As president of New York-based real estate and development behemoth Lightstone, Mitchell Hochberg is behind the growth of the Moxy Hotels brand, bringing his distinctive eye to the brand’s flagship property in Times Square, as well as Chelsea and East Village in New York and South Beach in Miami. Hochberg has a penchant for partnering with prolific designers, including Yabu Pushelberg and Rockwell Group, who bring a sense of elegance to the affordable lifestyle brand, cultivating a see-and-be-seen vibe that attracts locals and guests alike. Here, he shares what’s next for Lightstone and how he continues to evolve the Moxy ethos.
Stacy Shoemaker Rauen: What’s on the boards for Lightstone?
Mitchell Hochberg: In the fourth quarter of this year, we’re opening up Moxy Williamsburg [by Basile Design], Moxy Lower East Side [by Michaelis Boyd and Rockwell Group], and a co-branded AC/Moxy in Downtown LA [by Yabu Pushelberg] within the same three months. The combination of the AC and Moxy will have 727 keys and 12 F+B venues. It’s a very large project and has been quite an undertaking. The property on the Lower East Side will also be over 300 keys, and it will be the biggest in terms of F+B that we’re doing in New York. We’re partnering with TAO Group to create a cocktail lounge, a lobby bar and café, a rooftop bar, a subterranean nightclub, and a large restaurant there.
SSR: You’re one of the biggest champions of Moxy, Marriott’s affordable lifestyle brand. Why do you think it resonates with guests?
MH: At the beginning, we felt that there was no reason we couldn’t develop an affordable product without sacrificing design. A lot of people didn’t think you could do that. At the end of the day, the way I looked at it is, I was proposing a deal to my guests: I’ll reduce the rate and in return give you an efficient, but stylish room with public spaces that are engaging, well designed, and where you can have a lot of fun. It was the perfect time to do something like that because today’s traveler was looking for experiences over dated amenities. By designing the hotels the way we did, we were creating an environment that people traditionally would never think of in an urban [locale]. We’ve been able to create a series of experiences in each of the hotels that embrace the neighborhoods they’re in.
A rendering of the forthcoming Moxy Williamsburg, which will feature architecture by Stonehill Taylor and interiors by Basile Studio
SSR: Why is it important for the properties to embrace their neighborhoods?
MH: We try to make the public spaces appealing to locals as well as our guests. People who come to New York from Germany don’t want to sit at the bar and talk to another guest from Germany. The exciting thing is to sit at the bar and talk to a New Yorker and ask them where the best comedy club is or where you can get the best slice of pizza. The only way you can create that is by designing an environment that’s welcoming to the neighborhood, which, in turn, supports the food and beverage, making everything work a lot better.
We’ve worked hard, in terms of the lobby spaces, to make it a place where people work and where it’s comfortable and inviting to people from the neighborhood to come sit with a laptop, take meetings, have a coffee, or meet with friends for a drink in the evening. Most of those lobby areas are 50/50 guests and locals. Creating something that would work for both was challenging, but exciting to do, and it’s fulfilling to walk through the lobbies and see that.
SSR: What part of the process do you love the most?
MH: The ideation by far. Starting with a blank canvas and trying to decide: What is it that we can do that’s going to be new, fresh, and different and resonate with our guests? We try to understand our guests and how their tastes are evolving. Then, we sit down with the design team and go through the process. We see how what we want to do from an aesthetic point of view melds with a neighborhood point of view to create something special.
The Moxy Lower East Side, shown in a rendering, will boast interiors by Michaelis Boyd and Rockwell Group and architecture by Stonehill Taylor
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