Now rising in the Big Apple, the 70-story Central Park Marriott will be the tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere when completed by CNY Group. The $200 million project, with structural engineering by WSP, reflects the generally upbeat mood in the hospitality market.
“Globally, hotel operating fundamentals are poised to remain strong in 2013,” says Mark Wynne-Smith, Global CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels and Hospitality Group. Despite some economic stressors, JLL believes supply and demand, availability of investment capital (especially from private equity funds), and REIT stock prices all point to “an attractive environment” for hotel business worldwide.
TOP HOTEL ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
2012 Hospitality Revenue ($)1 Gensler $69,090,0002 WATG / Wimberly Interiors $54,713,0003 HKS $32,000,0004 Leo A Daly $19,999,6215 RTKL Associates $19,730,0006 Hnedak Bobo Group $17,425,0007 Perkins Eastman $11,600,0008 Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates $11,251,8009 Cuningham Group Architecture $10,019,86510 HOK $10,011,000
TOP HOTEL ENGINEERING FIRMS
2012 Hospitality Revenue ($)1 AECOM Technology Corp. $100,190,0002 Parsons Brinckerhoff $28,900,0003 Buro Happold Consulting Engineers $16,165,0004 Rolf Jensen & Associates $7,600,0005 Thornton Tomasetti $7,218,7316 KPFF Consulting Engineers $6,000,0007 Arup $5,527,3718 Michael Baker Jr. $4,340,0009 Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates $2,880,00010 WSP USA $2,696,642
TOP HOTEL CONSTRUCTION FIRMS
2012 Hospitality Revenue ($)1 Manhattan Construction $290,769,0002 Structure Tone $250,908,0003 Lend Lease $234,975,0004 Swinerton Builders $227,431,9505 Mortenson Construction $209,550,0006 Tutor Perini Corporation $209,216,1267 Brasfield & Gorrie $163,774,5588 Flintco $155,600,0009 Messer Construction $147,695,12810 Yates Cos., The $144,700,000
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, New York City, Hawaii, and Washington, D.C., are pinpointed as strong markets in the Americas (http://bit.ly/JLLHotels).
Adaptive reuse for hospitality is producing some particularly interesting remakes of historic properties. The strategy dovetails with travelers’ growing taste for local authenticity—a particular interest of Millennials, according to Tom Ito, Principal and leader for Gensler’s global hospitality practice. “For this generation, avoiding the norm is all about being true to yourself,” says Ito. “As this consumer group grows in spending power, hoteliers will need to provide personalized experiences that reflect the spirit of this demographic.”
Related Stories
| May 2, 2013
A snapshot of the world's amazing construction feats (in one flashy infographic)
From the Great Pyramids of Giza to the U.S. Interstate Highway System, this infographic outlines interesting facts about some of the world's most notable construction projects.
| May 2, 2013
Holl-designed Campbell Sports Center completed at Columbia
Steven Holl Architects celebrates the completion of the Campbell Sports Center, Columbia University’s new training and teaching facility.
| May 2, 2013
BIM group proposes uniform standards for how complete plans need to be
A nationwide group of Building Information Modeling users, known as the BIMForum, is seeking industry input on a proposed set of standards establishing how complete Building Information Models (BIMs) need to be for different stages of the design and construction process.
| May 2, 2013
New web community aims to revitalize abandoned buildings
Italian innovators Andrea Sesta and Daniela Galvani hope to create a worldwide database of abandoned facilities, ripe for redevelopment, with their [im]possible living internet community.
| May 1, 2013
A LEGO lover's dream: Guide to building the world's iconic structures with LEGO
A new book from LEGO master builder Warren Elsmore offers instructions for creating scale models of buildings and landmarks with LEGO.
| May 1, 2013
New AISC competition aims to shape the future of steel
Do you have the next great idea for a groundbreaking technology, model shop or building that could potentially revolutionize the future of the steel design and construction industry? Enter AISC's first-ever Future of Steel competition.
| May 1, 2013
Data center construction remains healthy, but oversupply a concern
Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are among the major tech companies investing heavily to build state-of-the-art data centers.
| May 1, 2013
Groups urge Congress: Keep energy conservation requirements for government buildings
More than 350 companies urge rejection of special interest efforts to gut key parts of Energy Independence and Security Act