DEVELOPMENT
Hilton recently opened its second Spark hotel . It expects thousands more .
By DAVID EISEN
GERMANTOWN , Md . — Over the din of traffic whooshing past along I-270 , Chris Nassetta , the president and CEO of Hilton , cuts the ceremonial ribbon at the porte-cochère of the Spark by Hilton Germantown Washington DC North , formally opening what is the second property of the new brand , one in which Nassetta believes will eventually be thousands .
Speaking alongside Mark Carrier , president of B . F . Saul Company Hospitality Group , owner of the hotel , and the nonagenarian billionaire chairman and CEO of Saul Centers , Bernard Saul II , Nassetta is earnest about the brand and its growth possibilities . “ We ’ ve done it twice ,” he says to an assemblage of hoteliers and local government and tourism officials of
Montgomery County . “ Now , thousands more .”
It ’ s not hyperbole . Around Hilton , the Spark by Hilton brand is being conditioned to be the company ’ s “ biggest ” brand , Nassetta said . “ It ’ s a disruptor ; it ’ s transformational ,” he said . “ It ’ s nice to have a new toy to play with .”
The plaything is under the direction of B . F . Saul Company Hospitality Group , which owns and manages the hotel . B . F . Saul is an unalloyed and dedicated steward of real estate in the DC / MD / VA region , which makes it agnostic to the type of assets it owns — from multifamily to hotel and , within the hotel space , economy through luxury . It ’ s a strategy that has served B . F . Saul well through the years ; it currently has a portfolio that numbers more than
20 properties , from the Hay-Adams in Washington , D . C , to The Watermark Hotel in Tysons , Va ., which is owned by Capital One , serving as its HQ hotel , and managed by B . F . Saul .
The Spark by Hilton concept is pretty simple , which makes it easy for owners to wrap their heads around : it ’ s a pure conversion play with a rather economical entry point . Spark by Hilton Germantown Washington DC North is 170 rooms , but the average key count for a Spark is closer to 85 . The process to convert is around $ 23,000 per key , inclusive of an $ 8,000 per-key FF & E package . One of the main selling features is the relative ease : it ’ s mostly a soft-good renovation , without the need to rip into walls and dig into the bones of the building . There are no intended heavy
28 hotelsmag . com Jan / Feb 2024