Lifestyle hospitality owner-operator Think Hotel Group, run by three lifelong friends from New York City, is making big waves in the Miami Beach and NYC boutique hotel markets.
Think Hotel Group, Miami Beach, began as Manhattan-based real estate brokerage and management company Think Properties. After opening the 52-room Boulan South Beach in 2011, the company is creating the “Think” block between Collins and Park Avenue with the recently opened 51-room South Beach Hotel and the 97-room The Plymouth Hotel and all-suites Ansonia, both set to open in 2015. The proximity allows the properties to share amenities in a way that similar-sized properties in the market would not. Meanwhile the company has also opened its first hotel in New York City, which it will brand and hold a grand opening for in 2015.
To find out more about Think’s plans moving forward, HOTELS spoke with Shawn Vardi, Think Hotel Group president and COO.
HOTELS: Think is primarily an owner-operator. Will that be the setup for your new hotels moving forward?
Shawn Vardi: It’s hard to say. While we do own and operate all our properties other than Boulan, a condo-hotel in which we own the majority of units, I am looking at a deal now that would have us managing with no equity stake.
Typically we are real estate guys first and we self-finance our deals. We look at these deals more as real estate plays. As we looked at the Miami Beach market, we saw that there was a huge void in the luxury boutique market.
By owning properties next to each other, we can offer amenities others can’t. A 52-key boutique hotel couldn’t offer two restaurants normally, but we can offer four restaurants and two pools. We are creating a different model, more of a boutique community in Miami Beach.
HOTELS: Will your properties remain independent, or are you open to operating under brands?
Vardi: Not having the flag gives us freedom. We can change and respond more quickly to the market, especially since we also own the properties. For example, at the South Beach Hotel we offer a free breakfast. Some people that were staying more than six days requested additional items for the menu, including Belgian waffles. So we made sure that the next day, Belgian waffles were available.
HOTELS: Who are the typical guests at Think properties?
Vardi: At Boulan it’s the 5-hour plus, 6-hour plus traveler looking for longer-term stays, including families, Europeans, South American and Russians. At South Beach Hotel we get a tremendous amount of group stays. On weekends its young professionals aged 25-35 bunking with friends. They are well-versed travelers that are highly educated and know what they want.
We reach out to them through trade publications, social media and we try to communicate to them while they are on-property.
HOTELS: How are your properties currently performing in terms of RevPAR, ADR and occupancy?
Vardi: The health of the Miami market is helping us. There are still challenges, though, as the World Cup affected us. We thought there would be an influx of people looking to escape Brazil during the games, but that didn’t happen.
South Beach Hotel is exceeding expectations, as June’s ADR was up US$40 year-on-year and occupancy was up 8% to over 90%.
HOTELS: Where is the lifestyle market going and where does Think fit in?
Vardi: In Miami Beach, the luxury boutique market is still defining itself, and we are going to help it evolve in terms of the level of service. We are going to grow the community we are in because in terms of the real estate play, we are not looking to sell right away, we are taking a long-term generational wealth type of approach.