Hemingway Hotels & Resorts, a new luxury hotel brand designed as homage to the adventurous life and lifestyle of iconic author Ernest Hemingway, will debut its first property within a year, according to Tuckey Devlin, company president and long-time real estate developer.
The Florida-based hotel company has been in the planning stages since early 2005, but the economic downturn derailed its arrival on the hospitality scene until now.
"We expect to announce our first hotel within the next three to four months," Devlin said. "The concept is to celebrate the unique travel experiences of the famous author and what he loved about life's adventures."
That positioning should hit an emerging sweet spot in the industry, he said.
"Statistically, adventure and cultural tourism is the fastest-growing segment of tourism," Devlin said. "We will be well-positioned to take advantage of that."
The estate of Ernest Hemingway, who died in 1961, licensed the family name to create the hotel brand but is not involved in any hotel development, according to Devlin.
The hotels under the Hemingway brand will be a mix of newbuilds and conversions of existing properties.
"Some locations will have an affiliation with Hemingway's life," Devlin said. "Others will present a lifestyle concept based on the way Hemingway lived and what he loved about life's adventures."
Hemingway, author of such modern classics as "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "The Sun Also Rises" and "The Old Man and the Sea," was an avid deep-sea fisherman, a big-game hunter and an American expatriate who traveled the world and lived in and savored numerous metropolitan cities.
"Our hotels will strive to bring those facets of his life into our guest offerings," Devlin said.
Possible locations include Paris; Spain; Key West; Cuba; Ketchum, Idaho; South Africa; and the Bahamas, all haunts of the author at various times in his life.
Trust Hospitality, based in Coral Gables, Fla., will serve as the management company for the properties in the Hemingway Hotels brand.
"Our hotels will be a collection of independently owned properties, so the financing for any projects, be they conversions or newbuilds, is the responsibility of the owner/developer," Devlin said.
"We are not developing hotels ourselves," he emphasized.
There is no plan to exclude the family market; adults-only hotels are not part of the formula going forward.
All hotels in the Hemingway portfolio will be required to meet a strict set of criteria and adhere to specific guidelines, according to Devlin.
Properties must offer an "unparalleled guest experience and feature architecture that expresses the spirit of the hotel's location and references the places where Hemingway lived and wrote," Devlin said.
Fixtures at each hotel will be restaurants that offer authentic, local cuisine as well as some of Hemingway's favorite dishes; bars will serve "as the ultimate gathering places for Hemingway's favorite libations and the camaraderie of friends," Devlin said.
Each hotel will have a well-stocked library. Guest activities will range from adventure excursions to cultural events, "and the staff will follow a strict code of conduct like the heroes in Hemingway's fiction, always professional, interactive with guests but mindful of privacy and guided by a strong moral compass," Devlin said.
Staffing needs will depend upon the hotel's location and will be determined as each hotel becomes a member of the Hemingway Hotels brand.
The hotel company's top management team includes several executives with years of hospitality experience, Devlin said.
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