Big interview
reverberates across all Rosewood’s properties, Berry describes how his team works closely with designers and artisans to make each residence slot seamlessly into the existing landscape. The Rosewood Residences Doha is a case in point here. Dreamed up by a team from the Arab Engineering Bureau, its coral-inspired facade is intended to elegantly echo the stunning coastline of the Persian Gulf. Beyond these design questions, there is evidence
The Rosewood Vienna Suite boasts stunning views of the local Austrian architecture.
luxuriates by an Antiguan beach. Flanked by a 3,200ft stretch of white coral sand and touching a world- renowned national park, Half Moon Bay is the sort of place most of us dream to live. And for a wealthy minority – the project’s website invites people to “join the lucky few” – this dream will come true. It may all feel like a wild one-off. But in its eye- popping opulence, the Half Moon Bay is one of many upcoming Rosewood properties. There is the Rosewood Residences Doha, housed in a pair of sleek new towers and due to open in Qatar next year. The Rosewood Sao Paulo will also soon join the company’s roster, lined with the works of 57 Brazilian artists. And Rosewood Residences Mandarina, off the coast of Mexico, will be kissed by waters just as alluring as those at Half Moon Bay. Combine this with similar enthusiasm from other hospitality giants – 90% of future Four Seasons openings will include a residential component – and it is easy to imagine operators sticking properties on a map like darts on a board. Berry, though, is quick to disabuse this idea.
“Rosewood’s expansion,” he says, “is a highly selective process, largely limited to the world’s most desirable cities and resorts.” Certainly, this is echoed by one of Rosewood’s main areas of residential growth. Between Hangzhou and Ningbo in China, as well as a host of other properties in Japan and Vietnam, it is clear that East Asia is a prime area of growth. Given that China’s hotel sector alone is due to reach $103bn by 2026 according to Statista, this focus seems sensible. And as the artistic flourishes at properties like the Rosewood São Paulo imply, the operator is battling just as hard at giving each new opening a unique and attractive feel. Borrowing the “sense of place” principle that
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that combining regular hotels with residential properties can be a boon to both. On the residential side, for instance, owners can enjoy all the glitz of a traditional holiday – from personal butlers to world- class restaurants. From the perspective of traditional hospitality, meanwhile, Berry suggests that residences can plug the demand drought that occurs during off- peak seasons. Even better, he notes that both sectors can be mutually supportive in other ways, encouraging owners to stay in regular Rosewood hotels when they are eager to leave their (second) home. As he puts it: “We recognise that branded residences that are part of a hotel development are a key driver for brand awareness – especially in new markets, given residential is active in sales well before a hotel opens in a mixed-use project.”
Serving two masters As this last comment suggests, Rosewood’s residential pipeline is intimately linked with that of its regular hotels. But Berry is also excited for a future where residential properties prosper individually too – something that is already happening. The Rosewood Residences Kamala, a seaside property in Thailand, will be the firm’s first stand-alone residential property in Asia-Pacific when it opens in 2024. That is shadowed by similar ventures, notably at Lido Bay in Florida. “The branded residential model is well established, with a lot of confidence in the brands that do this well,” says Berry, emphasising that Rosewood’s experience in the sector means it can still offer impeccable service without necessarily needing a regular hotel attached. More to the point, Berry is certain that this trend will
continue – not least given the line between long-term hotel stays and residential ownership is increasingly blurred. “We have seen our serviced apartments and branded-for-sale residential offering to serve both these audiences,” he says. “Experiencing Rosewood’s residential-style service – that we are known for at one of our properties, serviced apartments or residences – is the key marker to eventual purchases.” It goes without saying, too, that this could have untold consequences for hospitality as a whole. Rather than seeing customers as ephemeral guests, Rosewood may soon view many as long-term partners, with all the opportunities that implies. It is clear, at any rate, that the upheaval of 2019 is far from over. ●
Hotel Management International /
www.hmi-online.com
Rosewood Hotels and Resorts
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