Ennismore’s Zrihen on expansion, Delano reopening

NATIONAL REPORT – Hospitality group Ennismore, which operates via a joint venture with Accor, has a portfolio of 16 lifestyle hotel brands, including Mondrian, SLS, Delano and The Hoxton. In the Americas alone, the company has grown to over 70 properties and a pipeline of signings in Mexico, Jamaica and Nashville, Tennessee, as well as the soon-to-reopen Delano Miami Beach. Travel Weekly Hotels Editor Christina Jelski sat down in June with Phil Zrihen, Ennismore’s head of Americas, to discuss the growth.

Travel Weekly (TW): What's fueling your Mexico and Caribbean expansion?

Phil Zrihen: Fundamentally, those markets – and Mexico specifically – are evolving. There’s a bit of a shift in the perception of what Mexico used to be and what it’s becoming. And there’s a saturation of certain brands from our competitors that are already in the market. So, we have a lot of owners who have effectively gotten to a certain point in their relationships with those managers saying, “Now I need a new offering.” And that helps, because we’re kind of the new game in town as it pertains to lifestyle.

TW: How is Ennismore approaching all-inclusive?

Zrihen: All-inclusive, in the past, has meant all you can eat and all you can drink. You have a vision of somebody kind of passed out, sunburned in the middle of Cancun. The all-inclusive space has started to get better recognition – there’s been this push toward making all-inclusive more premium. Accor invested in a company called Rixos several years ago that now sits within the Ennismore portfolio. Rixos kind of turned lifestyle all-inclusive on its head, where it wasn’t only about food and drink. It was about entertainment, wellness, the whole experience. We opened an SLS all-inclusive resort in Playa Mujeres in November, which was us trying to recreate [the Rixos] experience and offer the typical SLS in an all-inclusive setting. So far, the reviews have been really positive.

TW: What differentiates SLS as an all-inclusive brand?

Zrihen: It starts with F&B. You go into this property, and you feel just like you’re at an SLS, either in the Bahamas or wherever. As opposed to a traditional all-inclusive, where you might have broadly defined cuisines, we have individually branded restaurants that have stood in their own right, either in other hotels or as standalone concepts, like Cleo or Fi’lia. We also have a huge spa. We have three gyms, and we have a Roman bath experience with several different pools. The other piece is really focused on kids and teens and family-friendly programming. The feel of the resort is not to be overly exclusive but inclusive, with a certain level of coolness.

TW: Can you share more on the Delano and the reopening of the brand’s original Miami hotel?

Zrihen:  Delano was really the first lifestyle hotel, in 1995. It was one hotel for the longest time, but it resonated globally. The Delano Miami closed during COVID, so we decided to really rethink the brand and bring it to the next level. We opened a Delano in Dubai a few months ago. We have the Delano in Paris,  and we have a very active pipeline of Delanos around the world, in Istanbul, London and so on. The Delano Miami Beach will be a luxury experience; it’s going to be at a 5-star price point. Call it $800 to $1,000 ADR. It’s scheduled to reopen at the end of the year.

TW: Can you also offer more details on Ennismore's Jamaica expansion?

Zrihen: We have three properties opening in a couple of years that we just signed – the brands are to be announced. And we have a couple of other leads just in Jamaica. The deals that we have are not all-inclusive, but we have at least two conversations which could lead to something fairly significant in all-inclusive in Jamaica – these are significant newbuilds with beach access. Jamaica has turned out to be a pretty compelling market for us.