Marriott International could be poised to take a larger slice of the downtown L.A. hotel pie if plans to build a new 377-room property come to fruition. Marriott would not own the property themselves, but they would operate the hotel under their Courtyard and Residence brand names. When complete, the 22-floor property would help meet a demand that grew by about 24% last year.
Marriott already operates two other hotels within the same general vicinity and a third only seven blocks away. However, company officials cite the fact that all of their different brands cater to a variety of travelers across a wide spectrum of tastes and financial means. For this reason it isn’t uncommon for Marriott properties to be clustered close together. Furthermore, the new hotel would be very close to the L.A. Live Center that, in tandem with the Staples Center now hosts as many as 300 events per year.
Building the $120 million hotel campus is Oregon developer Williams/Dame & Associates, the same company that developed three condominium properties in L.A.’s South Park district. Officials from the firm are quick to point out that hotel properties are less expensive and easier to construct because the rooms are uniform. They believe that investing in a new luxury hotel in downtown L.A., which they would own, is a fairly safe bet.
The key to the success of the project is the Courtyard and Residence brands. These hotels generally offer slightly larger rooms with kitchen facilities, and are aimed at travelers who will be staying for a longer period of time. According to Marriott, there is a noticeable lack of these kinds of rooms in the downtown area.