GLOBAL UPDATE
W
MAINLAND CHINA WELCOMES
W Hotels Worldwide has debuted in Mainland China with the W Guangzhou . The 317-room property is part of aggressive Asian expansion for the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide brand , which plans to more than double its current footprint of nine hotels in the region to nearly 20 over the next five years .
Architect Rocco Yim , who has also developed projects such as Guangzhou ’ s Guangdong Museum , crafted an exterior defined by black glass , while inside Yabu Pushelberg designed guestrooms intended to be a calming retreat . Three signature restaurants include Yan Yu , created in collaboration with celebrity chef Jeremy Leung , and the hotel also offers China ’ s first Away Spa .
Artwork at W Guangzhou is intended to depict a fantastical and futuristic natural world .
IS BROOKLYN BUZZWORTHY ?
Not since the Dodgers left town in 1957 has there been so much buzz about Brooklyn , New York . The New York City borough with 2.5 million inhabitants and some 33,000 businesses is transforming itself into a destination with exciting food and beverage , a growing technology and small business environment , and a very strong luxury residential real estate market . Hotel developers have taken notice , but the question remains : how much room is there for hotel growth , especially as Manhattan continues to add supply ?
With about 3,500 rooms added to the market over the past few years in what most say is a small triangle of opportunity , there is great rate disparity driven by customer preferences of wanting to stay in that small downtown triangle .
“ People look at Brooklyn as homogenous , and that is the mistake ,” says Joseph Yi , vice president of the Lam Group , which owns relatively new Sheraton , Aloft and Indigo hotels in the borough . “ Developers don ’ t know hotel numbers , and managers will give them the projections they want to hear , which will likely not meet expectations .”
Yi says downtown Brooklyn , near the Barclays Center and office sector , does well as a compression market to Manhattan , and he
Street-side café at the Nu Hotel in Brooklyn
is pleased with how Lam Group hotels have performed . While lower land price , lower barriers to entry and good operational numbers have piqued interest , Yi says he is not sure some announced projects will get done .
At the same time , Naveen Kakarla , president and CEO of HHM , a Philadelphiabased management company that operates the Nu Hotel in Brooklyn , says the borough has proven to be very resilient in the face of new supply . “ The future will be driven by how well Brooklyn is able to attract higherend business to supplement what is going on with the MetroTech Center ,” Kakarla says . “ The success they find in building out a midweek destination will define how much more upside remains .”
The other noteworthy player in Brooklyn is Starwood Capital , which is developing a mixed-use project at Brooklyn Bridge Park , which includes its 1 hotel brand . C . Scott Rohm , president of Starwood ’ s SH Group management company , says his indoor-outdoor product promises a location and physical qualities that will deliver a rate premium .
SH Group is also investing in the Brooklyn community , planning to hire locals and bring in the local culture . “ We want this to become the social setting for the community ,” Rohm says .
14 HOTELS June 2013 www . hotelsmag . com