than 50 hotels and resorts in active development , 80 % of which have a residential component , says Paul White , president of residential at the Toronto-based company , which manages its 41 residential properties ( topping 3,800 units ) in 19 countries . Opening in 2019 are hotels with private residences in Bangkok , Bengaluru , Los Cabos , Madrid , Montreal , and in the U . S . in Napa Valley and Boston . The company expects its residential portfolio to double in the next five to seven years .
Residential is a key part of the company ’ s amped-up development goals , particularly in Europe , White says . “ We want to use it very selectively in the world ’ s highest-profile markets , where the market demand characteristics for real estate prove out the highest prices and the best opportunity for people to live the brand in an elevated way ,” he says .
Jonathan Genton ’ s Pasadena , California-based Genton Property Group is developing Four Seasons ’ first standalone residential project in North America , in Los Angeles , adjacent to the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills ( other Four Seasons standalone projects include London ’ s Twenty Grosvenor Square , opening this year ; on tap are Marrakech and San Francisco ).
The 12-story building , with 59 units – including a 12,000-square-foot penthouse whose asking price is rumored to be US $ 50 million , according to the Robb
“ WE ’ RE EXTREMELY PLEASED WITH THE GROWTH WE ’ RE SEEING . IT ’ S TREMENDOUS .”
Report – is set for completion this fall . With most of the units selling for US $ 4 million to US $ 18 million , it ’ s playing to Genton ’ s bet that “ L . A . as a global market was coming into its own .”
Four Seasons is catering to global buyers who buy based on the plan and not a walkthrough of a finished residence , with attention to detail , material and technology .
This is Genton ’ s first foray into branded residential . What ’ s different about it ? “ Everything . Just everything ,” he says . “ While it ’ s a building , it ’ s in a built environment . What Four Seasons brings to it is how that environment is activated and serviced and curated . It ’ s really a curation .”
And at least right now , for developers of luxury branded residential , the sales are there . Real estate firm Irongate , which specializes in luxury branded residential , developed The Ritz-Carlton Residences , Waikiki Beach project in 2013 and sold over 85 % of the residences through a private sales event that same year . A second tower was announced in 2014 and sold out .
According to Irongate ’ s president , Jason Grosfeld , the choice to go with Ritz-Carlton was a no-brainer , as the brand is strong in Asia and a large portion of Irongate ’ s clientele in Hawaii is Asia-based . The Ritz-Carlton Residences , Waikiki Beach
TIM GRISIUS , MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL
units range in price from a little under US $ 1 million to US $ 20 million .
What happens when faced with a slowdown ? “ We try to find unique locations in markets that have great characteristics , like barriers to entry or good margins , or they are experiencing and we believe they will continue to experience , growth for a while ,” says Grosfeld .
“ Marriott ( for instance ) doesn ’ t want to be the financial sponsor of those projects for exactly that reason ,” says Sean Hennessey , CEO of hotel consultancy Lodging Advisors . “ None of the hotel companies would want , essentially , the wrath of Wall Street were they to suddenly hold a lot of real estate in a down market .”
It ’ s also a matter of timing , Hennessey stresses . If the developer builds a branded residential project and sells them before a down market hits , it becomes a problem for the individual owners . If a downturn hits before the developer sells the units , it may be possible to rent the units on a shortterm basis until the market swings back .
“ The reality is it ’ s very difficult to rent those units as hotel rooms in a downturn because the level of fixtures , the amount of cleaning , the time to service them is much greater and the margins become that much thinner ,” Hennessey says .
Living area at The Ritz-Carlton Residences , Waikiki Beach
Interior rendering of a YotelPad Miami branded residence
March 2019 hotelsmag . com 53