UPDATED: Added information about the Marriot South Beach’s initial opening

Just read an article from the New York Post today which claimed that the name of the new Marriott/Schrager Hotels are going to be simply called “Schrager Hotels” Original huh? I was expecting and hoping that the brand would be something a little more original – something that isn’t exactly tied to Ian Schrager or Marriott – for example – Andaz, aloft, element, are unique names and make the guest want to know more about the brand. This is suprising because he initially claimed he will not put his name on the hotel brand – was that just a ploy?

I checked out the domain name for www.schragerhotels.com to see if there are any clues there and currently it redirects to Ian Schragers regular website – www.ianschrager.com. I checked the WHOIS information as to when the domain was registered and who owns it, and it was registered in 1997, and surprisingly is still “owned” by Morgans Hotel Group, although it probably was an oversight which hasn’t been corrected yet. Ian Schrager is great at branding himself and promoting himself, and I think that the Schrager Hotels name is fitting for what he is trying to do with Marriott – but I’m surprised he hasn’t used that name for his own hotel group, where he is supposedly starting a budget boutique brand later this year.

The first hotel is rumored to be the Marriott South Beach which is very fitting for a number of reasons, its in South Beach – where Schrager has a lot of experience, and its a very art-deco hotel which fits in well with the boutique feel that Marriott/Schrager is promoting with this partnership. While researching this article, I found something from 2001 when the Mariott South Beach initially opened – in that article it states how the hotel is going for a boutique feel – which, back in 2001 was almost unheard of for a hotel branded by one of the majors at the time. At the time, the article mentions that it was owned by Key International, but I can’t seem to find any information as to the current ownership, nor if any major improvements have been made since the article was published (although, on Marriott’s website, it states the hotel just went under renovations – but that sounds as though its just minor room upgrades – LCD TVs, etc).

The second rumored location is in New York City – it’s unclear if it is an existing hotel or a new hotel to be built from the ground up. It’s been known that Schrager has been working on some hotels on 10th Ave in Chelsea, although it is unclear if its going to be a hotel with Marriott’s partnership or a hotel/residence project he is doing on his own (his partnership with Marriott is not exclusive, meaning he can build his own hotels, or join up with other developers/companies at anytime).

According to the NY Post article, the official announcement will come later this month – probably at or during the ALIS Conference in Los Angeles, where I’m expecting Starwood Capital to formally announce their Crillion Brand.

I’ll post more information as I find out more details.

andrew@alconic-inc.com

Popularity: 7% [?]