SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--From the floors of the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in San Diego, Advaya Hospitality unveiled a global lifestyle hotel brand this week to an audience of industry insiders.
The brand, MODO Hotel, will debut in major markets worldwide, starting with a minimum of five properties in India and another five in Brazil. Advaya also is in the early stages of establishing a fund to acquire strategic assets and build new hotels, targeting major U.S. markets like New York, Kansas City and Miami.
MODO presents a new take on hospitality that’s stylish, affordable and musically inspired. The brand will feature a striking Bauhaus loft design. With its vast collection of vinyl records, CDs and MP3 content, MODO will showcase independent artists around the globe, promising a unique and entertaining travel experience.
Full-service MODO hotels will house 100 or more rooms, a lively restaurant-lounge, courtyard, pool, meeting and event space, library, retail shop and gym. Rates will be in sync with today’s value-conscious travelers and the local markets, targeted to range at full-service properties from $90 – $150 per night except in some larger gateway cities. Additionally, a line of budget lifestyle lodgings will launch in international markets this year, creating a new niche of budget lifestyle hotels.
During the next three years, MODO will roll out in major metropolitan markets in Brazil. Five to ten 150-room hotels will be located in the fastest growing cities of Sao Paulo, Campinas, Curitiba, Vitoria and Manaus. MODO in Brazil will be developed by the newly formed ABR Brazil LLC, a joint venture between MODO and BridgeRock Capital Management LLC.
Additionally, during the second half of this year, a MODO sister brand will premier in India, creating a new market niche of budget lifestyle hotels. Over the next three years, a minimum of five budget lifestyle hotels will launch in India under the MODO sister brand in the cities of Chennai, Tuticorin, Kakinada, Vizag and Vellore. The 60- to 80-room lodgings will have limited food and beverage offerings and small meeting rooms.
Building costs for a full-service MODO hotel will be approximately $110,000 per key, including average land cost, with variations in major gateway cities. “That’s at least 20 percent less than those for other hotels in the same class,” says John Russell, CEO for MODO and Advaya.
Franchising is slated to begin later this year. Additional expansion is planned through acquisitions, new development and conversions of existing properties. Among the target countries are China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.
The Hotel, Remixed.
Russell says MODO will appeal to tech-savvy business travelers who enjoy new and entertaining experiences. The brand will have a wide demographic and psychographic reach, including business and leisure travelers interested in music, design, art and fashion.
Lively MODO will march to a different beat, serving up a refreshing, music- and design-centric travel experience. The brand’s urban Bauhaus loft design features a concrete-and-glass construction with exposed beams and polished concrete walls. Inside on the ground floor, RPM restaurant-lounge will be the main event, drawing people with its soaring ceilings, innovative lighting and plush couches.
Here, music will take center stage. Through a partnership with Downtown Music, LLC, MODO will offer guests access to thousands of tracks from independent artists worldwide. Using headphones and a terrific sound system, guests will peruse the custom-curated collection and download free music amid books on art and music with trans-generational.
“MODO will have a huge international focus,” says Chris Jones, Chief Development Officer for MODO and Advaya. “The language of music is universal. It cuts across borders, providing a way for people to do fun things together, making it a perfect fit for our new global brand.”
“While all properties will share design and music icons, MODO will have the flexibility to scale up or down depending on the demands of the site and the local market,” Jones explains.
Breakout Design
Throughout the hotels, music will be a subtly recurring motif. The restaurant-lounge, for instance, gets its name from “revolutions per minute,” the measurement for record rotation. In RPM lounge, dramatic pendant lighting will feature long, slender lines, recalling the strings of a violin or guitar.
Cool and comfortable guest lofts and suites will have an open, airy look with 10-foot ceilings, large windows or glass walls, and custom furnishings. Beds will be decked out with luxurious linens. All lofts will have free Wi-Fi, iPod docks and large flat-screen televisions. For additional entertainment, MODO’s music will be available whenever guests want.
Full-service MODO hotels also will have innovative meeting and event space, a courtyard, pool, business center and high-tech gym.
MODO was developed by Advaya, an advisory company providing services across the full hospitality spectrum.