The W New York hotel, the first to fly the flag of the upscale W Hotels brand, has been sold and will leave the portfolio in April, USA Today reports.
“The W flag coming down from W New York – the hotel that started it all and created an industry phenomenon – comes after two fabulous decades,” said Anthony Ingham, global brand leader at W Hotels.
The hotel on Lexington Avenue in midtown Manhattan was sold by HOST Hotels and will be managed by Highgate Hotels. It’s unclear whether the new owners will keep the property in the family of Marriott hotels, which now owns Starwood and the W brand.
Experts say the new owners may not want to spend the money to keep the hotel on par with others in the W group.
The W New York was opened in 1998, one of the first in the wave of upscale resorts that appealed directly to younger, affluent travellers. There are three other W hotels in New York among the 53 hotels currently in the brand.
Marriott has stated its intention to grow the W brand and is renovating properties in Atlanta, Boston, San Francisco, Washington DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle.
The W New York, meanwhile, has not had a major renovation in about a decade.