StayWell contemplates new lifestyle hotel brand

Australian hotel firm StayWell is considering using its forthcoming property in the hip Shoreditch area of London as the pilot for a new lifestyle brand.

The company currently has Park Regis and Leisure Inn in its portfolio, but as other hoteliers see success with new lifestyle offerings such as AHL’s QT, it is increasingly considering taking a similar path, chief executive Simon Wan revealed.

“Like any other hotel group, we’re looking at expanding our branding,” he told Travel Today. “We’re in the process of evaluating, but we’re looking at a new lifestyle brand – that seems to be the trend of the month.”

The Shoreditch property is currently set to become part of the Park Regis portfolio when it opens in 2015.

“But I think that, because the hotel doesn’t open until next year, that there’s an opportunity for us to launch a lifestyle brand using Shoreditch as a platform,” Wan said.

According to Wan, the hotels “game” has significantly changed over the last 10 years as younger customers, more advanced technology and additional distribution channels enter the market.

“These other lifestyle brands with a warmer personality, a bit more sophistication yet still casual, are really coming into the accommodation sector,” he said. “Now people are happy to check themselves in like in an airport – that was not the case 10 years ago.”

He confirmed that if StayWell succeeds in creating the “right” branding and personality for such a brand, it would use the Shoreditch property as its launch pad before taking it to other cities around the world.

“Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore would be on top of the agenda,” Wan said.

StayWell contemplates new lifestyle hotel brand