W hotel coming to Houston (Dallas, San Antonio: for sale, home, taxi)

[Spade]

Ritz-Carlton, Mandarin-Oriental, Peninsula, Park Hyatt, SLS hotels, and a couple others are know as the top line of the luxury hotels worldwide. St Regis and four seasons is jusssst a notch under them.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by jd433

We are the last Texas city to get one. I'm still waiting for a Trump Tower, Dallas already got snubbed for one.

I'll trade the one here for the Whataburger we were promised a few months ago.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by Spade

Ritz-Carlton, Mandarin-Oriental, Peninsula, Park Hyatt, SLS hotels, and a couple others are know as the top line of the luxury hotels worldwide. St Regis and four seasons is jusssst a notch under them.

And Rosewood. Houston's only only of this caliber are the Post Oak, Rosewood opens in 2024 and Equinox is said to be of this caliber.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

And Rosewood. Houston's only only of this caliber are the Post Oak, Rosewood opens in 2024 and Equinox is said to be of this caliber.

Oh I didn’t know this about Rosewood. Rosewood is every bit as great as the top luxury hotels. I do think more of those will come throughout the decade especially if Downtown and Midtown continue their trajectory. Notice most of these hotels are going in parts of markets that are vibrant (notice most of those brands that opened in Dallas occurred in Uptown Dallas which was the new stylish vibrant area of the city). For Houston, that has been the Galleria area. If Midtown continues to build towards that type of energy, they will attract more of those type of clients. You already see it with a Kimpton (which is about the same level as a Thompson) that’s now under construction. You will see more later.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by Spade

Oh I didn’t know this about Rosewood. Rosewood is every bit as great as the top luxury hotels. I do think more of those will come throughout the decade especially if Downtown and Midtown continue their trajectory. Notice most of these hotels are going in parts of markets that are vibrant (notice most of those brands that opened in Dallas occurred in Uptown Dallas which was the new stylish vibrant area of the city). For Houston, that has been the Galleria area. If Midtown continues to build towards that type of energy, they will attract more of those type of clients. You already see it with a Kimpton (which is about the same level as a Thompson) that’s now under construction. You will see more later.

It's the same effect that happened in retail. The River Oaks District opened, then the Highland Village remodeled, and the luxury wing of the Galleria remodeled and Houston got flooded with luxury retailers opening flagships from Dolce & Gabbana to Breitling, NARS, Tom Ford, etc long list. A lot which were firsts in Texas.

The ultra-luxury hotels are being constructed in the Post Oak area because it has the proximity to ultra-high end flagship boutiques in the River Oaks District and the Galleria, and the area has the most "boutique" office space and high end residential buildings. Plus the luxury cars, etc.

For lesser luxury-hotels, like the W or Four Seasons, Downtown and Midtown go great for the vibrancy. Because they fit that vibe.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by Spade

Oh I didn’t know this about Rosewood. Rosewood is every bit as great as the top luxury hotels. I do think more of those will come throughout the decade especially if Downtown and Midtown continue their trajectory. Notice most of these hotels are going in parts of markets that are vibrant (notice most of those brands that opened in Dallas occurred in Uptown Dallas which was the new stylish vibrant area of the city). For Houston, that has been the Galleria area. If Midtown continues to build towards that type of energy, they will attract more of those type of clients. You already see it with a Kimpton (which is about the same level as a Thompson) that’s now under construction. You will see more later.

The Rosewood is also being constructed on Post Oak Blvd, just like the Post Oak Tower, which is the other ultra-luxury hotel in the city. The other funny part about it is that it's also owned by a Sport-team owner, the McNair family. Maybe Jim Crane will build his own.

here's their link

https://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/houston

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by jfre81

"Where do we want to go this weekend?

"Chicago? New York?"

"Nah, too cold. How about Houston?"

"Houston?! What is there to see in Houston this weekend?"

"But they've got a new W Hotel!"

