But as demand for hotel-like residences grows, companies like Marriott International and Hilton are expanding into a unique segment: branded residences. Traditionally, sales of such condo-style homes have been included in luxury hotel developments by "driving" the overall financing of the project, due to their appeal to investors who were either interested in investing in vacation homes or international real estate.
"It's a model that works on many levels," Riyan Itani, director and founder of consultancy Global Branded Residences Ltd, told HNR Hotel News. "Hotel-branded residences are essentially driven by the market they're in," he said during a panel discussion at the International Society of Hospitality Consultants Annual Conference. As hotel brand awareness grows - particularly in the luxury space among affluent travelers - this standalone model of branded residences by hotel groups is taking off as an option that maximizes brand benefits without the risks of hotel development.
Abroad, the "dance" was opened by the Marriott group in independent branded residences. The first stand-alone Ritz-Carlton Residences opened in 2009 in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The development has 192 units. The model was not a target for the company, but came from customer and developer demand, company officials said.
Developments in Greece
According to real estate market professionals in Greece, currently more than 1,000 residential properties are being developed in our country, mainly in islandish Greece but also in the "Athenian Riviera". The beginning with perhaps the most famous project is in the center of Athens in the premises of the former Hilton hotel.
On site, Conrad will operate 55 residences as well as 280 rooms and suites. More specifically, 37 residences are being developed under the Waldorf Astoria Residences brand and another 18 residences under the Conrad Residences brand. In the southern suburbs in the great redevelopment of Hellinikon.
A little further down the road, luxury hotel One&Only Aesthesis will inaugurate operations in the former Asteria Glyfadas. The resort that is being developed by Grivalia will include 95 bungalows, while there will also be 18 residences, 2 villas and 14 One & Only Private Homes. And the company may have put the development in Petalios on hold, but the Project envisages the construction of 75 villas and 20 branded residences in an emblematic luxury hospitality project.
TEMES keeps expanding the projects at Costa Navarino Residences where there are more than 100 residences that have already been sold at their majority, while Six Senses, in 2026 the Six Senses Porto Heli hotel is expected to operate in Porto Heli, with 60 rooms and suites and 10 branded villas for sale.
Finally, under 1 Hotel of SH Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of Starwood Capital Group, the Mirum Hellas Project will operate in Elounda, Crete, which includes a total of 4 hotels, a 64-berth marina and a total of 275 residences for sale or rent.
