Trying to further cash-in on sustainability and extended-stay trends are SH Hotels & Resorts, an affiliate of global private investment firm Starwood Capital Group led by Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht, and Louvre Hotels, which is expanding its hybrid experience built on the themes of co-living, co-working and well-being.
In early May, SH Hotels & Resorts announced it will open a Treehouse Hotel in Manchester, the brand’s second UK location, in 2023. Earlier in March, it also announced the planned 2023 opening of Treehouse hotel in Miami, the brand’s first location in the U.S.
The 216-room Treehouse Hotel Manchester in the U.K., owned by a controlled affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, is being developed in partnership with Property Alliance Group and will mark the first phase of a £200m redevelopment of the former Renaissance Hotel on Deansgate.
The 62-story, 191-room Miami hotel will be located in JDS Development Group’s 1 Southside Park. It will be filled with repurposed materials and found objects, like reclaimed flooring, wood beams and warm, mismatched lighting. Inspired by deep ties to the Miami River, the interiors are expected to feel much like a welcoming boathouse.
“Downtown Miami, Brickell is the perfect place for a Treehouse. Like its London counterpart, Treehouse Brickell will be as much a destination for travelers as a local hangout, and will introduce a new kind of thoughtful, fun and imaginative hospitality experience to the area,” Sternlicht said.
Louvre’s aparthotel
Louvre Hotels Group, a subsidiary of Chinese giant Jin Jiang International Holdings Co., will open its first two aparthotel Tulip Residences this summer at Joinville-le-Pont, France, and Warsaw, Poland. Louvre said it plans to open some 30 Tulip Residences over the next five years across Europe, mainly in city centers and near major transport hubs.
At the request of its shareholder, Jin Jiang, Louvre will adapt Tulip Residences for the Chinese market. A pilot hotel is scheduled for the end of 2021 with the ambition of signing 25 new establishments by 2022 in the largest Chinese metropolises.
Overall, Louvre anticipates 60% of the growth will come via franchise, 20% in management and 20% in lease.
Tulip Residences include studio or two-room apartments, designed for extended stays. They are furnished with upscale bedding, an equipped kitchenette, high speed internet access and a wide-screen HD TV.
Co-working areas and a Tulip Café serving light meals and snacks featuring local and organic products will supplement the offer. A well-being area, including a 40 to 60m2 yoga room, a fitness room and a Vital Dome infra-therapy device for stress prevention, eliminating toxins and relaxation. These areas were designed in partnership with the Tremend Design firm and the designer, Magdalena Federowicz Boule.
To tap the full potential of this market segment, Louvre Hotels Group is banking on intrapreneurship, a method that generates out-of-the-box thinking by tapping new sources of development ideas, as well as Louvre’s clout in the fields of distribution, revenue management, marketing, communication, purchasing, technical, etc. Cyril Vaussard, cofounder of the Hôtels & Préférence chain and previously director, then regional director for a residential hotel brand, will lead this charge.
Vaussard said the brand requires a minimum 3-star classification and a minimum footprint of 21 square metres for the studios, with the kitchen in the corridor. He said the brand is suitable for new construction as well as conversion of old aparthotels and perhaps office buildings when the structure of the building allows it.