Dive Brief:
- Motto by Hilton New York City Times Square opened this week, according to Hilton. The property is the brand’s second hotel in New York City.
- With the recent openings of Motto by Hilton and nearby Tempo by Hilton — plus forthcoming locations of its Home2 Suites and Hampton brands — Hilton is adding 2,000 rooms to its portfolio in Times Square.
- The Manhattan neighborhood has seen a flurry of hotel activity this year, capitalizing on tourists’ return to the city after a pandemic slump. The Motto by Hilton opening is part of the company’s push to open lifestyle hotels in urban centers.
Dive Insight:
The first Motto by Hilton hotel in the New York City market opened last year in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. The brand’s second outpost — Motto by Hilton New York City Times Square — is located in a 400-room tower near the intersection of 47th Street and Seventh Avenue.
“This new hotel exemplifies the Motto brand essence — it is centrally located in one of the city’s most famed neighborhoods and incorporates flexible and modern design elements, encouraging guests to connect and reflect on the cityscape, moments from the best of Broadway, museums, dining and culture,” said Theodora De Souza, brand leader for Motto by Hilton, in a statement.
The property includes design flourishes inspired by the 1920s, as well as a diner-style restaurant, The Alderman, with craft cocktails. Guest rooms are compact, with the option to conjoin up to six rooms for group bookings featuring Hilton’s Confirmed Connecting Rooms technology.
Motto by Hilton — along with Tempo by Hilton and Canopy by Hilton — is one of three lifestyle brands the company has accelerated development of in recent years. Hilton projects that its lifestyle pipeline will more than double between 2022 and 2032.
As of 2022, signings for the three brands accounted for nearly one-fifth of Hilton’s overall pipeline of 55 hotels. More than half of these are in the U.S. The first-ever Tempo by Hilton opened last month, also in Times Square.
Hilton isn’t the only company to expand into the New York City neighborhood in recent months. Marriott brought its Delta Hotels by Marriott brand to Times Square last month. And in May, InterContinental Hotels Group announced plans to open a Kimpton hotel in the neighborhood this fall.
Meanwhile, LuxUrban Hotels Inc. — which is currently in the midst of a major New York City expansion — signed Master Lease Agreements to reopen and operate The Hotel at Times Square and Hotel 46 Times Square.
Motto by Hilton’s Times Square property is the sixth in the brand to open overall, following others in Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Tulum, Mexico; and Rotterdam, Netherlands. Forthcoming Motto by Hilton locations are planned for Cusco, Peru; Hong Kong; Glasgow, Scotland; and Atlanta.
