Dive Brief:
- Netherlands-based hotel company CitizenM is expanding in the U.S. with three new-construction hotels set to open in summer 2024.
- The properties will be located in Austin, Texas — a new market for CitizenM — Miami and Boston. With the openings, the hotel operator fortifies the U.S.’s presence in its global portfolio, which comprises more than 30 “affordable luxury” hotels in cities like Paris, London, Amsterdam and New York.
- The openings are part of a larger expansion strategy by CitizenM, focused on growth in the Americas. Rani Gharbie, CitizenM's recently appointed managing director of investment and development for the Americas, told Hotel Dive that of the 41 hotels in the company's portfolio and pipeline, half are in the Americas.
Dive Insight:
The hotel openings are part of CitizenM’s plans to grow its Americas portfolio, an initiative the company appointed Rani Gharbie to spearhead in September.
At CitizenM, Gharbie is tasked with sourcing investment opportunities and putting together strategic joint venture partnerships to grow the hotel portfolio in key urban destinations across the Americas.
CitizenM is targeting U.S. markets in the South, Southeast and West Coast, as well as Toronto, Vancouver and other major cities in Canada. The company is also actively pursuing opportunities in the U.S. markets it already has a presence in, Gharbie told Hotel Dive.
“All of these markets appeal to us because they’re experiencing robust development growth, offer a broad array of demand drivers, and have a proven business and leisure travel crossover with other markets where we’re active,” Gharbie said, adding that the company’s development pipeline is “robust” entering 2024.
CitizenM will open a 344-room hotel in downtown Austin next year. Developed in partnership with New York-based Turnbridge Equities, the property will feature a fitness center and a rooftop pool and bar area. The hotel’s design will be inspired by the surrounding community, with contemporary art by local artists, according to the company’s announcement.
Austin is a new market for CitizenM, which has other U.S. hotels in New York City; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; and Seattle. The hotel “marks the brand’s commitment to be present in markets where its customers are,” CitizenM said in a release.
Austin has been on CitizenM’s radar for years, as an “exciting cultural center and influential tech and business hub,” the company added.
Similar to the Austin property, CitizenM’s new 168-room hotel in Miami South Beach will act as a “retreat” for travelers, with a rooftop pool, bar and terrace. The property joins other CitizenM hotels in the market, including Miami Brickell and Miami Worldcenter.
CitizenM is also opening a 399-key hotel, set to be the largest property in its portfolio, in the heart of Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. The property will anchor the surrounding Parcel 12 mixed-use development, catering to the office and retail center.
The company recently opened a hotel — its first in Silicon Valley and first on a corporate campus — at the Meta headquarters and is underway on a third location in Washington, D.C., in the Georgetown neighborhood, Gharbie shared.
“This mix of broadening our portfolio into new cities and deepening our portfolio in core markets will be an important part of our growth strategy going forward,” Gharbie said.
CitizenM’s expansion comes as the luxury and lifestyle segment experiences significant growth across the U.S.
