Update on the North American events industry

We’ve recently taken a look at new hotel openings in the UK and Europe, so now we’re focussing on what’s happening in North America.

New York is expanding rapidly

There are almost 70 hotels being planned and built in the city at the moment, with around 35 due to open this year and 10 in 2022. Most of these are 4* and 5* properties.

Six hotels will belong to the Marriott International group. Three will be branded Marriott Hotels & Resorts and three will be part of Aloft Hotels. IHG is opening three Indigo brand hotels.

The Virgin Hotel New York is due to open in Autumn 2021 and is located in the NoMad neighbourhood on Broadway. There will be 463 bedrooms, meeting rooms, outside terraces, bars and restaurants, two floors of luxury retailers, and the mini-golf operator Swingers will open its first US operation in the basement.

The Ritz-Carlton Manhattan Nomad is also due to open at the end of this year. It will have about 250 bedrooms, meeting space, gym, restaurants and rooftop bar.

The Rockaway Hotel opened in 2020 and is located on Rockaway Beach with views of New York. It has 53 bedrooms, two meeting rooms, plus a sundeck, terrace and rooftop area which can be used for events.

New Orleans

Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans has an opening date of mid-2021, but hasn’t opened yet. It’s a 34-storey tower, built in 1968 and was originally the World Trade Center and International Trade Mart and is located on the river. There will be 342 bedrooms and suites, spa, observation deck and outdoor pool on the fifth floor. The larger ballroom has capacity for 324 people and there are 9 additional meeting rooms of various sizes.

Los Angeles

The Fairmont Century Plaza, Los Angeles is due to open in September 2021 and will have 400 bedrooms and suites, rooftop pool with a bar on the 17th floor and a spa. There are 14 event spaces, including two ballrooms. The original hotel was opened in 1961 and was the first hotel to have colour televisions in all of its rooms!

Canada

Destination Canada has announced that from 7th September, the country will open its borders to fully vaccinated travellers from any country who meet specific entry requirements, heralding a return for the conference, meetings and events industry.

The 1 Hotel Toronto is due to open on 4th August 2021. It was previously the Thompson Hotel and will have 112 bedrooms, rooftop swimming pool and four restaurants. There are two meeting rooms with capacity for 200 and 90 people seated and in addition there’s a private dining room, rooftop space, garden pavilion, lounge and 3rd floor terrace that can be used for events. The hotel is described as eco-friendly; the restaurants using ingredients from a 50km radius of Toronto and buying carbon offsets to reduce the carbon footprint.

The Humaniti Hotel Montréal is the first Marriott Autograph Collection property in Quebec. It opened in June 2021 and has three meeting rooms, which are flexible space, and 193 bedrooms. There’s a spa as well as residential, office and retail development in the same building.

For creative venue ideas for your events throughout the world, call 01780 484050 or email enquiries@edgevenues.com.

How hotels are introducing new hygiene standards post COVID-19

Hilton's CleanStay door seal

One of the most important factors in the recovery of the events industry is confidence of attendees, post COVID-19. How soon are they going to want to travel, mix in groups and stay away from home?

All the major hotel groups are introducing new hygiene standards to reassure their guests, but these will also provide proof to governments considering loosening lockdown restrictions that safety measures have been put in place.

Hilton Hotels

Hilton has taken advice from the Mayo Clinic and is collaborating with RB, makers of Lysol and Dettol, to rise the standards of housekeeping and hygiene in their hotels. The programme is called Hilton CleanStay which uses infrared and electrostatically charged disinfectant mists. Hilton is focusing on cleanliness that will be visible to guests throughout their entire stay, in the bedrooms, restaurants, gyms and other public areas.

Guests will also be encouraged to use the Digital Key contactless check in system. It works with the Hilton Honors mobile app. Guests can choose a bedroom, access it with a digital room key and check-out using a mobile device.

