What would you do for the hottest ticket in town?
When it comes to travel, intrepid travelers will do anything for elusive, exclusive, and exciting experiences. How many of us have jumped on a plane, sat in an upright position for hours, only to land in Europe to take a picture next to the Eiffel Tower, snap a shot “holding” the Leaning Tower of Pisa in the palm of our hand, and gleefully indulge in a scoop (or two) of gelato by the Spanish Steps in Rome?
Similarly, for the food-obsessed, you will surely not roll your eyes at others who have taken long trips across the globe just for a buttery croissant in Paris or a Shanghai soup dumpling. The reasons why we travel are vast and varied, and it can be perplexing to see how much travelers are willing to endure for that precious bite, sip, and dangerous selfie.
For travelers who have near-completed their ultimate travel bucket list (kudos to you) and are wondering where else they can jet off to next… how about scoring the hottest ticket in town—a W Hotel party invite?
As far as experiences go, hotels are tireless at vying for travelers’ attention. While many hotels will try to partner with Michelin-starred chefs and even offer fitness sessions with celebrity trainers, one hotel brand thinks throwing a party is a pretty cool gesture to draw in finicky Gen-Z travelers.
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A Pioneer in the Hotel Industry
The W Hotel brand by Marriott has always had a reputation for being a premier luxury lifestyle hotel. Since opening their first W Hotel in NYC in 1998, they have been setting new trends and breaking the mold of being just another hotel to sleep in by offering the coolness factor that most hotels fail to execute well.
In a recent interview, George Fleck, W Hotels Vice President and Global Brand leader, said that W Hotels are nothing less than a game-changer.
“When I first heard about this new W brand so many years ago, I thought: I have to work there,” says Fleck. “I realized that a hotel can be a beautiful backdrop to fabulous experiences that are not just about sleeping, eating, or drinking. It can be about socializing and mixing the ideas of nightlife, entertainment, and fashion culture.”
Marriott, synonymous to the hotel industry as McDonald’s is to the fast-food industry, proves that in order to be the world’s largest hospitality brand, trends need to be set rather than followed.
“W Hotels has always been driven by a spirit of reinvention and a “new/next” philosophy and continues to redefine lifestyle with a luxury edge. We’re one of only a few hotel brands to truly infuse our guests’ many varied interests into our DNA with a social component at the forefront. Guests can experience this at W Sydney; apart from being the largest property within the brand’s portfolio, it embodies a new definition of hospitality in the market, attracting an evolving luxury consumer,” says Titus Rosier, General Manager of W Sydney.
With more than a handful of hotel brands under their care, the W Hotel is one of their most lively, ambitious and creative brands under the Marriott brand. While many brands like the Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis cater to a very sophisticated crowd of travelers, the W is in its own league, offering what some call a “luxury lifestyle” setting where upscale amenities and services are met with a cool vibe that even Gen-Zs can’t scoff at.
If you have visited one of the sixty-odd W Hotels around the world, you will notice that the demographic of guests ranges from Gen-Z’s to Millennials to Baby Boomers; everyone is a W fan.
“W Hotels is evolving to appeal to the next generation of luxury lifestyle travelers, and W Sydney reflects the brand’s approach to luxury forward, connecting guests to the culture, places, and people around them like never before. We embrace the shifting priorities of these new travelers, rethinking traditional approaches to travel, wellness, art, design, culture, music, food, and drink,” says Rosier.
He continues, “At W Sydney, the experience is very different to other hotel brands in the city and Australia – I like how it offers high-design, eclectic dining, engaging social experiences, and the brand’s signature Whatever/Whenever service philosophy. It has transformed the luxury lifestyle hotel scene in Australia and answers a resounding call from Millennials and Gen-Z, who are actively pursuing authenticity in their travel experiences.”
Fleck confirms that while W Hotels can be found all around the world nowadays, each hotel is deeply connected to the place in which it resides, offering community-driven events that both travelers and residents can enjoy.
“As we started to grow very fast outside of the US, we couldn’t just take an American brand and drop it into Hong Kong or Barcelona or the Maldives expecting that it would just be a rinse-and-repeat exercise,” says Fleck. “Because then we would be doing the same as previous traditional hotel experiences, where every hotel looked and felt the same. We wanted to adapt and evolve the brand to feel more global.”
Party Down (Under)
Each time a W opens in a city, be it Budapest, Rome, Melbourne, or NYC, the W party team comes together and forms the most extravagant, over-the-top opening party to solidify their presence in the neighborhood.
A few years ago, when W Rome opened, an incredible party was thrown on the Spanish steps with Italian celebrities, DJs, and prosecco to welcome the brand’s first hotel on Italian turf. Some say it was the party of the decade in Italy, but others who attended the launch at W Amsterdam say it paled in comparison.
In 2015, when W Amsterdam opened, the hotel took inspiration from the canals of Amsterdam with captain hats as the main “outfit,” which celebrities Taylor Schilling, Erin Heatherton, and Chanel Iman all took part in, snapped giving their best captain salute by scores of paparazzi.
On the other side of the world, at the W Brisbane opening in 2018, pop stars The Veronicas were the surprise musical act, and the city’s much-loved drag queens kicked off the launch party. The party will forever be remembered as a night of glitter, dance, and Drag—something the sunny state of Australia still proudly talks about because of its cultural nod to the city’s vibrant arts scene.
While I regret not seeing The Veronica’s live performance in their hometown Brisbane, I can’t complain because I recently returned back home to the biggest W Hotel opening this decade—the W Sydney. Sitting on Darling Harbour, the newest hotel on Sydney’s glittering waters went off with a bang, and very little budget was spared. With the $1-billion property setting a whole new stand of luxury living in Sydney, the party saw free-flowing French champagne, master cocktails from “World’s 50 Best Bar”, and even a dessert wall created by Janice Wong from Singapore catering to the most elite Sydney celebrities who scored themselves a lucky invite.
A handful of W Hotel VIPs were also taken around Sydney exploring the city’s greatest activities: climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge, trips to the Blue Mountains and rock-star treatment on helicopter tours of the city.
“The Premiere Party was a great way to take a moment to celebrate this unique property. We wanted to tap into W Sydney’s magnetic energy to create a magical, unforgettable evening for everyone to celebrate. Music, nightlife, fashion, food, and design all sit at the heart of the W brand and came together to ignite W Sydney’s Premiere Party. We had guests join us from all over the world, from across Australia and here in Sydney, with not just celebrities in attendance but also local talent, partners, and clients. It was a true celebration of the hotel and indeed the city,” says Rosier.
With the hotel boasting one of Sydney’s hottest chefs of the moment, Chris Dodd, the party was a place for foodies too, with Aussie wagyu beef burgers, Murray River Yabbies, and oysters on the half-shell for people to eat and slurp throughout the night.
While the W Sydney launch party only lasted one night, the good news is that more W Hotels will be opening up this year, so the W party will continue. Travelers have more than one chance to score themselves a W Hotel party invite, and the best way to do this is by increasing your Marriott Bonvoy points as a loyal guest.
So, if you’re still reeling at not getting your Olympic tickets to Paris 2024, maybe try your luck at scoring an invite to a W Hotel opening instead; you might have more fun with a flute of champagne in one hand and caviar pumps in the other anyway.