Tag: Edition Hotels
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Progress! Marriott's New Edition Hotel in London Gets a GM
While Marriott's Bulgari London Hotel is not quite sure of its opening date, the planned Edition London is moving forward having just appointed a general manager.
UK hospitality news CatererSearch.com posted the announcement of David Taylor as GM of the new Edition. Currently, Taylo is the general manager of the Hoxton Hotel, known for its famous one pound hotel rooms. Yet while there's a GM now in place, the 200-room hotel, which will be built out of the old Berners Hotel, won't open for another year. (Meanwhile the Edition website still says 2012.)
Sad to see the Edition miss out on the Olympics fun, but this is very good news for the once-struggling Edition brand as a whole.
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We're Sensing a New Naming Trend Here...
With this morning's announcement of IHG's newest hotel brand, Even Hotels, we started to look at the names of a few other new hotels that have come about in recent years and there's something kinda innnereesting about them. Take a look:
· Even Hotels: The new fitness-conscious brand from InterContinental Hotels. The first Even Hotel will be announced shortly and will open in early 2013.
· Commune Hotels: The new parent company of JDV and Thompson Hotels. Previously, a temporary name of JT Hospitality was being used. Commune plans to announce a new brand later this year.
· Public Hotels: Ian Schrager's new affordable chic hotel brand. The first location opened in Chicago last September (and quickly became one of our fave stays.) A New York location is expected next year.
· Edition Hotels: The brainchild of Schrager and Marriott Hotels opened first in Waikiki but was shut down last year. Another Edition is now open in Istanbul with South Beach, London, New York and Bangkok hotels all coming online "soon."
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The Edition South Beach Hotel is Now a Hive of Activity
It may not be the bustling lobby kind of activity yet but the sound of jackhammers was music to our ears as we passed by the site of the South Beach Edition this week.
For months last year, the site was quiet, but construction is well underway now, with the bare bones of the 12-story structure revealed under that awful salmon-colored exterior, which you can still see in the porte cochere and lower levels of the building.
The Edition Hotels website still has this opening slated for 2013, which may just happen if the pace of work at the site continues at this rate.
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From A Hotel Standpoint, New York Is Pretty Much Done With the Recession
New York, New York—so great they named it twice. But, hey, don't just take our word for it (we live here, so we're a little biased). Talk to all the hotel developers who are buying up hotels left and right. Because of them, New York City alone accounted for 20% of hotel transactions across the entire country in 2011, announced The Real Deal.
In some ways, we already knew this. Well. We didn't know the exact numbers ($3.5 billion in sales, to be exact), but we did know that there were some major hoteliers sniffing out the next NYC locations for their brands. At a glance: Public New York is on its way, Edition New York has already found a location, and two other Marriotts (a Courtyard and a Springhill Suites) will be popping up in Herald Square.
Further downtown, Andre Balazs' Standard empire is steadily expanding eastward. And let's not forget about King & Grove, who recently burst onto the scene with two well-established NYC properties firmly under their belt.
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To Secure The Future of 'Edition' Hotels, Marriott's Putting Its Money Where Its Mouth Is
Though we felt some faint ripples in the Edition pond back in October, it looks like things are moving along at a pretty steady clip. The WSJ is reporting that Marriott has invested $800 million of its own money into three of the five new Edition hotels it hopes to open over the next three years (Hmm, haven't we heard this one before?).
Those three properties include: the Berners hotel in London; the Seville Beach Resort in Miami; Abu Dhabi; Bangkok, and, of course, New York's Clock Tower (above). Consider Waikiki and Istanbul the "test drives" of the Edition brand. Now, it kind of comes down to a do-or-die situation. Either the five new hotels soar, or they sink fast. But with so much of its own money at stake, and Ian Schrager's reputation on the line, Marriott should certainly have the momentum it needs for lift-off.
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Edition Hotels is Finally Coming to New York...Maybe
On Monday, we heard that the troubled Edition Hotels brand was still moving forward with their New York, London and Miami Beach hotels which was some much-needed positive news for the brand after the recent Waikiki Edition takedown.
While we're not quite sure what the status of construction is in Miami, we do know that Edition has a London hotel lined up (they are renovating the old Berners Hotel) and now it looks like they are squared away in the Big Apple as well.
The WSJ reports that Marriott has ponied up $165 million to buy Madison Ave's Clock Tower. Remember, this is building that fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger was looking into back in May. And coincidentally, Ian Schrager himself was a part owner in this property way a few years ago as well. Given that he's one half of the Edition brand, we bet he had some say in the purchasing process.
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Finally, Work is Beginning on The Edition Miami Beach (Or Is It?)
Update, 10.28.11: A HotelChatter operative rode by the property today and reports: "There is a huge crane at work and they've torn down one entire side -- wall and windows etc. so yes, progress is afoot!"
Last month we gave you a nifty little guide to the Shiny New Hotels Coming to South Beach and on it we mentioned that Edition South Beach would be happening, someday, inside the old Seville Beach Resort.
The plan for Edition South Beach to rise from the ashes of the Seville were announced back in July 2010 but as of March of this year, there was still no work happening on the hotel, leading us to wonder if the timeline of three years of "significant renovations" would be pushed back even further.
