NEW YORK—The Langham name has been attached to hotels for more than 140 years since the opening of the Langham in London, but now the company wants to accelerate its growth as a global brand.
Bob van den Oord, VP of sales and marketing, said Langham Hotels International is aiming to open properties in a number of key gateways in North America in addition to its continued expansion in Europe and Asia.
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| Bob van den Oord |
“I know I have been saying that we will have a New York location soon, and we actually had a deal fall through recently,” he said, “but we will have a New York location in the near future.”
While Langham owns all three of its U.S.-based hotels, it is open to carrying out its expansion “through a variety of means,” said Katie Benson, regional VP, Europe and North America.
“Either by total ownership, joint venture or management contracts,” she said. “We would like to work with like-minded parties to extend our brand.”
U.S. foothold
In the U.S., Langham operates hotels in Boston (formerly Le Meridien) and Pasadena (formerly a Ritz-Carlton). A Chicago hotel will open in 2013 in the former IBM building on Wabash Avenue. The 320-room property will be housed within a 52-story structure that is said to be the last building designed by legendary architect Mies van der Rohe. Langham is investing US$150 million in the project.
Aside from New York, priority locations for North America include San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Benson said Langham would be open to newly built properties if the opportunity arises.
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| Katie Benson |
“It’s been an exciting start to the year,” Van den Oord said. “We’ve invested (US)$150 million in the iconic Mies van der Rohe building, which was the IBM Building in Chicago. We signed two new deals in Lavasa, India, and by the end of this year we will open five Langham Place hotels in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Ningbo (China); Phuket (Thailand); and Pune (India).”
Globally, Langham operates the Langham and Langham Place brands at the upper end of the market. Benson said the former “stimulates your senses in a traditional, quiet and luxurious way, while Langham Place is slightly younger, cheekier. It’s naughty but nice with the same 5-star service as the Langham brand.”
Portfolio and projections
Langham has 13 hotels open among all its brands (11 of which it owns), and 15 in the pipeline or under construction. Much of the growth, said van den Oord, is anchored on what he calls the “new silk road” from China to India to the Middle East.
The company also operates 4-star Eaton and Eaton Smart hotels in India and Asia. Benson said projected growth would extend equally to both Langham and Langham Place.
“This is the future,” van den Oord said. “Going forward over the next 20 years, the economies of the U.S. and Europe will double, while China and India will multiply by eight times and all those travelers will need rooms.”
“We have a special history that puts us ahead of a lot of competitors,” Benson said. “We have a unique, branded spa product (Chuan Spa) based on Chinese elements; we operate the spas ourselves.” The first Chuan Spa in Europe recently opened at The Langham, London.
Langham also has plans for resort locations, Benson said.