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HOTELS Exclusive: Joie de Vivre heads east

Commune Hotels & Resorts has announced the development of three Joie de Vivre hotels, two in New York City and one in Miami Beach, giving the playful brand its first foothold on the East Coast.

Extensive restorations are under way by the owners of The Hall in Miami Beach and at 50 Bowery in New York City’s Bowery neighborhood with management going to Commune’s 3-star-plus Joie de Vivre Hotels brand. Just yesterday Commune confirmed it has signed another management contract for a Joie de Vivre hotel set to open in Midtown Manhattan in 2017. The expanding brand currently includes 25 properties throughout Illinois, Arizona, California and Hawaii.

Commune CEO Niki Leondakis spoke with HOTELS on Tuesday about the evolution of Joie de Vivre, highlighting that the brand is working on narrowing its niche to the 3-star and 3.5-star segments, whereas beforehand the brand could range both above and below this more defined segmentation.

Leondakis also said the brand is evolving, adding, “We are staying true to the core of Joie de Vivre but definitely getting deeper into the neighborhoods that we are in with each hotel, as well as the buildings and the overall experiences for the destinations, in all aspects of design and programming.”

While Leondakis pointed to the emerging lifestyle segment filled with super cool, edgy and trendy concepts, she said Joie de Vivre is “not trying to be that or anything but very approachable, lighthearted and upbeat.” She points to The Hall in South Beach, which will be a very retro experience that will riff off the history of the landmark building and bring that into the graphics package and snackbar programming. “It is going to be approachable and fun,” she said.

In fact, Leondakis added, “As the brand evolves – and restaurants and bars become increasingly important touch-points for travelers – we are investing in locally relevant culinary offerings and talented chefs that embody the spirit and energy of the communities where our hotels are located.”

Model room of Joie de Vivre's upcoming The Hall in South Miami Beach
Model room of Joie de Vivre’s upcoming The Hall in South Miami Beach

At the same time, while many new soft brands are building brand awareness with, perhaps, a “brand” plaque at the front door, Leondakis said Joie de Vivre is going in the opposite direction, becoming even more of a soft branded than in the past.

“We are stepping back from branding for cost reasons and because it doesn’t resonate with consumers,” Leondakis said. “It is helpful to know the brand behind the hotel to reassure a certain level of quality, but consumers don’t appreciate it in their face as it represents to a lot of travelers that it is cookie cutter, formulaic, perhaps themed but without a soul. We start from scratch with each hotel and it is not just about design, but the overall creation of an experience. It is done with such passion by a team that it ends up as a rich, layered experience – even when playful and light-hearted. It is about the way we operate and the way the staff interacts. You feel it. You can feel it when a hotel has a soul or just has cool design.”

Project details

Rockwood Capital of New York acquired The Hall in Miami Beach about two years ago and hired Commune shortly thereafter to develop and manage the property.

Slated to open this summer, Miami-based architectural firm ADD and interior design firm Robert McKinley Creative will renew The Hall, which includes the primary building and adjacent apartment complex, protecting the Art Deco features with design and Latin American influences reflective of Miami culture. The new 164-room property will feature a courtyard with an indoor/outdoor restaurant, a beer garden, library, bar and swimming pool.

In New York, developed by 50 Bowery Holdings, a 22-story, 229-room Joie de Vivre hotel will arrive on the Bowery, just steps from the Manhattan Bridge at the crossroads of Chinatown, Nolita, the Lower East Side and East Tribeca. Slated to open in 2016, the new construction, conceptualized by Peter Poon Architects and Wimberly Interiors, will incorporate historic elements into a contemporary design featuring a cellar lounge and a rooftop bar.

Leondakis concluded by saying, as a whole, Joie de Vivre has been performing very well, calling the Hotel Lincoln in Chicago and Epiphany in Palo Alto, California, great successes out of the gate.

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