The new luxury boutique hotel brand from Omni Hotels will be loosely based on The Watermark Hotel & Spa in San Antonio, which will be the first property to fly the new Mokara brand flag.
The new Mokara Hotels & Spas brand, which will officially launch April 1, will have a focus on wellness and will be positioned to compete with other luxury brands like Shangri-La and Mandarin Oriental, according to Mike Garcia, Omni’s senior vice president for development.
At least initially, Mokara will be led by the same executive management team as Omni Hotels & Resorts and will operate for corporate organizational purposes as a sub-brand of Omni. Mokara properties will be primarily owned and managed by Omni, although the company is open to third-party management opportunities.
While Mokara is not specifically a conversion brand, those will be the bulk of deals going forward, Garcia says. “The opportunity is conversion of current properties,” he says. “As you look down the road, we would certainly consider new-builds. But the environment we’re looking at is that there are assets out there for conversion.”
Garcia offers no timetable for expansion, but says there are about 25 hotels under consideration for the Mokara brand. Urban and resort markets in North America are the target locations for Mokara, as are some potential resort sites in South America.
Omni executives have long believed that The Watermark Hotel holds potential as a brand, and future Mokara properties will be broadly modeled on the iconic property. However, like the flagship Omni brand, Mokara properties will not share a uniform design template but instead will reflect regional style and influences.
Omni does not own the copyright on The Watermark name, necessitating a different brand moniker. Omni settled on the Mokara name because, as the company’s existing spa brand, it creates a link to Omni while also evoking a sense of wellness rejuvenation, which is at the core of the brand concept. Mokara is a type of orchid, the flower that also happens to be the Omni Hotels logo.
The target demographic for Mokara are adults aged 35 to 54 with a household income of more than US$100,000. Mokara will be marketed at executive-level business travelers looking to relax, as well as affluent couples interested in a weekend retreat. Mokara will not generally be positioned as a family-friendly brand.
Mokara concierges will be tasked with contacting all guests prior to arrival to learn about the reasons for the impending trip and will appoint guestroom amenities accordingly.
From a food and beverage standpoint, all Mokara properties will feature signature destination restaurants that will rely heavily on local covers.
