Hospitality Design - July 2022 - 152

Photo courtesy of LIGHTSTONE GROUP
back space catching up with
mitchell hochberg
President
Lightstone Group
New York
What's on the boards for Lightstone?
In the fourth quarter of this year, we're opening Moxy
Williamsburg [by Basile Studio], Moxy Lower East Side [by
Michaelis Boyd and Rockwell Group], and a co-branded
AC/Moxy in Downtown LA [by Yabu Pushelberg] within
the same three months. The combination of the AC and
Moxy will have 727 keys and 12 F&B venues. It's a very
large project and has been quite an undertaking. The
property on the Lower East Side will also be over 300 keys,
and it will be the biggest in terms of F&B that we're doing
in New York. We're [once again] partnering with TAO
Group to create a cocktail lounge, a lobby bar and café, a
rooftop bar, a subterranean nightclub, and a restaurant.
You're one of the biggest champions of Moxy, Marriott's
affordable lifestyle brand. Why do you think it resonates
with guests?
At the beginning, we felt that there was no reason we
couldn't develop an affordable product without sacrificing
design. A lot of people didn't think you could do that. I
was proposing a deal to my guests: I'll reduce the rate and
in return give you an efficient but stylish room with public
spaces that are engaging, well designed, and where
you can have a lot of fun. It was the perfect time to do
something like that because today's traveler was looking
for experiences. By designing the hotels the way we did,
we were creating an environment that people would never
think of in an urban [locale].
Why is it important for the hotels to embrace the
neighborhood they're in?
We try to make the public spaces appealing to locals as
well as our guests. People who come to New York from
Germany don't want to sit at the bar and talk to another
guest from Germany. The exciting thing is to sit at the
bar and talk to a New Yorker and ask them where the best
comedy club is or where you can get the best slice of
pizza. The only way you can create that is by designing
an environment that's welcoming to the neighborhood,
which, in turn, supports the food and beverage, making
everything work a lot better. Most of those lobby areas are
50/50 guests and locals. Creating something that would
work for both was challenging, but exciting to do, and it's
fulfilling to walk through the lobbies and see that.
What part of the process do you love the most?
The ideation by far. Starting with a blank canvas and trying
to decide: What is it that we can do that's going to be
new, fresh, and different and resonate with our guests?
We try to understand our guests and how their tastes are
evolving. Then, we sit down with the design team and go
through the process. We see how what we want to do from
an aesthetic point of view melds with a neighborhood
point of view to create something special.
152
July 2022 hospitalitydesign.com
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com
Hospitality Design - July 2022

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