BRAND DEVELOPMENT
The Royal Plaza & Villa Toscane in Montreux , Switzerland , will be transformed into the first international hotel for HQ , slated to open in 2025 .
We are creating a central hub for dining , nightlife and wellness that will set us apart and attract both locals and travelers alike . An example of this is our first European location , The HQ Montreux Hotel & Spa Sam Nazarian : I am also delighted that we have extended our long-term partnerships with both global music icon Marc Anthony and world-renowned actress and co-founder of Latinx culinary brand TOMA , Sofia Vergara , to power the HQ brand . Our brand has been created with the Gen-Z , millennials and Latin markets front of mind , so having Marc and Sofia further support our vision is something we ’ re proud of .
HOTELS : What is it like to come into a new brand on the ground floor and build it up and out ? Metcalf : It ’ s incredibly exciting . When you ’ re launching a brand , everything is new ; the structure is new , the company is new . You ’ re taking something at its very beginning and launching it . What I ’ ve done for the last 30 years prior was really taking something where the foundation was already laid . It was more about growing an operating platform as opposed to truly launching something from scratch . You were selling everybody else ’ s brand ; now we ’ re selling ours .
HOTELS : Sam Nazarian is a hotel , nightlife and F & B personage . What strikes you about him ? Metcalf : Look at his track record ; he has proven that he knows what he ’ s doing . I consider him to be a legendary icon in this lifestyle world , between restaurants , the nightlife and the hotels , he solidified his status in the lifestyle space . When I met with him the first time , he ’ s definitely a phenomenal salesman , but it comes from his passion for what he ’ s doing . He literally believes in everything that he has done and the vision that he has for the future . It ’ s impossible not to be attracted to that . I ’ ve walked hotels with him and can very quickly tell you how this or that should be . One of the greatest things for me is he promised me autonomy ; he ’ s deferring everything to me , and it ’ s been great .
HOTELS : The first two announced projects are in Switzerland and Detroit . Two hugely disparate markets . What was behind that calculus ? Metcalf : The disparity between Detroit and Switzerland is good : We ’ re trying to be in places where we can create a vibe and it has to be a place where the target audience that we ’ re going after would be attracted to . I ’ m a huge fan of Detroit ; there are three new
stadiums there ; it is a complete Renaissance . There are other markets in the U . S . that are under the same type of rebirth right now that we definitely want to be a part of , and they ’ re not cities you would necessarily think about . We ’ re also looking at deals in the Caribbean , where they ’ re literally building these mixeduse projects that include residential , retail , entertainment and hotel — all targeting Gen-Z and millennials , because those are the lifetime customers and you ’ re getting them at the beginning .
HOTELS : How , in the long run , will the partnership with Wyndham help and fuel the expansion of HQ ? Nazarian : Having a brand as strong as Wyndham involved creates exceptional value for the owners and the guests . With more than 9,100 hotels and 110 million Rewards members , Wyndham is recognized across the globe with its award-winning incentive program and tech-centric approach . HQ will provide more options for its guests to earn and redeem rewards , as well as further support our growing global expansion pipeline over the coming years .
HOTELS : The lifestyle space is increasingly crowded . How is HQ unique and how will it stand out ?
62 hotelsmag . com Jan / Feb 2025