Hilton’s new Motto brand targets Rotterdam, abandons London
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Back in 2018, we wrote about Motto.
Motto was a new hotel brand announced by Hilton. It “is a micro-hotel with an urban vibe in prime global locations”.
In plain English, Hilton believed that extended family groups or large groups of friends looking for rock-bottom rates are happy to share rooms. However, they don’t want to stay in a traditional hostel. This is a market which the Generator chain dominates, creating hostels with private rooms and funky shared spaces.
The mock-up Motto room pictured above explains it better. The average room will be a super-small 14 square metres and may have bunk beds or beds which flip down from the walls. The majority of rooms will connect so you can build the exact space you need for your group.
London was due to be the launchpad for Motto. A 100-room hotel was planned for Marylebone, and the demolition of the existing building was already underway when the project was announced in 2018.
As is very common with new hotel projects, however, it didn’t happen. Unsurprisingly, the developer realised that putting a budget hotel in one of the most expensive parts of London was a bit silly. I believe that a luxury boutique hotel is now being developed on the site.
Three years from the launch announcement, only two Motto hotels have opened, both in the US. However, a Motto in Rotterdam was announced this week. It will open in 2022 in the Blaak neighbourhood, in a conversion of a former bank. Let’s hope Hilton has more luck with this one.
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