Stein Hotels and Resorts, the boutique hotel chain with 17 properties in the UK and Western Europe, is moving into the US market.
Founded in December 2001 by David Stein, the company aimed to have 25 hotels in operation within a decade. Six hotels ” all due to open within the next two years ” are currently in the pipeline, taking the total to 23 in just seven years.
Not wanting to rest on his laurels, Stein has ambitious plans for the company in the US, with key gateway city locations including New York, Washington DC, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Although no firm details have been released, Stein is confident that boutique hotels have a long and prosperous future: ”Luxury travel in the early 21st century will be more and more defined by individual experiences. People don”t want homogeneity ” they want to stay in infinitely unique hotels and enjoy the differences that each one offers,” he said.
”Given the shifting demographics of today”s high-end hotel and resort guests, evolution of technology, increasing guest sophistication and trends in consumer usage patterns, there is no doubt that the era of customisation is upon the lodging industry on a global basis.”
Heading the US office, located on Chicago”s North Michigan Avenue, is Tanya Franco. Franco joins the company from Strategic Hotels and Resorts, where she served initially as a founding executive when the company launched in 1997, and later as executive vice president and managing director Europe.