THE LATEST OPENINGS, RENOVATIONS AND BRANDS
The hotel industry remains robust, with 191,832 new rooms under construction as of May. That represents a 16.4% increase compared with May 2016, according to research firm STR’s latest pipeline report.
Here’s a roundup of some notable openings, renovations and brand announcements:
TRU BY HILTON DEBUTS Hilton has opened the first of its new midscale brand. The debut of the first Tru by Hilton Oklahoma City Airport hotel marks another milestone. It is Hilton’s 5,000th hotel. Hilton now has 14 brands.
The McLean, Va., company has 425 signed deals to create new Tru hotels. Ten properties are slated to open this year and 75 next year.
Hilton says it is targeting a “value-conscious” customer. The price point will be in the $100 range, depending on the location and time of year. The Tru in Oklahoma City has a 2,880square-foot lobby with spaces for working or lounging. The front desk features a social media wall with real-time content. A 24/7 “eat. & sip.” market offers snacks and refreshments, single-serve wine and beer, and light-meal options and sundries.
A complimentary “Top It” breakfast bar has 30 options for sweet and savory dishes, including bagels, donuts, yogurt, granola, hard-boiled eggs and oatmeal.
Rooms have platform beds, 55inch TVs, 8-foot-wide windows and several outlets for powering devices. There is complimentary Wi-Fi, mobile check-in, room selection and digital key entry to rooms available through the Hilton Honors mobile app.
WYNDHAM’S NEW BRAND
Wyndham Hotel Group has announced it will start a new brand — its 19th. The Trademark Hotel Collection will include independent hotels in the upper-midscale-and-above category.
Hoteliers who operate threeto four-star properties will be allowed into the collection, provided they meet Wyndham’s standards. In return, the hotels will be able to leverage Wyndham’s scale, distribution systems and loyalty program.
Wyndham has a portfolio of 8,000 hotels worldwide. The hotel is working on 50 possible deals, including existing hotels and new builds.
SCHRAGER’S PUBLIC HOTEL Hotelier Ian Schrager, regarded as a pioneer of the boutique hotel concept, is trying another twist with his new PUBLIC hotel in New York City’s Lower East Side.
The 370-room hotel has all the hallmarks of a luxury hotel: a res- taurant helmed by a celebrity chef, three hip bars, a performance venue and a rooftop bar with views of the Empire State Building. Guests can have it all for as low as $150, a concept Schrager is calling “luxury for all.”
On the first floor is a boutique and LOUIS — part grocery, part luncheonette, part coffee shop and part market by Jean- Georges Vongerichten. Behind that is PUBLIC Kitchen, also by Vongerichten. The restaurant has a smoker, wood-burning oven and wood-burning grill.
A stainless steel escalator with yellow neon lighting leads to the second-floor lobby, where “advisors” help guests check in via iPads. Guests can either have key cards made or use their smartphones to unlock the room door.
Schrager, who co-founded the legendary Studio 54 nightclub, made sure there is no shortage of places to drink. There are three bars — Diego, The Roof and Lobby Bar. The Roof has 360-degree unobstructed views of the city. MUSEUM HOTEL IN NASHVILLE The 124-room 21c Museum Hotel Nashville has opened in the historic Gray & Dudley Hardware Co., built in 1900.
It is the seventh 21c Museum hotel in the USA. All the hotels feature rotating exhibitions, sitespecific installations and a roster of cultural programming curated by a museum director. The 21c Museum Hotel Nashville offers 10,500-square-feet of contemporary art exhibition space. It is open free to the public, and museum docents give free tours on Wednesday and Fridays at 5 p.m.
The rooftop floor has seven suites, including the 21c Suite overlooking the Cumberland River. It has more than 1,700 square feet of indoor and outdoor space.
JEFFERSON REVAMP FINISHED The Jefferson Hotel, a historic Richmond hotel built in 1895, has completed a three-phase reconstruction, and its new rooms are now even more spacious.
The Virginia property once had 262 rooms. Now it has 181, including 15 suites. Public spaces have also been re-done, including the restaurant and lounge, Lemaire. The century-old Rotunda ceiling has been restored.
The hotel is both a AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five Star award winner for 2017.