Marriott International is breaking ground this morning on its first triple-branded hotel building, in the SoBro neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee.
“From a design and construction perspective, it’s infinitely more efficient,” says Tony Capuano, Marriott’s executive vice president and global chief development officer. He describes the partnership with Atlanta-based developer North Point Hospitality as opportunistic—if two hotels is good, Capuano says North Point told him, three would be great. And in terms of place to do it, Nashville “makes all the sense in the world” because of the lodging market’s strong, diverse base of business, leisure and group demand.
“Our industry is very much a copy-cat industry, so I’m sure a lot of developers got excited when they saw a dual brand, and I’m sure a lot of developers will look with great interest” at the Nashville property, Capuano says.
The 21-story building will contain an AC Hotels by Marriott comprising 209 rooms in one wing, and a 125-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott and a 136-room Residence Inn by Marriott in the adjoining wing. Behind-the-scenes operations and spaces are consolidated to reduce ongoing expenses. The US$137 million building, which will have a total of 470 keys, is expected to open in mid-2018.
Marriott has 52 dual-brand hotels open and 32 under construction, but this may be only the second tri-branded property in the U.S. Another opened in 2013 in Chicago, where three brands—and three separate companies—share space in a building totaling more than 650 rooms split among Starwood’s Aloft, Marriott’s Fairfield Inn & Suites and a Hyatt Place.
Capuano says the company was able to take what it learned from that union and apply it to the Nashville project.
“We will continue to look for opportunities where it makes sense” to do a triple play, he says. California and Texas each have four dual-branded Marriott hotels; California has 10 dual-branded properties under construction or approved, the company says.
North Point Hospitality’s plan for the Nashville triple-brand hotel includes a pool, fitness center, and conference and meeting space on the top floor.