TRENDING
Hard Rock celebrates 50th with new flagship
AS NEW YORK CITY HOTEL OPENS , CHAIRMAN JIM ALLEN TELLS HOTELS THE RUNWAY FOR GROWTH IS STRONG .
by JEFF WEINSTEIN , EDITOR IN CHIEF
Hard Rock International is celebrating its 50th anniversary in style , in May opening a ground-up US $ 400 million-plus flagship development near Times Square in New York City and boasting a pipeline of 30-plus signed hotel deals that are either under construction or with financing 90 % in place .
“ We ’ re very optimistic about the deal flow ,” Hard Rock International Chairman and Seminole Gaming CEO Jim Allen told HOTELS in mid- May . “ There ’ s probably another 80 to 90 hotel opportunities out there , but they ’ re not what I would refer as greater than 80 % to 90 % certainty that they will be completed .”
Owned by parent entity The Seminole Tribe of Florida , the Hard Rock brand has venues in
68 countries spanning some 253 locations that include owned / licensed or managed hotels , casinos , Rock Shops , live performance venues and cafes . There are some 27 hotels and nine hotel and casino locations around the world .
With a pipeline that also extends to conversion opportunities in cities like Kansas City and Memphis , after more recently opening conversions in Budapest and Madrid , Allen and his team are focused on stabilizing the leased , 446-room New York hotel located on Music Row , which pays homage to the recording studios and music stores that once lined 48th Street .
While Manhattan has been slower to rebound from COVID than other less restrictive markets , Allen is quick to remind that New York City
30 hotelsmag . com July / August 2022