Sir Richard Branson knows a thing or two about the travel industry and, not content with being able to list a global airline, private Island and space tourism among his current projects, Sir Richard Branson has announced his Virgin Group plans to invest around £320 million developing a chain of new luxury hotels.
The new Virgin Hotels website openss with the strapline: ‘Fancy getting into bed with Virgin’ and describes the project as ‘our next (ad)venture’.
The site states clearly that Virgin Hotels will be a four-star chain that targets ‘high income, well-educated, metropolitan “creative class” customers’.
Initially opening in North America, with destinations mooted including cities such as New York, San Francisco, Miami, Boston and Los Angeles, the company says it eventually plans to launch hotels worldwide.
A message on the site reads: ‘With over 25 years in the travel sector and a reputation for delivering unforgettable experiences to millions of Virgin fans, Virgin is a perfect fit for the hotel business.’
It’s likely the chain will face stiff competition from rival US brands who have tried to corner the ’boutique’ hotel market.
The Starwood-owned design-conscious W brand has grown extensively over the last five years and is likely to provide big competition, as is the fashionable Andaz chain, owned by Hyatt Hotels.
The Virgin Group has employed the services of entrepreneur Alberto Beeck and property investor Diego Lowenstein to find the right properties, which will have between 150 and 400 rooms and ‘ample communal space’.
A PDF file provides a more detailed summary of the new business, download here