The hospitality company behind the Sheraton, W and St. Regis hotel brands is setting up shop in the Garment District.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts plans to open an innovation center called Starlab next month at 417 Fifth Avenue between 37th and 38th streets, Crain’s reported. The 46,000-square-foot facility will be home to 200 employees responsible for pioneering new technology, such as a mobile phone app that unlocks guestrooms, according to the news site.
Starwood previously housed its innovation lab downtown on Varick Street. It is now seeking to capitalize on the concentration of tech-minded tenants that have moved to the Midtown district.
“From an environmental perspective, the Garment District is becoming a hub for creative and technology companies — just being in a creative hotspot delivers on that as well,” Phil McAveety, Starwood’s executive vice president and chief brand officer, told Crain’s. [Crain’s] – Tom DiChristopher