Scottsdale will be one of the first destinations to debut another hotel brand for the hip traveler. The first Cambria Suites is slated to open late this year in Boise, Idaho, said Robin Ferrier, spokeswoman for Choice Hotels International, parent company for the new chain.
Two Valley versions are among the two dozen Cambria Suites nationwide that the company has contracted to launch the brand, she said.
A 120-room Cambria Suites at The Shops at Avondale in the West Valley is slated to be built by East Valley-based developer Shane Kuber, who also is razing and redeveloping a Mesa Holiday Inn. Kuber did not return calls to say when his Avondale hotel will open.
A 125-room Scottsdale Cambria Suites could start welcoming guests by mid-2008, said Ken Goldfine, chief executive officer of Scottsdale- and Minnesotabased ZMC Hotels.
Goldfine, whose family-run company owns 33 hotels in 16 states, including five Scottsdale-area properties, likely will raze the 38-year-old Inn at Pima, 7330 N. Pima Road, and build Cambria Suites on the site, he said.
But he is considering buying vacant land in the area for the new hotel instead, he said.
Either way, Goldfine said he is targeting the upscale, commercial office corridor west of Loop 101 on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community or east Scottsdale for the new hotel, he said.
“Cambria will be fabulous in Scottsdale,” he said. “It is among the new generation of hotels geared to today’s new generation of travelers.”
Those are tourists Goldfine dubs “the Starbucks generation” and defines as people of any age who want an upscale experience at home or on the road and don’t mind spending $3 for a cup of coffee.
Other hip hotels targeting the same traveler demographic have announced plans for Scottsdale locations.
They include Hotel Indigo, Aloft and Hyatt Place. The brand that started the trend — the W — is under construction in downtown Scottsdale. The made-over Valley Ho and in-transition properties Caleo and Mondrian already pack in guests.
Goldfine said he is not concerned about having a glut of hip, trendy hotels carving up the tourism trade.
“People always want the new thing. The market changes over time,” he said.