"....you son of a *****, I'm in.." *points*

You're messing around, but Houston is a pretty good events city. The convention business in Houston is booming partly because everything is close together and the city has a lot of experience hosting events. On top of that, the nightlife in the Inner Loop has gotten 10x better and more active. People come to Houston on the weekends to party believe it or not. If last call was pushed to 4AM, I think you'd see Houston mentioned with Atlanta for going out.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

You're messing around, but Houston is a pretty good events city. The convention business in Houston is booming partly because everything is close together and the city has a lot of experience hosting events. On top of that, the nightlife in the Inner Loop has gotten 10x better and more active. People come to Houston on the weekends to party believe it or not. If last call was pushed to 4AM, I think you'd see Houston mentioned with Atlanta for going out.

This is what I'm wondering about. I hope what you're saying is true - that there is now demand for weekend hotel occupancy in Houston. That blocked the feasibility for many upscale hotels here in the past - you can't make the numbers work on just 4 nights of above-65% occupancy with the other 3 nights 50% or less. It was what unfavorably distinguished Houston from NOLA, SA, and Austin.

Even Dallas seemed to be well ahead of us on upper-end hotels until very recently, so somehow they were getting the weekend occupancy too. That may have been due to the "weekend shopping / entertainment excursion" demand from upscale residents in other metros like OKC, Tulsa, and West Texas cities. Houston just didn't seem to get much of that - our potential was intercepted by SA / Austin / NOLA and even Galveston. And that was even with Discovery Green, Toyota Center and MMP in Downtown, plus the Theater District which had been there even longer. Hopefully our general centralized restaurant / nightlife scene has gained enough critical mass and notoriety to have turned that around.

You'd have thought that international shopping traffic to The Galleria would have been enough historically, since those tend to be pretty wealthy people, but it apparently wasn't (apart from the Granduca, which isn't really that old anyway). Uptown has long had good places to eat (though many have been chains and not chef-driven) but it wasn't known for nighttime entertainment (the Roxy and Belvedere being excepted, which are both gone). The shopping appeal should only have increased with the improvements to The Galleria and addition of the ROD. And of course now the image boost from the addition of Tilman's The Post Oak.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

This is what I'm wondering about. I hope what you're saying is true - that there is now demand for weekend hotel occupancy in Houston. That blocked the feasibility for many upscale hotels here in the past - you can't make the numbers work on just 4 nights of above-65% occupancy with the other 3 nights 50% or less. It was what unfavorably distinguished Houston from NOLA, SA, and Austin.

Even Dallas seemed to be well ahead of us on upper-end hotels until very recently, so somehow they were getting the weekend occupancy too. That may have been due to the "weekend shopping / entertainment excursion" demand from upscale residents in other metros like OKC, Tulsa, and West Texas cities. Houston just didn't seem to get much of that - our potential was intercepted by SA / Austin / NOLA and even Galveston. And that was even with Discovery Green, Toyota Center and MMP in Downtown, plus the Theater District which had been there even longer. Hopefully our general centralized restaurant / nightlife scene has gained enough critical mass and notoriety to have turned that around.

You'd have thought that international shopping traffic to The Galleria would have been enough historically, since those tend to be pretty wealthy people, but it apparently wasn't (apart from the Granduca, which isn't really that old anyway). Uptown has long had good places to eat (though many have been chains and not chef-driven) but it wasn't known for nighttime entertainment (the Roxy and Belvedere being excepted, which are both gone). The shopping appeal should only have increased with the improvements to The Galleria and addition of the ROD. And of course now the image boost from the addition of Tilman's The Post Oak.

The Post Oak-River Oaks-Uptown are has transformed by far to the most luxurious place in obviously Houston and possibly Texas. In addition to the Post Oak, the Rosewood is under construction. The shopping upgrades have brought new flagships to Texas that should have been here for a long time. Post Oak Boulevard is the place in close proximity to everything where hotels make most sense, so that's where the "ultra-luxurious" hotels (Post Oak and the under construction Rosewood) are going. While the Equinox is being built right in the ROD.

For brands that are upscale, but not quite as up there like the W, and Four Seasons, those do better in more vibrant areas.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

The renderings for the W Hotel in San Antonio are very similar to the renderings of Houston's W Hotel. Makes you wonder if they're using the same architect.