Robert Woolley, who in 1969 created the first all-suite hotel with his Granada Royale chain that eventually became Embassy Suites, announced the new brand Woolley’s Classic Suites earlier this week.
Construction has begun on the brand’s first hotel, a 187-room property near Denver International Airport in Aurora, Colorado. The hotel will be owned and operated by WSC Hotels, Dallas, which Robert Woolley is president and CEO of.
To find out more about the brand’s first hotel as well as its future plans, HOTELS spoke with his son Robert Woolley II, executive vice president of WSC Hotels and Alex Merson, WSC Hotels CFO.
HOTELS: What will make Woolley’s Classic Suites unique from the other all-suites brand that have proliferated?
Robert Woolley II: In our concept and in our development plans, we include unparalleled customer service, guest amenities and a unique ambience.
Alex Merson: Embassy Suites, they have gone more downscale and we are trying to catch a more upscale segment. Our large format suite at 1,268 sq ft (117 sq m) is one of the largest in the segment.
HOTELS: Who will the primary customer at this hotel be?
Woolley: We have basically a good business traveler base in our marketplace with a great variance of age group and ethnicity.
There are lots of people coming in here from around the country. There is lot of local manufacturing and oil and gas in the immediate vicinity and a large hospital just a small distance down the road. Also for group business there are school athletic teams coming through for sports events.
HOTELS: What will the opening rate be at the Denver property? What is projected occupancy and RevPAR?
Merson: We’re seeing 70% to 75% occupancies in Denver in the Denver International Airport submarket we will be operating in. It has been very consistent in the last couple years
However, the rates in our market are all over the place. We’re going to be opening in a year, so we’ll see what the prevailing rate is but we’ll be at the higher end of the market.
HOTELS: What food and beverage options are going to be offered at the first hotel and will these be brand standard?
Woolley: We are going to offer a full-service restaurant available for the guest. It will do a complimentary breakfast and happy hour as well as room service and late night snacking. That will be standard throughout the brand.
HOTELS: What cuisine will it be?
Woolley: It will offer a basic menu featuring simple but organic, fresh ingredients used in freshly prepared meals. We’re not looking at offering frozen items. We want to give them a good experience with a basic menu that services a broad spectrum.
Merson: We don’t want to offer 30 items on a menu.
HOTELS: Which markets is the brand looking at to expand?
Merson: We are currently focusing on our first hotel, but we are also looking in the Midwest, South and Western regions of the U.S., including additional locations in Denver as well as Dallas, Seattle, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Austin, Texas. Cities with good business travel fundamentals.
HOTELS: What will be the typical ownership/management structure of Woolley’s Classic Suites hotels?
Woolley: All our properties moving forward will be owned and operated.