ORLANDO, FL—Hotel Business has learned real estate development firm Tavistock Development Co. is launching a proprietary hotel brand.
The firm, owned by billionaire entrepreneur Joseph “Joe” Lewis, is kicking off the Tavistock Hotel Collection with two projects currently underway here at its burgeoning master-planned mega-community of Lake Nona.
Viewed as company flagships, the properties will include Tavistock Lake Nona Resort and the Tavistock Town Center Hotel, set in separate, under-development neighborhoods of the 17-sq.-mile community, which includes residential, retail, office, sports, educational and medical components, in addition to a variety of other aspects, such as the USTA National Campus tennis facility and KPMG’s new training and innovation facility.
Designed by Miami-based architecture firm Arquitectonica, the 215-key Tavistock Town Center Hotel is slated to break ground this year with an opening planned for year-end 2019; Tavistock Lake Nona Resort also will break ground this year, with an opening targeted for 2020.
Industry veteran Kit Pappas, known for his executive roles at Hard Rock, Tishman Hotel Co. and Capella Hotel Group, will oversee the collection in his role as VP of hotel management.
Tavistock Group’s global hospitality investments currently include several hotels, resorts and restaurants worldwide. Among them are Albany in the Bahamas, a 600-acre luxury resort community jointly owned with Tiger Woods and Ernie Els; the St. Regis Atlanta; the Tavistock Restaurant Collection; and Mitchells & Butlers.
Pappas said in an exclusive interview with Hotel Business the timing is right for launching a proprietary brand.
“As an international investment organization, Tavistock Group has roots in hospitality and catering, including a portfolio of diversified world-class assets, making the Tavistock Hotel Collection a natural extension,” said Pappas. “With the continued growth of the Lake Nona community, which is among the fastest growing in the country, and as we continue to expand our footprint in the United States, we envisioned our own brand, focused on engaging with our customers and creating more meaningful experiences for them. No better place to do just that than our innovative Lake Nona community.”
Ft. Lauderdale’s Pier Sixty-Six to be Part of the Mix
Tavistock Development Co. also has acquired Fort Lauderdale’s iconic Pier Sixty-Six Hotel and Marina, with plans to make it both a local and global destination as part of the nascent collection, which will be focused on eclectic and authentic guest experiences.
Among the hallmarks being incorporated into the Tavistock Hotel Collection is that the properties will “be unique to their environments, consistently offer guests bespoke brand standards, have thoughtful and elegant designs, and empower staff to focus on exceptional services and create extraordinary experiences,” said the VP.
In terms of future growth, Pappas said, “As we do with all assets, we’ll look for opportunities to expand and grow the portfolio with acquisitions that add value and align with our vision and brand.”
The executive is responsible for leading the growing hotel portfolio with a focus on overseeing third-party management, guest experience and operations.
“I will work alongside Tavistock’s development and operations teams to explore and drive potential opportunities to expand the portfolio’s holdings,” he said. “The opportunity to work with a world-class organization like Tavistock, with the resources and vision to create a hotel collection, doesn’t come along very often. I’ve been fortunate to work with really great people and organizations in the hospitality industry and those experiences have positioned me perfectly to lead Tavistock’s new hotel collection, as we start from the ground up, creating a culture of excellence, collaboration and integrity.”
(Catch more of what’s ahead for Tavistock Hotel Collection in the March 7 issue of Hotel Business.)
