W Hotels

W Hotels is an American upscale lifestyle hotel chain owned by Marriott International that is marketed towards a younger age group. History W Hotels was launched in 1998 with W New York, a conversion of the former Doral Inn hotel on Lexington Avenue, Manhattan. It quickly became popular as a New York City nightclub. Identifying a gap in the market, Barry Sternlicht, CEO of Starwood Hotels 1995–2005, created the brand that popularized the lifestyle hotel concept of focusing on fashion and design. This included dark, muted colors, brushed metal, hotel staff in black T-shirts rather than white jackets, tasteful photographs, and a trendy bar. His demand for all-white bedding required manufacturers to develop white fabric that stayed clean without weekly dry cleaning. The earlier W Hotels in the U.S. were cutting edge renovations of existing hotels within the Starwood group. Replacing the lobby with the "living room" concept, where guests could gather at the bar, differed from the traditional hotel. Although W Hotels receives credit for the idea, the underlying concept was once common. In the 1800s, the lobby provided a social gathering point in most communities. In earlier eras, the bar was often unseparated from the lobby. However, the aspirational, stylish, modern, and very strong design identity was W Hotel's unique feature. In 2001, Starwood added W New York - Times Square, a design model for the rapid expansion of properties in the United States over the next decade.