NYC Hotels to Get Even Hotter
Hoteliers are clamoring to be in NYC, and it's no wonder why: The city enjoys 85% occupancy and demand 365 days a year, with 54 million tourists visiting in 2013 alone (no doubt stopping to take pictures in the middle of the sidewalk). Panelists discussed expansion plans at this week's Bisnow NYC Hotel Investment Summit.
Virgin Hotels will open its second hotel (500 keys) at 29th and Broadway (the other is coming to Chicago), and the company’s Allie Hope says a lifestyle brand can induce its own demand, so she can look for sites outside the core. (Who doesn’t want Richard Branson’s life? Well, maybe not Chuck Norris.) That’s why she’s looking in both Times Square and Brooklyn.
Matt Livian of The Sydell Group (of NoMad and Ace NY fame) says peak occupancy can happen right away in NYC, while it takes three years to ramp up elsewhere. His company is looking for a site to do a high-design hostel-like Freehold hotel (hostels aren’t legal in NYC) to follow up its Miami and Chicago versions.
Starwood Hotels’ Allison Reid says select-service and luxury will dominate ground-up development for a few years; full-service will await the return of group travel. For full coverage of the event, click here.