The CleanStay programme includes:

  • A room seal on the bedroom door to indicate to guests that their room has not been accessed since being thoroughly cleaned.
  • Extra disinfection on the most frequently touched guests room areas – light switches, door handles, TV remotes, thermostats etc.
  • Removal of pen, paper and guest directory and replacing them with digital information.
  • Improved disinfecting of the hotel gym, possibly closing for cleaning multiple times daily and limiting the number of guests allowed in at one time.
  • Increase the frequency of cleaning public areas.
  • Disinfecting stations at primary entrances and high traffic areas, eg a station to allow guests to wipe the elevator button before pressing.
  • Hotel staff will be provided with personal protective equipment and better training designed to protect themselves.

Marriott International

Marriott has created the Marriott Global Cleanliness Council to develop a programme to minimize risk and enhance safety for guests and staff. In the next few months, the hotels will introduce electrostatic sprayers with hospital-grade disinfectant to sanitize surfaces in bedrooms, lobbies, gyms and other public areas. Also, the company is testing ultraviolet light technology for sanitizing keys for guests and devices which are shared by staff.

Marriott’s new policy includes:

  • Disinfectant wipes in each room for guests’ personal use.
  • Signage in the Lobby to remind guests to maintain social distancing and removing or re-arranging of furniture to allow more space.
  • Partitions at front desks to provide an extra level of distancing and making masks and gloves available to staff.
  • Hand sanitizing stations at the hotel entrances, near the front desk, elevator banks and fitness and meeting spaces.
  • Check-in and access to the bedroom by phone.
  • Specially packaged food for room service which is delivered to the door without contact.
  • Changes in food safety and service in restaurants and alternatives to a buffet.

Accor

Accor, which is Europe’s largest hotel group has entered into partnership with Bureau Veritas, a testing and inspection company. They will provide third-party testing of the hygiene certification programmes in each of Accor’s 4,800 hotels. The standards will cover accommodation as well as catering and will be introduced in France and then rolled out worldwide.

Once each property has passed an inspection by Bureau Veritas, it will be awarded a certificate of safe hygiene. The operational guidelines for cleaning and staff training were developed in conjunction with epidemiologists and sanitation experts. These procedures will also be made available to any hotel, meeting venue, or restaurant looking for best practices or who would like to enrol in the certification program. Clients will be able to check if a property has been certified by going to the Bureau Veritas website.

For more information on these hotel groups’ hygiene programmes follow the links to Hilton Hotels, Marriott International and Accor.

Marriott International plans luxury expansion

Marriott International has announced plans to open more than 30 new luxury properties across the globe in 2020 through its portfolio of high-end brands.

The group will utilise its Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, St Regis Hotels & Resorts, W Hotels, Luxury Collection, Edition, JW Marriott and Bvlgari brands to grow its presence in the luxury space, saying the move is in response to the growing trend of ‘transformative travel’.

Ritz-Carlton will open properties in Morocco, Japan, Mexico City, Arizona and China, while its hotel in South Beach, Florida is in the final stages of a complete refurbishment. It also expects to launch the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection in June 2020.

Meanwhile, St Regis will introduce hotels in Cairo, Mexico and Dubai and W Hotels will see openings in Nashville, Philadelphia, Toronto, Chengdu, Melbourne, Milan and Rome.

Also in 2020 will be the openings of Edition properties in Reykjavik, Tokyo and Dubai, as well as Luxury Collection hotels in Nashville, Budapest and Hobart in Australia.

Lastly, JW Marriott plans to grow its portfolio to 115 hotels by 2022, with properties set to open in Savannah (Georgia), Orlando and Anaheim, as well as Istanbul, Danang, Nara (Japan), Muscat and Monterrey (Mexico) over the next year.

As a whole, Marriott International has more than 185 luxury properties in its signed development pipeline that could add more than 15 new countries and territories to its portfolio. The group has taken a particular focus in Africa and the Middle East across all of its brands this year, with 19 hotels added.

Tina Edmundson, global brand officer and luxury portfolio leader at Marriott International, said: “Across our luxury brands portfolio, we will continue to incubate innovation and apply fresh thinking, both at the brand level and across our individual hotels, as we seek to be future forward, push boundaries and continue to raise the bar by creating new, unexpected and enriching guest experiences.”