But thanks to a tipster, we think we spy some movement. Check out the scaffolding going up along the exterior. Exciting! Update: Some neighborhood folks actually say that work hasn't been happening on the hotel for a while. So who knows what's really going on here. If you do, let us know!
Yet given that the Waikiki Edition recently crashed and burned and the only one out there now is all the way in Istanbul, we wonder how well will the next Editions fare?
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The Modern Honolulu is Keeping Rates Low at $195 a Night
It's been about a month since the Edition Waikiki was kicked out of their own hotel and The Modern Honolulu ushered in but the dust from the fracas has just about settled down. More importantly, the Modern Honolulu has a real deal website now.
The site is chock-full of gorgeous photos, taken when the hotel was still an Edition, and while it lacks the sophistication of the old Edition site, the new site definitely feels more approachable with big easy to read fonts and exciting copy. (Ok, some of it does feel a little too cheerleader peppy.)
But perhaps the biggest improvement here is the room rate for the month of October. Rates at the Modern are just $195 a night all next month for city view rooms. Interestingly, that's how much the Edition offered as its special opening rate a year ago before jumping up to $375 a night. So, um...anyone up for a trip to Hawaii next month? If you are, just be prepared for some awkward employee interactions.
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The Tallest, Most Expensive Building in Bangkok Will Have You Living in a Hotel
Staying for a few nights in a hotel is one thing, but buying into that lifestyle and staying for a portion of your life in one is another matter entirely. Fortunately for hotels, people dream of doing this very thing, hence the rise of hotel-style apartment living (beaucoup amenities), or just plain hotels with condos thrown on top.
When they're completed next year, Bangkok's Ritz-Carlton Residences should steal the top spot in the luxury dream of those who would give their right arm to occupy a hotel suite. In addition to the being the tallest and most expensive skyscraper in Bangkok's skyline, the 200 Ritz-Carlton Residences at Maha Nakhon will compliment an actual "boutique hotel"—ah hem The Edition Bangkok—also housed in the architecturally mindboggling building.
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The Save Waikiki Edition Team is Keeping Score on Facebook
We mentioned last week that even though the Waikiki Edition has been unceremoniously replaced by The Modern Honolulu, employees were still holding out hope that Edition would one day rise again by creating a Facebook page.
And judging from this recent update, it looks like quite a few people are holding out hope that Edition will rise again. About 525 now to be exact. Compared to 59 for Modern Honolulu, an Aqua Hotels and Resorts property.
Sadly, we're not so sure when or even if this will ever happen. The hotel owners M Waikiki LLC filed for bankruptcy late last week which actually protected them from having to turn the hotel back over to Edition's parent company, Marriott, despite a New York judge's ruling to do so. Sigh. It could be a really long time before all this gets sorted out and we're just afraid the damage to Edition is probably already done.
Let's hope the upcoming Editions--Bangkok, London, Mexico City and South Beach--fare much better.
Edition Waikiki Lawsuit / Hotel Takeovers / Aqua Hotels Hawaii / Edition Hotels / Marriott Hotels / Hotel Employees / Honolulu Hotels / → All Tags
It Turns Out The Edition Waikiki Was 'Just a Job' to Some
We all had a three-day weekend thanks to the Labor Day holiday but down at the Waikiki Edition (or Edition Waikiki or Modern Honolulu, whatever team/side you're on), the employees were still working--both to serve guests and to fight against their new bosses, Aqua Hotels and Resorts.
As far as we know, Aqua is still running the hotel as the Modern Honolulu and Marriott is begrudgingly respecting the hotel owners, M Waikiki's recent bankruptcy filing. In the meantime, Marriott plans to sue M Waikiki up the wazoo, or for tens of millions of dollars in damages for breaking the management contract. As for the guests, Marriott is now urging them to call the Marriott reservations center and make reservations at other nearby Marriott hotels.
On the bright side, even though there are miserable employees on the property, the booze is free. The hotel is no longer selling alcoholic drinks because it needs to apply for a new liquor license in Aqua's name as the old one belonged to Marriott. That sounds crappy but reports say they are giving away the alcohol. Whee!!
Now onward with the next chapter in this story..
Edition Waikiki Lawsuit / Hotel News / Edition Hotels / Aqua Hotels / Honolulu Hotels / Hotel Woes / → All Tags
What It's Like For a Guest at The Waikiki Edition aka Modern Honolulu Hotel
It's not so peaceful here anymore.
All this week, we've been watching the drama of the Waikiki Edition Takeover unfold at a rapid pace. The hotel owners, M Waikiki LLC, fired the first shot by dumping the Edition brand and anyone affiliated with Marriott Hotels overnight on Saturday and installing a new brand, Aqua Hotels and Resorts to run the place with a new name, The Modern Honolulu.
Marriott struck back by winning an injunction from a New York court to reinstall their Edition brand. But so far no changes have been made. Except that M Waikiki filed for bankruptcy yesterday making it harder for Marriott to take any further legal action against them.
All week long we've been posting commentary from the hotel's Edition employees who were forced to sign with Aqua Hotels or else be fired. Needless to say it's not a happy place there. (The employee have also set up a Facebook Page called Save the Waikiki Edition. 347 likes and counting!
But today, we have a different perspective to share with you--that of a longterm guest at the hotel who has stayed nearly 110 nights at the hotel this year alone. They write:
