BERLIN — The role of branded residences in hospitality has evolved over the years from helping make deals pencil to a real estate project that can stand on its own.
Marriott International is the largest branded hospitality company with 150 branded residences open and nearly 150 in the development pipeline, said Dana Jacobsohn, chief development officer, North America luxury brands and global mixed-use, in a video interview at the International Hospitality Investment Forum EMEA. Marriott entered the space about 25 years ago when the financing environment was different.
They were initially used to diversify the capital stack and help developers build co-located hotel projects. Now, they can operate as standalone properties and are so popular that other luxury brands have entered the residential space.
There are a lot of both hotel and residential developers who work with Marriott on these projects, Jacobsohn said. Globally, Marriott has a dedicated group of residential developers on all continents.
“We notice that wherever we put effort and resources, we will see residences grow,” she said. “In addition, we’re seeing residences across all of our full-service brands.”
Marriott has 228 million Bonvoy members, Jacobsohn said. These branded residences are ideal for those who want to live in a home with the amenities they associate with these brands.
“They want the services, they want the amenities,” she said. “And what I think is really special is our branded residences provide a community, right? A community with activities and colleagues, like-minded colleagues. Even if it’s your second home or third home, it’s a community that you’re spending time with.”
Currently, Marriott has the St. Regis Costa del Sol near Marbella, Spain, in the works, Jacobsohn said. There’s also the Lucan Residences, under the Autograph Collection, in Chelsea that is opening soon. In the U.S., there’s the St. Regis Hotel & Residences in Fort Lauderdale and the W Pompano Beach Hotel & Residences.
New branded residences projects are market- and demand-specific, Jacobsohn said. There’s an assessment whether there are Marriott-branded hotels in the market that would fit well with a branded residence. If there’s not, then they look at whether a hotel and branded residence would fit into the market. In some cases, the hotel may not due to not enough specific demand generators while the branded residence would because it’s an affluent market with strong residential demand.
“In the end, we do a deep analysis to make sure that the demand is right so that we can guide the developer to build the right product with one of the right brands from our portfolio,” she said.
For more from the interview with Marriott’s Dana Jacobsohn, watch the video embedded above.