Tony Capuano, EVP and global chief development officer, added: “Our plan to open more than 30 luxury properties in 2020 – an average of about three exciting new hotels per month – speaks to the remarkable momentum that brands such as St Regis, the Ritz-Carlton and Edition have with affluent travellers, our Marriott Bonvoy members and hotel developers around the world. Each year, our luxury portfolio continues to grow in both quality and quantity in strategic destinations around the world.”

Growth set in Middle East and Africa for Marriott

Marriott International expects to add 19 new properties and more than 3,000 rooms to its Middle East and Africa portfolio in 2019. Underpinning a strong demand for its diverse brands, the new additions are in line with the company’s expansion plans to add more than 100 new properties and nearly 26,000 rooms across the region by the end of 2023. Marriott estimates its development pipeline through 2023 represents up to $8 billion of investment from property owners and is expected to generate over 20,000 new jobs across the region.

“Our growth across the Middle East and Africa is fuelled by a strong demand for our diverse range of well-established brands, each offering different attributes that cater to this region’s ever changing and evolving marketplace,” said Jerome Briet, Chief Development Officer, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International. “This region continues to present us with opportunities to further grow and enhance our portfolio across new and established markets. While the majority of our growth will be through new-builds, we are seeing an increasing number of conversion opportunities, especially in the luxury space.”

Year-to-date, the company has opened five new properties in the region and is expected to add 14 more – bringing its portfolio across the Middle East and Africa to nearly 270 properties and over 60,000 rooms – by the end of the year.

Unwavering Demand for Luxury Brands that offer Unrivalled Experiences

The company is poised to expand its luxury footprint in the region by more than 70 percent by the end of 2023, with more than 25 luxury properties under development. The company expects to grow its luxury portfolio in 2019 with seven anticipated openings across four brands:

  • With the recent opening of W Dubai – The Palm and the anticipated openings of W Muscat and W Yas Island, W Hotels should double its portfolio in the region.
  • St. Regis anticipates debuting in Jordan and Egypt with the openings of The St. Regis Amman and The St. Regis Cairo.
  • The iconic North Island is expected to of world-renowned hotels and resorts.
  • JW Marriott anticipates marking its entry into Oman with the opening of the JW Marriott Muscat Convention Center.

Substantial Growth across Premium Brands

The growth of Marriott’s premium brands remains steady across the region with more than 30 hotels expected to be added to the portfolio by the end of 2023. By the end of 2019, the company expects to have added four new hotels under its premium portfolio for the region:

  • The Autograph Collection anticipates marking its debut in Kenya with the addition of Sankara Nairobi.
  • Marriott Hotels and Marriott Executive Apartments strengthened its presence in Saudi Arabia with the recent openings in the Diplomatic Quarter of Riyadh. Marriott Executive Apartments is also expected to open a new property in Madinah later this year.
  • Marriott Hotels is also planning to open its second property in Algeria, in the capital city of Algiers.

In addition to the openings in 2019, Marriott is also focused on the transformation journey of Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, the company’s most global brand. In the region, Sheraton Jeddah Hotel and Sheraton Grand Hotel, Dubai are currently undergoing renovations that represent the brand’s vision for the future.

Regional Demand for Select-Service Hotels Continues to Fuel Growth

Currently representing over 40 percent of the company’s development pipeline through 2023, select-serve brands continue their rapid growth trajectory across the Middle East and Africa. Building on the momentum from 2018 – with ten properties added across the region, including four Aloft hotels in the UAE – the company expects to add seven new properties by the end of this year:

  • Four Points by Sheraton anticipates expanding its portfolio with a total of four openings in 2019.The brand recently opened properties in in Sharjah (UAE) and Setif (Algeria) and is on-track to open two more properties this year including, Four Points by Sheraton Dar es Salaam New Africa in Tanzania and Four Points by Sheraton Lahore in Pakistan.
  • Residence Inn by Marriott expects to make its debut in Algeria with the opening of Residence Inn by Marriott Algiers
  • Protea Hotels by Marriott plans to expand the brand in Uganda with the opening of Protea Hotel by Marriott Naguru Skyz.
  • Element Hotels is set to launch its first property in Africa with the opening of Element Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.