Caesars Palace in Las Vegas announced today they are converting their old and unloved Centurion Tower into a boutique hotel called Nobu Hotel, based on the famous Nobu Restaurant that has a number of locations around the world.

It’s going to be the first property from Nobu Hospitality (owned by Nobu Restaurant Group) with the hope that they will be able to expand to more properties.

This is pretty interesting because it’s the first time that a hotel is being based on a “restaurant experience”. In fact, I cant even think of a restaurant within a boutique hotel that considers itself based on the hotel brand – although Jose Andres’ Bazaar at the SLS Hotel in LA seems to be pretty close.

This is a different approach for the Caesars brand and Caesars Entertainment as well since I cannot think of another instance where they have a different hotel brand within one of their properties other than the casino branded hotel. On the other end of the spectrum is MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment’s biggest competitor which has been building these sub-brands within their properties for years.

As an example, look at the Mandalay Bay which has both a Four Seasons Hotel and “THE hotel” in addition to a more basic Mandalay Bay hotel stay.. MGM Grand has “The Mansion” (a super exclusive hotel brand connected to the property, but deeply hidden, it isn’t bookable by the general public either – you need to be a high roller and invited to stay there), SkyLofts and a much, much smaller sub-brand – Signature by MGM Grand.

Anyone who is familiar with Caesars will applaud this decision because the Centurion Tower has been underwhelming for years, rightly so as it was the first tower to open in 1970 and has started to show its age. What’s interesting is how it was decided to renovate the Centurion Tower vs completing the Octavis Tower which was left unfinished after the recent recession. (The building looks finished from the outside, but is empty on the inside.)

The plan is to create a completely separate experience for the Nobu Hotel, with its own entrance and check-in desk instead of combining it with the rest of the Caesars property as is done now.

Overall, this is a great idea and probably a win-win for both parties – Caesars & Nobu Hospitality, as encourages a new crowd to come to the Caesars Resort in Vegas, launches a new hotel brand without requiring as large of a capital outlay and lastly allows Caesars Entertainment to dip its waters in a new concept which can easily be replicated in their Atlantic City Casinos such as Bally’s and Caesars.

andrew@alconic-inc.com

Andrew Calvo is a Commercial Real Estate Advisor in New Jersey. I live in Tinton Falls, NJ. This blog is about my passions - primarily hotels, commercial real estate, and development, etc.

Since I have been in High School I've had numerous jobs, but the field which has always interested me is Real Estate, Hotel Development and Construction. I consider myself a zealot in that area - I try to absorb as much as I possibly can, take the experiences that I learn, or read about and use them in my life. 

www.passionsofazealot.com