“ When I came up with the idea to buy Hard Rock ,” he says , “ I explained to the tribe that this is a long-term commitment . It will take time to grow the brand . This hotel has become the iconic statement of that relationship . The tribe owns Hard Rock and we ’ re creating something we want the whole world to see . And now the brand is coming up on its 50th anniversary .”
Hard Rock International , chaired by Allen , is experiencing a growth spurt .
Gaming expansion has been one of the core elements of Hard Rock ’ s strategic thinking since the hotel and restaurant chain was acquired by the Seminole Tribe .
Hard Rock currently is comprised of 259 venues , including owned and licensed hotels , casinos , shops and cafes , in 75 countries . The company also owns the Hard Rock Cafe on the Strip ( but not the off-Strip Hard Rock Las Vegas , which is being rebranded under new ownership as a Virgin casino hotel ).
“ The original facility was beautiful and we had a lot of success with it , but we wanted to create something that was more of an integrated resort — something more than just a locals casino . That was the goal , and the budget mirrored that thought process , and hopefully the guests will love it .”
— Jim Allen , CEO , Seminole Gaming
Johnny Depp was just one of hundreds of celebrities who gathered to celebrate the opening of the Guitar Hotel
At night , LED lights soar 30,000 feet high to light the way to Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood
Image is Everything
The most dramatic evidence of the growth spurt was presented in October when the tribe ’ s original casino , Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood , Florida , unveiled the company ’ s most dramatic project to date : a guitar-shaped hotel , appropriately named the Guitar Hotel . It ’ s the first building in the world with that shape , and it comes complete with LED “ strings ” that literally touch the sky — 30,000 feet up .
Allen ’ s hotel vision took more than 10 years to come to fruition , but the building is quickly becoming an icon in South Florida , attracting thousands of curious visitors on opening day — including a star-studded cast of guitar smashers , Hard Rock ’ s signature celebration that opens all its properties .
Steve Peck is an associate principal with Klai Juba Wald , the architects of the project , and was involved from the start . He says Allen ’ s idea of a guitarshaped hotel was first taken as a concept , not a complete reality .
“ We did a bunch of renderings that were referencing guitars . The hotel was just your standard square hotel , and then we added fins , and those fins gave the profile of a guitar ,” he explains . But Allen wanted to be a little more literal . “ Jim asked , ‘ What if we just went big ? What if the entire hotel is in the shape of a guitar ?’” says Peck . “ We didn ’ t say no , but we told him that there would be a premium cost to do this .