Dive Brief:
- Graduate Hotels will open its 35th hotel in Auburn, Alabama, this September, according to a release shared with Hotel Dive.
- The 177-room hotel will be the brand’s first in Alabama and will draw inspiration from nearby Auburn University. Guests can now reserve their stays for this fall.
- Hilton recently acquired the growing Graduate Hotels brand for $210 million to expand its lifestyle pipeline and presence in college town markets. Auburn, according to Graduate founder and CEO Ben Weprin, is “a quintessential college town.”
Dive Insight:
Graduate Hotels currently operate in 34 university-anchored markets, all but two of which are in the U.S.
Though many in the brand’s portfolio are conversion properties, Graduate Auburn is a ground-up build spanning 140,000 square feet. The hotel includes 10,000 square feet of meeting and event space, an indoor-outdoor rooftop bar and restaurant and a coffee shop and bar called Bo Jackson’s Beans, a nod to former Auburn University football player and Heisman winner Bo Jackson.
“It was never about whether we wanted to be in Auburn, but always about finding the right site,” said Weprin, in a statement. “Auburn boasts a rich heritage and tradition, and we’ve woven subtle and not-so-subtle nods to that history throughout every nook and cranny of the hotel.”
Design elements will reference university traditions, heroes and legends, and a statue of Bo Jackson will feature in the lobby bar. Furnishings throughout the property will feature Auburn University colors, orange and blue.
Last week, Hilton announced plans to acquire the Graduate Hotels brand for $210 million. The brand’s current owner, Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners, will continue to own the properties’ real estate. Hilton expects the deal to close in the second quarter of this year.
Experts previously told Hotel Dive that college town markets are particularly appealing for hotels. “These communities that are supported by large universities are essentially recession-proof,” Gary Brandeis, CEO of Scholar Hotels, said.
Hilton said in its acquisition announcement last week that “the addressable market for the Graduate brand is 400-500 hotels globally.”
