Universal Music to open music-inspired hotel chain

The announcement follows last year’s partnership between Universal Music and Dakia Global Enterprise to develop a new music-focused experiential hospitality category, including premiere hospitality, a lifestyle club and live entertainment, under Dakia U-Ventures.

The hotel chain’s daily operations will be managed by Pyramid Hotel Group. Universal also plans to open more hotels in the US and around the world, assuming that these first three are successful enough.

The group says the hotels will house their own live music venues and will reflect local culture, history and music, “promoting positive social change, education and innovation” through their hotel line’s experience and operations.

“Through music’s unique power to inspire and unite, especially given UMG’s unparalleled roster of artists and labels, UMusic Hotels will both highlight these cities’ rich music heritages and provide new opportunities for artists to reach fans in immersive, innovative and authentic ways”, Universal Music Enterprises CEO Bruce Resnikoff said.

Dakia U-Ventures chairperson Robert Lavia said: “Every destination holds a great story just waiting to be told through its cultural heritage and its music. Through this new concept, we will both help people discover new ways to channel their love for music and the arts and help empower the transformation of communities worldwide through cultural, inspirational, creative and conscious collaboration”.

Mississippi news network WLOX said the Biloxi UMusic hotel is being built on a 1 076 000 square kilometre property and will cost about $1.2bn. An image of the Biloxi, Mississippi, Broadwater Hotel shows a sizable stage and ample seating arranged directly in front of lodgers’ balconies.

The move by Universal Music could provide a number of benefits for its signed artists in terms of working around performance schedules, venue fees, and the possibility of selling bundled concert and accommodation passes for fans.

Meanwhile, the hotel sector is among the hardest hit industries globally in terms of revenue losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdown restrictions, with hotel occupancy rates dropping as much as 96% in Italy, 67% (China), and 48% (US), according to global hospitality data company STR.