Marriott expands luxury W brand into Ohio with hotels and residences

Diving overview:

Marriott International’s W luxury brand is expanding into Ohio with the double-branded W Residences and W Residences in downtown Cleveland, according to a release from Brown Gibbons Lang & Co., which secured financing for the project. The W Hotel facility will open. The hotel and residential project, valued at more than $218 million, is centered around the mixed-use redevelopment of Cleveland’s historic Erieview Tower and Galleria, the release details. There is. Locally-based Kassouf Development will lead the transformation project, which will build 227 W-branded residential units and 210 branded luxury hotel rooms. The project follows several years of brand refresh and expands W Hotels’ footprint into new markets. In recent months, the luxury hotel brand has opened a flagship property on the West Coast and expanded to Las Vegas.

Dive Insight:

Construction of the W brand project will proceed in stages, with the residential portion to begin immediately and hotel construction to begin later this year. The project is part of a larger mixed-use redevelopment and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

The property will be the first W hotel in Ohio and will include a rooftop bar, fine dining, spa, fitness center and lobby lounge, as well as office space and a 15,000-square-foot ballroom, according to a release.

Jenna Jacobson, Marriott’s vice president of luxury and mixed-use development, said at the 2024 Lodging Conference that W Hotels will focus on destination-specific design and unique activations to attract guests. He said the expansion has occurred in recent months after several years of brand evolution.

In October, the brand announced its West Coast flagship hotel, W Hollywood, in California. Later that month, W Hotels announced it was expanding into Las Vegas with the renovation of MGM’s Delano Las Vegas on its Mandalay Bay campus.

Also in October, Marriott’s W South Beach luxury hotel and mansion was sold to Swiss-based private equity firm Reuben Brothers for $400 million. At the closing, the buyer said it would take the property into a “transformative new chapter.”

The dual-branded Ohio project comes as Marriott prioritizes growing its portfolio in the luxury segment and seeks loyalty benefits in the branded residential space. W Hotels’ portfolio includes 23 properties in the United States and nearly 50 additional properties worldwide.