Marriott International, Bethesda, Maryland, made headlines this week with the Tuesday grand opening of the dual-branded 378-room Courtyard New York Manhattan/Central Park and 261-suite Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Central Park, stacked one on top of the other in a 68-story new-build developed and owned by G Holdings Corp., New York City.
The US$320 million hotel, which Marriott says is the tallest dedicated hotel building in North America, is managed by Interstate Hotels & Resorts, Arlington, Virginia. To find out more about how the hotel will operate and the challenges of opening during record cold temperatures, HOTELS spoke with the property’s general manager, Timothy McGlinchey.
HOTELS: Who will the primary customer of this hotel be?
Timothy McGlinchey: The Residence Inn customer will be both extended stay and project work from the business side, and will seasonally see a lot of leisure customers and we’re expecting to see a lot of interest in international travelers.
The Courtyard side is more business-oriented, but there will also be leisure during holiday and the summer season.
HOTELS: Do you anticipate much group business?
McGlinchey: We have found from other locations in New York tremendous amounts of corporate training during the summer months and the entertainment business is booming in New York, so a lot of business related to movie shoots and media, so there is a strong group base.
HOTELS: What advantage does the dual-branding give sales?
McGlinchey: You get the benefits of two reservation systems and two brand websites. The fact that you have two different brands to target two different types of customers has benefits and then facts that there are synergies within the hotel itself. The Courtyard customer has The Bistro, and that is something the Residence Inn guest would not normally have access to. We also have a much larger exercise facility than you would typically see for either brand as a stand-alone. These help the sales staff sell better for either one of the brands.
HOTELS: Is the staff split depending on which brand they are serving?
McGlinchey: No. there is one GM, one engineering team, one sales team. We have created synergies in the staffing model.
HOTELS: How much meetings business do you anticipate?
McGlinchey: We have just over 5,000 sq ft (464 sq m). Each brand has a board room on its floor and then five additional meetings rooms on the meeting room level. We are participating in the Workspace on Demand by Marriott program.
HOTELS: What were the challenges of opening such a large hotel during such unusually cold weather?
McGlinchey: New York City is experiencing record cold and that certainly presented challenges. That included working out kinks during a cold snap, such as finding cold areas and keeping them warm and the lobby warm, we learned a fair amount there. However, the rest was typical, just having to make sure that a lot came together over the past few weeks and getting all that coordinated.
HOTELS: How have bookings been going and what is your projected occupancy?
McGlinchey: We do expect that the hotel will run above 90% for the first full year of operation. Our extended stay has done very nicely, we have some rooms booked for 60-day and 90-day stays.