’s future. “We’re going to do it the right way. We’ll start with the U.S. and Canada and then consider expanding into Mexico.” Although the brand was designed to be mostly new builds, Edmondson said it isn’t ruling out conversions, particularly in high-barriers-to-entry markets. “We plan to be all new builds, except if we found a good adaptive reuse opportunity in a major city like New York or Chicago,” he said.
