NEW YORK—Yotel has announced global expansion plans targeting key city centers and international airports in Asia, Europe, and North America. More than 3,000 cabins are scheduled to open by 2018, including Yotel hotels in Singapore, Paris, Miami, San Francisco, and a second property in New York City.
“Yotel has created a niche product for affordable luxury,” said Yotel CEO Hubert Viriot. “Since the opening of our first hotel in 2006, Yotel has accommodated over 1 million visitors and collected invaluable insight on both our guests’ expectations and our investors’ requirements. Today, YoteL has the solid foundation and proven track record to expand globally.”
Initially conceived for busy international travelers at airport terminals, the Yotel concept proved successful in urban centers with the opening in 2011 of the 669-room Yotel Times Square developed by the Related Group.
In addition to New York, Miami, and San Francisco, Yotel is in advanced negotiations to operate new properties in Boston, Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Toronto. Outside North America, the company is actively pursuing opportunities in Europe and Asia Pacific, in particular Dubai, London, Milan, Barcelona, Sydney, and Hong Kong. The brand’s development team is led by CDO Jason Brown.
“One third of the company’s future growth is anticipated to take place within airport locations, with the other two-thirds planned for city centers,” Brown said. “We primarily operate through long-term management contracts, but we can also entertain alternative deal structures such as leases, particularly in airport environments.”
Yotel’s next three locations to open in the United States are in Miami, Brooklyn’s Williamsburg, and San Francisco’s Mid-Market neighborhood. New York-based real estate developer Synapse Capital is developing a 100,000-square-foot mixed-use project along with 110 Yotel cabins in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Together with IFA Hotels & Resorts and its partners, Synapse is also transforming the Grant Building at 1095 Market Street in San Francisco into a 200-cabin Yotel hotel. Yotel Miami is a 250-cabin hotel being developed by Aria Development Group in partnership with AQARAT (Kuwait Real Estate Company) in the heart of Downtown Miami.
In Europe, Yotel is developing its fourth airport hotel at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, which is due to open in mid-2016. The following year, Yotel will open its first property in Asia with the launch of Yotel Singapore on Orchard Road. Developed by Singapore-listed Hong Fok Corporation Limited, Yotel Singapore will feature 600 cabins located at the heart of the city-state’s busiest commercial strip and steps away from major tourist attractions.
