Ikea and Marriott may make unlikely bedmates, even in the Swedish flat-packer's modern Malm or rustic Hemnes beds, but they're the marquee names behind the new Moxy Hotels brand which promises to offer chic stylish rooms at affordable prices.
It's the latest twist on the diversification of big hotel brands into spin-offs with lower prices, contemporary style and plenty of Gen-Y appeal.
Moxy will open its first hotel in the global fashion capital of Milan in early 2014, and rooms will be priced at €60-85 ($A76-$A108).
Next on the list are Sweden (of course!), the UK, Germany, Belgium and Austria, under an ambitious plan to add 150 locations in Europe over the next 10 years.
Moxy's target audience is "young, price-conscious and well-travelled", but that offers much that business travellers will appreciate – such as AC sockets fitted next to the bed.
There'll even be USB ports scattered through the lobby and cafe so you've never short of a place to top up your tech and take advantage of the free wifi.
Oddly enough, Moxy hotels won't use Ikea furniture – bypassing the chance for added revenue by putting barcode stickers on every desk, chair, bed and bathroom item or offering a "buy this whole hotel room!" package deal.
What Ikea brings to the Ingatorp table, along with its eye for mass-market urban style, is its undeniably efficient constructions techniques to speed fitout and keep costs down.
Most Moxy rooms will be the same size (17 square metres) and feature the same prefabricated made-for-Moxy furniture that's assembled at the site, just like IKEA furniture.
However, differentiating touches will include floor-to-ceiling wall art representing each hotel's location, such as the Brandenburg Gate for Berlin or bicycles by canals for Amsterdam.
Here's the launch video from Moxy Hotels.
What's your take: would you consider staying in a Moxy Hotel on your next business trip to Europe?
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
21 Apr 2012
Total posts 3006
Aren't hotels also about location, location, location?
A well designed hotel is great but I'm not sure I want to be within earshot of the local prostitute doing his/her trade....
Prices also determine the kind of people staying there....
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2561
Location is definitely key, although there's nothing in this article to suggest Moxy won't have good locations - although I suggest they will be less about the heart of the CBD and more of a 'funky' city-fringe location, in keeping with their primary target audience as well as the low-cost model.
Your comment about prostitutes is funny because it reminds me of a time I stayed in a much-trumpeted designer hotel in Barcelona, the Hotel Barceló Raval - stylish, 10 minutes' walk from La Rambla, but literally surrounded by working ladies plying their trade on the side streets! Not my idea of a pleasing place to walk back to of a late evening (or even early evening).
21 Apr 2012
Total posts 3006
I found the best way to find hotels in a new city is to identify the key places of interest, location of large/key financial institutions & government buildings and the office location of the large professional services firms. Triangulate that location on Google maps and do a search of hotels in that area :)
07 Mar 2013
Total posts 2
This sounds like it's worth checking out, or should I say, checking into?
Affordable pricing, stylish rooms, nothing 'over the top', that's all I want from a hotel. I'm happy to forego restaurants, gyms, bars and swimming pools. Any idea if Moxy hotels might open in Australia?
22 Mar 2012
Total posts 200
Will the Swedish meatballs be served?
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2561
Yes, but the ones with horsemeat cost extra. :P
22 Mar 2012
Total posts 200
hahaha
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