neasa macerlean
How Paris Takes Luxury Hotels to a New Level
JLL Real Views | October 19, 2017
By: Neasa MacErlean When the rich and famous head to Paris, there are a select few addresses that their chauffeur-driven cars whisk them to. These are the Palace hotels, the crème de la crème of its luxury hotels scene, which used to be seven and but are soon to be fourteen. "The Paris palaces have history, heritage, beautiful buildings and they cannot be replicated," says Gwenola Donet, JLL's head of Hotels and Hospitality in France. "They're a key reason why Paris will remain one of the three gateway cities in the world for the top hotels, along with London and New York. There will be palaces in emerging cities such as H...
Can Saudi Arabia Build a Popular Tourist Destination?
JLL Real Views | August 31, 2017
By Neasa MacErlean Tourism in the Middle East has long been dominated by the high-end resorts in Dubai, Egypt and Jordan yet they could soon have a new challenger in their midst. Saudi Arabia is turning its attention to tourism and entertainment as it seeks to not only reposition its economy but also meet a pent-up demand for greater leisure options within its own population. The Saudi government is thinking big. Plans are afoot for a luxury tourist area bigger than Belgium and stretching across 50 islands on the Red Sea coastline, which is mooted to open in 2022. Another large-scale scheme to develop an area the size of Moscow was unve...
Sky High Demand: The Surge in Skyscraper Hotels
Jll Real Views | May 3, 2017
By Neasa MacErlean Hotels are well versed in making their guests feel on top of the world but a growing number are now allowing them to wine, dine and sleep hundreds of meters above ground level as well. When the Wuhan Greenland Center takes its place as China's tallest building in 2018, a hotel will open in the top 35 floors of the 636 meter super-structure. Similarly, Seoul's just-finished Lotte World Tower, the world's fifth tallest building, includes 25 floors of hotel space in the top third of its 554 meters. Indeed, 18 of the world's tallest 50 super towers currently contain a hotel. But of the generation now in construction, half...
The Draw of Art in Modern Hotels
JLL Real Views | April 10, 2017
by Neasa MacErlean Sipping cocktails next to giant Ming vases, sleeping under Regency portraits or finding your bedroom within an Antony Gormley sculpture — these are among the experiences that hotels are now offering their guests. Hotels have long had links with the arts world but the trend is now accelerating in many countries. "Hotels are becoming more interested in art for two very simple reasons," says Geraldine Guichardo, Americas Head of Hotels & Hospitality Research at JLL. "These are to help enhance the guest experience and also to differentiate the hotel." She points to the Bellagio Las Vegas as a prime example of ho...
Total Impact: Using Data to Make a Difference
JLL Real Views | January 2, 2017
By Neasa MacErlean No company is an island: its actions, both direct and indirect, often have a big impact not just on its workplace and employees but also on the world around it. Now, a new approach known as Total Impact (TI) is helping them work out their full effect on society, the environment and the economy. It looks to build on existing financial reporting, as well as concepts such as corporate sustainability and integrated reporting, and could help to offer a more complete picture of a company's role in wider society. "What's new about TI is the methodology," says Philip Hirst, Director – Upstream Sustainability Services in...
Capsule Hotels: Small Spaces with Big Potential
JLL Real Views | October 26, 2016
By Neasa MacErlean Sleeping in a box which is 2 meters long and a little over 1 meter high and wide is becoming the low cost, Japanese-style choice of thousands of international travelers. Launched in Osaka in 1979 to enable local businessmen enjoy an evening out, capsule hotels are now mainly aimed at international travelers. Growing numbers of these hotels have opened in recent years across Asia and into Europe and the Americas to cater for the rise in single travelers looking for low-priced rooms for one which equally offer opportunities to socialize with others in shared leisure facilities. "Capsule hotels offer budget tourists and ...
Hollywood Stars Heading Backstage in the Hotel Sector
JLL Real Views | October 12, 2016
By Neasa MacErlean Actors Robert Redford, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Leonardo DiCaprio have more in common than their Oscars: all have also taken an active role in the hotel industry. Robert De Niro is another Academy Award winner who is slowly but surely carving out a name in the hospitality world. Already the owner of The Greenwich in New York, scene of his 1976 success Taxi Driver, and the Nobu hotel in Manila, Philippines, De Niro has just been granted planning permission for an upmarket 83-bedroom project in London's Covent Garden. Described as a joint operator along with Capital & Counties, De Niro brought star power to the proj...
Luxury Hotels Heading Underwater to Deliver the Wow Factor
JLL Real Views | July 14, 2016
By Neasa MacErlean Luxury hotels with underwater features are offering unusual experiences for their affluent guests who want to dine below the waves and sleep nearly nose-to-fin with the local sea life. The world's largest underwater restaurant opens at the 5-star Hurawalhi Resort Maldives in August – in a setting worthy of James Bond on the Lhaviyani Attol in the Maldives. The 5.8 Undersea Restaurant will offer guests 360 degree views of sea life as well as its luxury menu and wine cellar. But the food and wine will probably seem like small bait in comparison with the dancing manta rays, butterflyfish and brightly colored damsel...
