Hotel G opened its property in San Francisco’s Union Square, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand in early May. GCP Hospitality Managing Director and CEO Christophe Vielle spoke about Hotel G’s U.S. debut and goals for its continued U.S. growth.

　　When Hotel G opened its 153-room property in San Francisco’s Union Square in early May, it marked the first step into the U.S. market for management company GCP Hospitality, Hong Kong.

　　In addition to San Francisco, Hotel G currently has three properties open — in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand — with plans to add four more to the portfolio in China and Thailand over the next two years.

　　HOTELS recently spoke with GCP Hospitality Managing Director and CEO Christophe Vielle about Hotel G’s U.S. debut and goals for its continued U.S. growth.

　　HOTELS: Describe the Hotel G brand Christophe

　　Vielle: In one sentence, it’s to be a hip hotel. For the past 20 years hotels have been managed by big companies that are more interested in looking at profit margins, food costs, labor costs or room costs, and they forget a little bit about what a hotel is for. It’s a simple approach regarding hospitality. We want friendly service. We want to offer good value for the money.

　　For me, G also stands for gap — filling the gap. Normally we go to a city and we look at what has been done for the past few years, and we try to have a different approach.

　　HOTELS: Who is your target guest?

　　Vielle: We are looking at people who are a little bit sophisticated in a way that they are tired of going to big brands, but they still want comfort. They want free Internet. I’m not at the top end, and I’m not at the economy level. I’m upscale for people who want to stay at a place that’s different than the normal international brand hotel.

　　HOTELS: Tell me more about Hotel G’s expansion goals.

　　Vielle: We have four hotels open, and we have another four on the way to open within the next 18 months.

　　Now, how many hotels do we want? I don’t have a number, to be honest. I think it’s mostly about opportunity. The U.S. was not in my plan originally, but the opportunity came up, and I really liked the location in San Francisco. It was a great way to start in the U.S. I would not want to start in a difficult area, as we are not known [in the United States]. G is quite known in Asia Pacific. Probably the favorite destinations for Asians in the U.S. are L.A. and San Francisco. For us, it was easier to kick off in San Francisco.

　　HOTELS: Are you planning additional U.S. hotels?

　　Vielle: We would like to, but I believe you can’t be too fast. I think we have to open this hotel properly. This hotel is still in a very soft opening. I need the whole place to be fully complete and run well to then think about the next step.

　　I am now looking a little bit at places like New York. For me, if you open in New York, that’s the best.

　　Maybe this will sound a little strange, but I’m actually pushing some of the investors to look at Detroit. I think in the next five years Detroit will come back. I like to look at areas that have not really been looked at yet. There are a lot of places in the U.S. where we are not yet — places like Seattle, New York, maybe Austin, Texas — those are the places that probably would work. We are not an American brand, so we need to go to major cities first.

　　HOTELS: I know it is early, but how has San Francisco's Hotel G performed thus far?

　　Vielle: I stressed to the team that I didn’t want over 65% or 70% occupancy, and I stopped all the bookings for June, July and August. I don’t see the point of filling the hotel like crazy. We are doing well. In the first month of operation, we are already making a profit.

　　HOTELS: What is your average rate right now?

　　Vielle: Right now the hotel is running around US$210-US$220 ADR. When the hotel is fully complete and running well I think we will run around US$250-US$260.

　　HOTELS: If we talked again in a year or two, what would you hope the main headlines for the brand would be?

　　Vielle: In five or six years, we want to have 15 to 20 properties. I really want to be in New York and Paris.

　　My dream would be that someone opening a new hotel will think, why don’t we call those guys and see what they have to offer? That, to me, would be an achievement. As long as we are recognized by the trade and by the customer, developers will be there. Today, I have to go and see them. You only reach them when you are successful in terms of your hotel approach, service, pricing — everything.