New York hotelier Ian Schrager announced in May a new boutique hotel brand, Public, that would kick off in Chicago.

True to his word, the property opened this month, and has been drawing accolades from locals suspicious that he would ruin the Ambassador or its famed Pump Room restaurant, which has reopened under chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Public's website explains the brand concept as "Ian Schrager has taken the best from the luxury segment, boutique hotels and select service to create a new genre of hotel where everything has been rethought and every original idea updated. At PUBLIC, service matters most. But the key point of differentiation is in the kind and quality of services it offers. The brand will only offer services that matter, those that guests really want and need rather than an array of superfluous services they do not use."Continue reading...

Virgin Group’s Virgin Hotels brand was announced only slightly more than a year old but it now has the location of its first U.S. hotel all locked up and it’s going to be in downtown Chicago, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Virgin has just bought the 83-year-old, 27-story Art Deco Old Dearborn Bank Building in Chicago, an official landmark, and now will convert it into a 250-room hotel with restaurants, lounges, and meeting space, the site reports.

The plan, according to the Journal, is to open three to five such places in the U.S. in the next five years. This one is expected to open in the fall of 2013, but others that have not yet been announced may open sooner, WSJ notes. Cities that have been scouted by Virgin include New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and Washington, D.C.

Of course, with the tough economy, hotels aren’t exactly thriving right now but Virgin isn’t worried. “Virgin takes a long-term view,” said Anthony Marino, chief of Virgin Hotels, to the Journal.

"We’re not necessarily here to time the markets perfectly. What we’ve learned is that if you focus on our customer and get the product right, you’ll have the staying power to endure the cycles. At the end of the day, you’ll come out OK."

As for why it chose to rehab a classic property in the Windy city for its US launch? "Chicago is a top destination for pleasure and business, with all the qualities we look for in Virgin Hotels locations: It's economically vibrant, culturally exciting and a sports and entertainment hub," commented Raul Leal, president and COO of Virgin Hotels, to the Chicago Tribune.

The Richard Branson brand empire called Virgin has been called (OK, by us) "the elastic brand." The iconoclastic Branson has generally followed an informal strategy that goes something like, "If it appeals to me, I'll build a business around it." To his credit, as he has expanded (and licensed) the Virgin brand across a staggering array of businesses, Branson has had more hits than misses.

The core of Virgin has always been Virgin Atlantic, the upstart airline that challenged staid British Airways, won an acrimonious public battle, and became one of Europe's leading air carriers. But even the high-flying Virgin Atlantic cannot continue to battle adverse business conditions.

Fiercely independent, Virgin Atlantic is finally realizing it needs strategic partners. British Airways remains a formidable competitor, especially in light of its cooperative venture with American Airlines. That's why Branson is seriously considering joining an airline alliance. In recent years, an alliance has become a technique airlines use to share codes and routes in an effort to get fliers to consolidate their travel with a small group of carriers.

But with typical Branson bravado, Sir Richard is not just looking for an alliance with the largest number of participants.Continue reading...

In August, we ran a snapshot of Virgin Group's many businesses, including Maverick (an iPad magazine), Virgin Wines, Virgin Mobile India, Virgin Games and Virgin Trains. Add Virgin Hotels to the ever-expanding list of business ideas that Sir Richard Branson wants to scale globally.

The Huffington Post reports that Virgin is developing 4-star quality hotels for high-end traveler. While the move had been rumored for months and even years, Virgin Hotels is now ready for prime time.

In reality, Virgin Hotels already exists as a limited business for Branson, with exclusive "Limited Edition" luxury retreats wooing jetsetters to the British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Morocco, Switzerland, Mallorca and London. But now he's focusing on bringing the brand to key cities in North America, and to the high-end business travel market.Continue reading...