In a recent blog, I discussed the opening of a large (612 rooms) new hotel in the heart of Midtown Manhattan charging as little as $139 to $169 (and only occasionally higher) per night for a double room.
That remarkable lodging, priced at a half to a third of the going rate in New York City, belongs to the giant Marriott company and bears the impudent name Moxy.
I should have mentioned that the New York City Moxy is only the latest in a planned construction by Marriott of at least 100 Moxy hotels around the world, of which 20 are already in existence, most of them charging a lower $80 to $100 for a double room.
Among them are Moxys in Washington, D.C.; Boston; Los Angeles; Nashville; Berlin; London; Amsterdam; Tokyo; and elsewhere. The Moxys achieve that low rate by limiting the size of rooms to 183 square feet, far below the standard industry designs.
The Marriott people sternly deny that low cost is the chief attraction of a Moxy. They argue that these unusual new hotels are designed primarily for use by millennials (people born in the 1980s and 1990s), who are attracted by a party atmosphere created by a round-the-clock bar in the lobby, restaurants, and snack bars on the roof, and other convivial attractions.
Nevertheless, it’s undeniable that low room rates are a potent feature of Moxy and a strong reason for patronizing it.
New Moxys are opening around the world on nearly a monthly basis. If you are willing to rent a small hotel room, you’ll want to search for a Moxy in planning your very next trip.
New Moxys are opening around the world on nearly a monthly basis. If you are willing to rent a small hotel room, you’ll want to search for a Moxy in planning your very next trip.