Ultra-chic U.S. hotel to debut in Canada
TheStar.com - Business - Ultra-chic U.S. hotel to debut in Canada
Thompson Toronto aiming to open in 2009
October 04, 2007
Tony Wong
BUSINESS REPORTER
You many not have heard of the Thompson Hotel chain, but for some guests, that's part of the snob appeal.
The typical Thompson boutique hotel features cool architectural styling and employees who wouldn't look out of place on a fashion runway.
At the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, a favourite with celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan and Prince, female employees dress in Diane von Furstenberg. At the New York flagship 60 Thompson, where Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman have stayed, the male staff wear Nino Cerruti-designed suits.
The brand, considered the hottest boutique hotel label in America, is expected to announce today the groundbreaking of its first hotel outside the U.S., in Toronto.
"I think it will truly be unique in the Toronto marketplace – there won't be anything like it," said Toronto condo developer Peter Freed, who co-developed the hotel with partner Tony Cohen.
The hope is that the 102-room Thompson Toronto will be the Hollywood North outpost for the celebrities who frequent Thompson's six U.S. properties.
The hotel could also add to the gentrification of the King St. W. area, which is rapidly becoming Toronto's version of New York's Soho neighbourhood.
The modernist condominium and hotel complex at 550 Wellington St. W. is expected to be completed by the summer of 2009. It will feature design by Estudio Mariscal, a Barcelona company that created a cutting-edge look for the hotel across from Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.
If Freed's vision becomes reality, it will transform the formerly downscale King St. W. and Bathurst St. area that's already seeing rapid gentrification with high-end retail and restaurants such as Susur.
Freed has a lot invested in the area, with seven condominium projects currently on the go, including one designed by renowned French designer Philippe Starck.
"This will be a destination spot," said Freed, whose favourite part of the proposed hotel is a rooftop lounge, which, with its lounge chairs and infinity pool, would not look out of place in South Beach.
"I think when it's all finished, it will be quite significant for the city," he said.
But the announcement of Thompson Toronto begs the question: Does Toronto need yet another trendy boutique hotel?
The city's hotel market has become a lot more crowded with the addition this summer of the upscale Hazelton Hotel. And Freed's venue will now join The Drake, The Gladstone, The SoHo Metropolitan and Hotel Le Germain – none of which existed five years ago.
That list doesn't include the non-boutique luxury hotels slated to enter the market shortly after the Thompson is built, including new Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons and Shangri-La hotels.
"It's a good project, but I think there definitely may be some short-term pain, especially with the Canadian dollar and the passport situation at the border," said hotel analyst William Stone, executive managing director of Colliers International Hotels.
Cohen, who is also a partner at the Le Germain hotel, and Freed are breaking ground when the loonie is higher than the U.S. dollar and putting a significant dent in tourism. The first quarter of the year, Statistics Canada said, was the weakest for day trips by U.S. visitors in more than a decade – and that was before the loonie hit par.
Meanwhile, occupancy rates were basically flat in downtown Toronto in the first half of the year, at 68.9 per cent compared to 70.3 per cent in 2006, according to consultants HVS and Smith Travel Research.
"I can't say the dollar is not a concern and it certainly is a factor, but we really have to work hard as a city to encourage people to come here," Freed said.
Freed and Cohen's trump card – one they hope will help differentiate their venue for the notoriously fickle clientele of boutique hotels – will be the four restaurants and bars at the Thompson.
They should bring in a club vibe that's closer to the original concept of a New York boutique hotel.
Hotelier Ian Schrager, former owner of New York's famed Studio 54 disco, is credited with introducing the concept of boutique hotels in 1984, with the clubby and intimate Morgans on Madison Ave.
The distinctive hotel was considered very different from the standardized and sometimes generic facelessness of the national brands, and appealed to a younger professional audience.
Analyst Stone says one big upside for the Thompson brand is that it has "incredible firepower" that should help to attract upscale international clients to the city.
"Given the brand and the reputation, I think it can be a very good fit," Stone said.
"This was a market that saw so little development that there has been some catching up.
"That finally started to happen over the last few years."
