NASHVILLE, TN—Marriott International has opened its first-ever tri-branded property. Developed by North Point Hospitality, the 21-story, $140-million property combines three Marriott brands: AC Hotels, Residence Inn and SpringHill Suites.
“The three brands were chosen because they complement each other well in their different categories,” said S. Jay Patel, president and CEO at North Point Hospitality, the property’s developer. “AC is a distinctive brand, the Residence Inn is an extended-stay and SpringHill Suites is a classic select brand, so we are able to attract different needs from a variety of travelers.”
Located across from the city’s convention center, the 470-key property broke ground in July 2016. The hospitality company had originally expected to open the property mid-year 2018, but as has been the case with many construction projects in today’s economic environment, Marriott’s first-ever tri-branded property hit some snags.
“Delays are happening across the country today, primarily due to a labor shortage on the construction side,” said Eric Jacobs, chief development officer of North America lodging at Marriott. “This is a city on the boom, so getting officials, city inspectors—all of those kinds of things—is taking longer in the construction business today. Not specific to Marriott, not specific to the hotel business—across all kinds of asset classes.”
Despite construction challenges, the property’s off to a good start. “In pre-opening group sales alone the triple brand surpassed all expectations with over $10 million on the books prior to opening,” Patel said.
On the sixth floor, there’s an indoor/outdoor rooftop pool complete with fire pits, cabanas and a wrap-around veranda with seating. In total, the property has more than 9,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, including nearly 4,000 sq. ft. of meeting space on the 21st floor, where there’s also a rooftop bar, called rtb!
“Due to the depth of the market, Nashville provided an opportunity to create multiple brands under one roof and create economies on both the development and operations side,” he said. “Ultimately, it pays the most dividends to the guests through elevated experiences.”
Even though Marriott has been opening dual-branded properties for years (in the U.S., there are currently 56 open and 95 in the pipeline) , there’s no specific strategy for adding tri-branded properties to its portfolio, according to Jacobs. There aren’t any tri-branded properties in Marriott’s pipeline.
