Business Travel Tips

Despite about 20 hotels were scheduled to open in Manhattan in 2008, no one of them seems to be aiming at luxury segment. With one exception, the Mark Hotel, at 77th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan, which reopens later this year after an extensive renovation. Its room rates will start at around $1,000 a night.

(photo by atomicshark licensed under
the Creative Commons license).

The New York Times quoted Bjorn Hanson, who tracks the hotel industry for PricewaterhouseCoopers, saying about hotels opening in Manhattan in 2008: “They’re either very small, or they’re not at the price point the Mark will be at,”. He adds “it is still a very positive time to open a hotel in Manhattan, especially at the high end.”

James Sherwin, who recently took the job of general manager at Mark Hotel, said one of his goals would be to keep prices from slipping.
He explains: “Today, hotels are likely to lower prices whenever demand softens. But by doing you potentially take in people who aren’t necessarily the caliber that the business is based on.” In short, he said, “I’m a great believer in, if necessary, letting the occupancy drop a bit, but keeping your rates as you wish.”

Mr. Senbahar, co-owner of Mark Hotel, says: “People are willing to spend the money, but you’ve got to make it stress-free for them. That’s basically the game plan.”

Mark hotel won’t have to manage its own dining room because it has formed a partnership with Sant Ambroeus, an Italian restaurant on Madison Avenue, which will open a branch inside the hotel. (source)