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\n Bisnow\/Ryan Wangman\n <\/p>\n
\n ABG Hospitality’s Amy Montgomery, Maverick Hotels and Restaurants’ Bob Habeeb, Soucie Horner Design Collective’s Meg Prendergast, HKS’ Alissa Bozza, city of Chicago’s Bennett Lawson and LG Group’s Matt Wilke\n <\/p>\n
While older generations are more focused on brand loyalty and racking up points, there\u2019s a significant change in the younger generation, which values the uniqueness of a hotel stay, Bozza said. As a result, she said she\u2019s seen a lot more owners ask for local\u00a0style in their properties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maverick Hotels and Restaurants<\/a> CEO Robert Habeeb<\/a> said that compared to a few decades ago, he isn\u2019t sure there\u2019s a prototype for hotel development anymore. In the past, certain hotel chains prided themselves on producing identical buildings within different towns. Now, more are designed based on the area\u2019s surroundings.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI recall developing Marriotts in the ’90s, and they would say, \u2018You want the green bedspread or the blue one,\u2019\u201d Habeeb said. \u201cNow, we’re in these incredibly well-defined niches, and it’s consumer-driven.\u201d<\/p>\n The focus on local elements, like a fresh concept in a ground-floor retail space, helps attract local visitors that aren\u2019t tourists, Bozza said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Similar to top-line\u00a0consensus at\u00a0Bisnow\u2019s\u00a0hospitality summit<\/a>\u00a0in 2024, panelists hammered home the importance of neighborhood-centric hotel development.\u00a0<\/p>\n Habeeb, whose company announced a\u00a0merger earlier this month<\/a>\u00a0with Waterford Hotel Group<\/a> that brought its portfolio to over 50 properties, said the company is getting ready to break ground on a hotel in Pullman and opened a hotel in the Illinois Medical District<\/a> last year. He said neighborhoods present the untapped potential for further development in the industry because people are starting to think about it as the next frontier outside the CBD.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve had really good luck in the neighborhoods in the last year,\u201d Habeeb said.<\/p>\n \n Bisnow\/Ryan Wangman\n <\/p>\n \n Peck Hotel Consulting’s Jon Peck, Arbor Lodging Partners’ Vamsi Bonthala, The Prime Group’s Jeffrey Breaden, Siegel Jennings’ Molly Phelan and Lodging Capital Partners’ Brad Falk\n <\/p>\n Even neighborhoods themselves are being designed with a unique tourist and resident experience in mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alderman Bennett Lawson, whose 44th Ward is the top hospitality and tourism neighborhood outside of the city\u2019s downtown area, said the city decided to add some permanence to the neighborhood\u2019s historic LGBTQ+ roots. Businesses were concerned the area would lose some of its identity as residents spread out throughout the city.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n