NASHVILLE, Tennessee—Vision Hospitality Group is growing its portfolio with up-and-coming brands such as Moxy by Marriott and Tru by Hilton, which President and CEO Mitch Patel said offer what younger travelers are looking for in a hotel stay.
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At the Hotel Data Conference in Nashville, Patel spoke about the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based company’s recent openings—the Tru by Hilton Atlanta McDonough and the Moxy Denver Cherry Creek—and pipeline projects, which include two additional Tru by Hilton hotels: Vision’s second Tru in Atlanta and its first in its home city of Chattanooga.
“People are looking for unique products and unique experiences, but guess what: They don’t have the wallets sometimes to experience that,” Patel said. “To be in the upper upscale or luxury and lifestyle, there’s so many young people that don’t have the disposable income—we’re designing it for them—but they don’t have the disposable income to stay there. So I think that those kind of brands are fitting the customer that has that income, and I think that’s what’s exciting about the opportunity.”
Vision also plans to open The Edwin Hotel—which will be affiliated with Marriott International’s Autograph Collection—in September in Chattanooga.
While the U.S. hotel industry is likely approaching the end of the current cycle, Patel said his company is taking the long view of hotel development.
“You better be in this for the long term,” Patel said. “You can’t be paying today’s land costs and today’s construction costs and then go in and open in a dip and be thinking about flipping it; that model probably won’t work.”
For the complete interview, watch the video below.