Sir Richard Branson is leading his Virgin Group into the luxury hotel business.
Virgin announced that they will launch a new four-star lifestyle hotel brand – investing up to $500 million over the next three years in developing and operating up to 25 hotels within seven years. Target cities include New York, San Francisco, Miami Los Angeles, Boston and Washington DC. The first hotel should be ready sometime in 2012.
Virgin Hotels will be run by an experienced and successful executive team, including Executive Director Anthony Marion, President/COO Raul Leal, and Executive Director Paul Whetsell.
Each hotel will be 4-star quality and feature 150-400 rooms and sport ample communal space.