Weblog Consulting Register Login Subscribe to Free Influx Emails Join our Facebook Group Branding Street Cred Technology Lifestyle Style Entertainment Interviews Art InfluxTV Map Widgets RSS — All Subjects RSS — More Feeds

Search

Advanced Search

Contact Privacy Policy

With the fantastic amounts of money flowing into the personal accounts of New York's young investment bankers, it has to go somewhere.

One place it's increasingly being invested is in property, but there's a new take on modern luxury and one of the most interesting examples is 40 Bond. This is a collaboration between the "godfather of the boutique hotel", Ian Schrager and Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron. The concept is to combine the look and ameneties and feel of a modern luxury hotel into a residence.

Architecturally, it's a re-interpretation of the classic Soho loft.

Schrager explains all in this film.




Posted by Ed Cotton Hotel giant Marriott has finally woken up to the changed world and wants to capitalize on the consumer's desire for unique experiences. Ian Schrager, who's spent a good part of his life pushing against the grain of conformity, will be Marriott's partner and guiding light in this new venture.

The press release announcing the deal, says many of the right things.

"The brand, the brainchild of the new partners, responds to new cultural and social imperatives that Mr. Schrager says have emerged. This brand will reflect these changing lifestyles and cater to a vast underserved market of guests expecting and in turn demanding a unique experience not merely a place to sleep. “Together Marriott and I have a new vision and plan to radically rethink and catapult the lifestyle boutique hotel into the present by capturing the spirit of the times,” said Mr. Schrager.

“People today are sophisticated and they understand good design, quality, originality and commitment to excellence. They will not accept something derivative and they want the ethos and soul of a hotel to be authentic and have character.  They also expect and deserve impeccable, modern and gracious personalized service that is at the same time luxurious yet down to earth. It is the ultimate balancing act of these apparent contradictions to create a hotel that is simultaneously specific and customized yet universal. We intend to make this type of lodging widely accessible and available for the first time in the key lodging destinations across the globe and to everybody around the world who wants it.”

Schrager is the father of the boutique hotel concept, which in recent years has become ubiquitous. Starwood took or "stole" Schrager's DNA, turning into the W chain, that it built into a global brand. 

Don't be mistaken in thinking that this concept will be a "W by Schrager and Marriott",
Schrager has moved on. In an October 2006, interview with Travel and Leisure magazine he defined his new philosophy.

 "The idea I had is—forget about doing something subversive to the status quo, forget about trying to do something hip or underground. There is no more underground. There is no more hip. It's impossible to do it because everything is instantly out there. I wanted to do something that was an alternative, something personal."

It remains to be seen if Marriott can get anywhere close to delivering something like this. It will be a significant cultural challenge.

However, we won't have to wait long to find out, the plan is to open 5 hotels by the end of the year and 100 in total.




Posted by Ed Cotton