TRENDING
announced .
The other way forward for the next three to four years , as Bermingham mentioned , is through resort development in North America and Europe , which generally tends to mitigate market volatility . “ We ’ re looking at the beach , coastal , mountain and desert resorts ,” he adds .
More specifically in Europe , Bermingham says Virgin is actively looking in London , where “ fingers crossed we are very close .”
Spain ( Marbella , Malaga , Ibiza ) are preferred destinations , as well as Madrid and Barcelona . Portugal and the south of France are also on Virgin ’ s radar . “ We have a development team engaged full time – one based in London and the other in Madrid ,” Bermingham adds .
The other opportunity first recognized for the brand last year in Las Vegas is conversions . “ We are thrilled how Vegas turned out . So , conversions are a priority for us , as well ,” Bermingham says . “ We have a couple of things working now .”
Never having enough bullets in the arsenal , the other opportunity for growth that Virgin is adding is residential . “ If you want to be a serious player , you have to have a branded presidential platform , and we ’ re developing that as we speak ,” Bermingham says .
The first residential development is with a developer in Miami in the heart of Brickell with over 300 residences to go along with a 200- room hotel with multiple food and beverage operations , co-work space and more . Bermimgham adds that two additional residential projects are also in the offing .
“ Richard [ Branson ] doesn ’ t distinguish between work and play – it ’ s just life ,” Bermingham adds . “ That has really inspired three projects that we ’ re working on right now . Within those three projects , there is potential for a membership club and a social club component – those have probably been the biggest changes in consumer behavior that we ’ re responding to in a pretty big way .”
While Virgin is an asset-light , branded management company , Bermingham also points out that it has put minority equity in equity in several hotels and can continue to do so moving forward .
The other big news coming in 2022 is the enhancement of Virgin ’ s Lucy app , where consumers can already make reservations , checkin , use keyless entry , control guest room TVs , order room service , control the air conditioning and lighting , as well as check-out . It is adding cashless tipping and , most importantly , this fall will launch a Virgin-wide rewards program called Virgin Red .
To make it as cost-effective as possible for owners , Virgin is laserfocused on controlling the cost of distribution . “ And again , we want to meet the guests where they are , and we want to integrate and automate the redemption model ,” Bermingham adds . “ It should be as easy as making a hotel reservation .”
A view of the new Virgin in Glasgow , Scotland
10 hotelsmag . com May 2022