The dual-brand Element Salt Lake City Downtown and Le Méridien Salt Lake City Downtown from Utah-based commercial real estate development companies The Ritchie Group and Garn Development marked several firsts. Not only did the February opening mark the first combination of the two Marriott flags into a single development, the project also is the debut Element in Salt Lake City and the first Le Méridien in Utah.
The project, said Stan Kaminski, SVP and principal of Azul Hospitality Group—which manages the property—was developed by the Ritchie Group, the initial developers that put a former parking lot under contract for development for a hotel. Ryan Ritchie, founder and principal of The Ritchie Group, “had the foresight” to see the potential in The West Quarter, a new mixed-use development that connects two parts of the city’s downtown area with a mid-block pedestrian road called Quarter Row. “This piece of land was set right in between the Delta Center Arena and the convention center, and it was just vacant land,” Kaminski recalled. “And he had the foresight to put it under contract.”
Ritchie brought the Azul team on early in the process. He had worked with the company on the Koloa Landing Resort at Poipu, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, in 2011, and wanted to collaborate with them again on another Marriott development. As the project began to take shape, the partners took stock of the competition in the area and noted a number of Marriott-branded hotels already operating there. “We originally thought that there was a void in the market for somewhat of a lifestyle brand, and so we chose originally the Aloft brand and the Element brands,” Kaminski said. The two flags, he noted, had already had several successful dual-brand developments over the years—but once the pandemic began changing the way people work and travel, Salt Lake City began attracting a younger demographic that required a different type of hotel.
Two Sides
The team decided to keep the Element part of the project as part of the growing demand for wellness-focused hotels. The brand would also meet the growing demand for extended-stay properties, with kitchenettes and full-size refrigerators in most rooms.
For the other side of the dual-brand, the developers were still looking for a lifestyle property, where Kaminski noted there was “a void” in the city’s hospitality space. After considering a property in Marriott’s Tribute Collection soft brand, Azul Hospitality President, CEO and Principal Rick Mansur and Ryan Ritchie realized that there were no Le Méridien hotels in Utah. There were also no Le Méridien properties combined with other hotels as a dual-brand, creating a unique opportunity.
“These two brands bring something new to Salt Lake,” Kaminski said, noting that Salt Lake City’s increasingly “young and hip” visitor and resident demographic drove the concept. The Le Méridien hotel has several food and beverage outlets, Kaminski added, and noted that many Element hotels do not have this option. “This allows those travelers to experience this elevated fine dining and cocktail scene while staying in an Element hotel without having to leave property.” Rather than separate the two hotels by floors, each property takes up a certain amount of space on each floor and are divided by double doors in the middle of the hallway. “The carpet changes and the wall coverings change and all of a sudden you walk into the Element side of the hotel,” Kaminski said.
The divided nature extends to the lobbies and the two front desks, with a “more curated” welcome experience for Le Méridien guests while the Element side includes a greeting from Scoop, the hotel’s resident golden retriever.
In developing the two hotels, the team was careful to make sure the new properties would fit in with the existing Marriott portfolio in the area. Travelers, Kaminski said, are curious and like to see what “the new kid on the block” has to offer. “There's enough Marriott Bonvoy business in the Salt Lake market due to the multifaceted seasons that we have,” he said. “Everybody's doing fine right now.”
Since the hotels opened, Kaminski said they exceeded occupancy projections by more than 20 points during the last three months of the second quarter.
Element Salt Lake City Downtown and Le Méridien Salt Lake City Downtown
LOCATION
The dual-brand development is in Salt Lake City’s West Quarter, a new mixed-used development that connects two halves of the downtown area with a mid-block pedestrian road called Quarter Row. The hotel is adjacent to Vivint Arena, home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, and close to the Salt Palace Convention Center.
OPENING
February 2023
NUMBER OF ROOMS
Le Méridien Salt Lake City Downtown: 144
Element Salt Lake City Downtown: 126
GENERAL MANAGER
Scott Cochran
WEBSITE
www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/slcel-element-salt-lake-city-downtown
www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/slcld-le-meridien-salt-lake-city-downtown
OWNER
The Ritchie Group and Garn Development
MANAGEMENT COMPANY
Azul Hospitality Group
OPENING OBSTACLE
Delays caused by the pandemic, Kaminski said, gave the development team more time to identify the “power brands” that would be associated with the project. At the same time, the delays made it difficult to schedule the opening—even as the sales team was trying to get business on the books. “You have a very confined time to really allow the building to mature prior to guest [arrivals],” he said. The property opened to full occupancy just before the 2023 NBA All-Star Game was held at Vivint Arena, leaving little room for growing pains. Kaminski had high praise for the team at Jacobsen Construction for “working through the kinks of the building” and Marriott training specialists who were on-site for the better part of a month to support the hotel’s team.