Marriott International is launching a new hotel brand in partnership with Inter Hospitality, the property division of Scandinavian furniture giant IKEA, it announced yesterday. Called Moxy Hotels, the new brand will be an economy, three-star flag geared toward young travelers in Europe.
“Moxy Hotels is the essence of the next generation traveler, not only Gen X and Y but people with a younger sensibility, for whom contemporary style is paramount,” says Marriott President and CEO Arne Sorenson. “Every aspect of the hotel was thoughtfully researched and crafted to reflect and deliver on the changing lifestyles and expectations of this fast-growing customer segment. We believe Marriott will lead the way in redefining the traditional economy hotel experience throughout Europe.”
Marriott plans to open 150 franchised Moxy Hotels in Europe over the next 10 years. The first, in Milan, Italy, is scheduled to open in 2014 and will be owned by Inter Hospitality, which will be the developer for Marriott’s first batch of Moxy Hotels.
“The agreement with Marriott … gives us a great opportunity to use our development expertise to build a high-quality hotel property investment portfolio,” says Peter Andrews, managing director of Inter Hospitality. “Our initial focus is on acquiring sites for the new brand in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Austria. Over the next five years we aim to secure at least 50 sites for development.”
The Moxy brand has been in development for over two years, according to Marriott, which describes it as having “contemporary stylish design,” “approachable service” and “an affordable price.” Each hotel will have 150 to 300 guest rooms, and will be designed with the goal of attaining LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Key features will include a healthy continental breakfast, an evening bar, a 24/7 market, free Wi-Fi, check-in via mobile devices and — for meetings — two “Plug and Play” meeting spaces with ergonomic seating, large writing walls and 56-inch televisions for presentation projection.
Says Amy McPherson, president and managing director of Marriott International in Europe, “We see a huge opportunity to expand our market share in Europe with Moxy Hotels. The economy tier in Europe represents nearly half of total room supply, yet only 20 percent of these hotels are branded. Moxy Hotels will be a great addition to our portfolio of brands in Europe.”