One of the hottest brands in the hotel industry, Amsterdam-based chain CitizenM opened its first U.S. location in Times Square in April. Stopping by recently, it was easy to see why there's so much buzz.
The hotels are a combination of high design — with work from artists like Andy Warhol and David LaChapelle lining the walls — and high tech — with high-speed touchscreen check-in and complimentary Samsung Galaxy tablets that control everything in the rooms.
The brand's emphasis is on affordable luxury: Each of the 230 rooms has the same layout, and rates start at $199 a night.
CitizenM also operates branches in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, London, Glasgow, and Paris, with plans to open in New York City's Lower East Side later this year and spreading elsewhere in the U.S. and Europe, too.
As hot as the brand is, competition is fierce and there's always a risk of bigger brands catching up.
"We have two kinds of competitors: hotels in the direct vicinity of our properties and aspirational lifestyle brands," co-founder Michael Levie told Caterer and Hotelkeeper in 2011. " Products like W [Hotels] created a way people like to be and [W owner] Starwood got that right. But it's also much more expensive and product for product we are very competitive."
Welcome to citizenM Times Square.
Even before you enter the hotel, you'll see a wall full of art and knickknacks.
There's no reception desk at this hotel. Instead, guests use this kiosk of touchscreen computers to check in, though hotel 'ambassadors' in red shirts stand close by if you need help.
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