Marriott teams up with Ikea to launch new hotel brand
Marriott Hotels is to partner with Swedish furniture giant IKEA on the launch of a new budget hotel chain in Germany and Europe called Moxy Hotels.
With the first hotel set to open in Milan in early 2014, Marriott plans to add 150 franchised Moxy Hotels in Europe over the next 10 years in countries such as the UK, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Marriott said that the hotels will be aimed at budget conscious travellers looking for stylish and contemporary places to stay. Arne Sorenson, president and chief executive of Marriott International, explained: “Moxy Hotels is the essence of the next generation traveller, not only Gen X and Y but people with a younger sensibility, for whom contemporary style is paramount.”
Inter Hospitality, a subsidiary of IKEA parent Inter IKEA, will be the initial developer and the preferred operating partner of the first Moxy Hotels, while Nordic Hospitality will be the first franchisee.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Peter Andrews, managing director of Inter Hospitality, said: “The agreement with Marriott and Nordic Hospitality gives us a great opportunity to use our development expertise to build a high-quality hotel property investment portfolio.
“Our initial focus is on acquiring sites for the new brand in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Austria. Over the next 5 years we aim to secure at least 50 sites for development.”
