万豪看好中国市场

    万豪国际集团（Marriott International）一直希望为发展迅速的JW万豪酒店（JW Marriott）豪华品牌在纽约寻找一个知名度比较高的位置。很幸运，他们获邀负责艾塞克斯豪斯酒店（Essex House）的运营。去年秋天，这家酒店被芝加哥不动产投资信托战略旅馆公司（Strategic Hotels）收购。JW万豪酒店仅参与管理不动产，名下并不拥有任何地产。

    与战略旅馆公司的合作让万豪国际集团第二次有机会与曼哈顿最著名的豪华酒店艾塞克斯豪斯酒店合作。万豪国际集团曾经拥有艾塞克斯豪斯酒店酒店长达16年之久。1985年，集团把它出售给了日本航空公司（Japan Air Lines）。【战略酒店项目之前也曾经拥有该酒店，但在2005年作价4.4亿美元卖给了迪拜投资集团（Dubai Investment Group），后来又以3.623亿美元的价格重新购回。】

    之前，艾塞克斯豪斯酒店已花费9,000万美元进行彻底修整。因此，万豪此时接管这家酒店可谓非常幸运，不过要给这座不动产打上JW万豪酒店的烙印，仍然有许多工作要做。JW万豪酒店副总裁兼全球品牌经理米兹•加斯金斯一直在负责具体的整合工作。来自华盛顿特区的加斯金斯于2010年开始负责JW品牌。她在纽约期间接受了《财富》杂志（Fortune）的采访，讨论了艾斯克斯豪斯酒店，豪华旅游市场的状况，以及JW万豪酒店在全球看到了哪些新的增长点。

    不论是在华盛顿特区还是迪拜，JW万豪酒店一直在努力代表周围的环境。是什么让艾斯克斯豪斯JW万豪酒店成为纽约市的标志？

    艾塞克斯豪斯酒店是纽约市标志性的一部分。从上世纪30年代以来，它引人注目的、具有装饰艺术风格的酒店标识一直是曼哈顿地区具有历史意义的建筑。而且酒店所体现出的那种永恒的高贵典雅从来都不会过时。

    我们的最终目标是保持和维护艾塞克斯豪斯的历史完整性和历史建筑，并在酒店中整合JW品牌闻名世界的服务、设计与周到的便利设施。

    万豪国际集团旗下拥有许多豪华品牌，包括丽思卡尔顿酒店酒店（Ritz-Carlton）。JW万豪酒店的出众之处体现在什么地方？

    JW品牌对于万豪国际集团具有特殊意义，因为它是为了纪念集团创始人（J•威拉德•马里奥特）及其所留下的遗产。他的子女于1984年创建了JW品牌。时任CEO的JW•马里奥特二世创建了最初的JW万豪酒店，把它献给了自己的父亲。酒店位于华盛顿特区，紧邻一家九个座位的小啤酒店，而这里正是万豪国际集团的发源地。

    JW品牌一直在培养对于高级豪华酒店的独特理解。为了始终专注于顾客的情感、餐饮文化与健康，我们在与许多神奇的品牌合作，其中包括营养专家克里•格拉斯曼和艺术合作伙伴佳士得拍卖行（Christie's）。

    Marriott International had been looking for a high-profile New York City location for the company's growing JW Marriott luxury brand. As luck would have it, JW Marriott, which manages but does not own properties, was asked to run the Essex House after it was bought last fall by the Chicago-based real estate investment trust Strategic Hotels.

    The deal with Strategic was a second chance for Marriott to work with the Essex House, one of Manhattan's most visible luxury hotels. Back in 1985, Marriott had sold the property to Japan Air Lines, after having owned it for 16 years. (Strategic Hotels had previously owned the hotel, too, having sold it to the Dubai Investment Group in 2005 for $440 million before buying it back in September for $362.3 million.)

    While Marriott was fortunate to inherit the Essex House after it had undergone a $90 million overhaul, there was still work to be done to put the JW stamp on the property. Mitzi Gaskins, vice president and global brand manager for JW Marriott, has overseen much of that effort. Gaskins, who is based in Washington D.C., has steered the JW Brand since 2010. While she was in New York, she caught up with Fortune to discuss the Essex House, the state of the luxury travel market, and where JW Marriott sees growth around the world.

    JW Marriott hotels try to reflect their surroundings, whether in Washington, DC or Dubai. What makes the JW Marriott Essex house quintessentially New York City?

    The Essex House is an iconic part of New York. Its striking Art Deco sign has been an historic fixture of the Manhattan skyline since the 1930s and the hotel truly embodies the kind of timeless elegance that never goes out of style.

    Our ultimate goal was to preserve and maintain the Essex House's historic integrity and architecture, but incorporate the service, design and thoughtful amenities the JW brand is known for worldwide.

    Marriott (MAR) has a lot of luxury brands, including Ritz-Carlton. What sets JW Marriott apart?

    JW is very special to Marriott International because it is a tribute to the founder [J. Willard Marriott] and his legacy. His children started the brand in 1984; and JW Marriott Jr., who was CEO at the time, dedicated the original JW Marriott hotel to his father. It opened close to the nine-seat root beer stand in Washington D.C. where the Marriott business began.

    The JW brand has since developed its own unique take on sophisticated luxury. To help focus on our guests' passions, culinary culture and well-being, we've partnered with some incredible brands including Keri Glassman, a nutrition expert, and Christie's, our partner in art.