The late Millennium Downtown New York is officially gone, rebranded by Millennium Hotels and Resorts as the M Social Hotel New York Downtown after an extensive renovation and conversion.
The new name is just the latest development for the storied building: The property opened as the Millenium Hotel in New York City’s Financial District in 1992 and joined the Millennium Hotels and Resorts portfolio in 2017 and was managed by Hilton until 2022.
“This property has come above our expectations,” Saurabh Prakash, interim chief operating officer and chief commercial officer, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, said at the official opening. “Based on the soft opening and the performance that we've seen compared to the previous Millennium Downtown, we are seeing [average daily rates] and [revenue per available room up] by 20 percent. So we are very happy with the initial performance, and we really believe there is more to be had here.”
Prakash estimated that the full conversion and renovation cost between $55 million and $60 million. “As owners, we have invested a lot into this project, and we believe there is enough ROI with the amount of hard work that our teams have put in and what our customer sentiments tell us.”
New Design
The 569-room property was designed by Mazzarini & Co., the hotel's interiors reinterpret the Financial District's style and landmarks, including The Oculus and Charging Bull. The hotel's signature motif of layered curves and ribbed patterns echo the movement and dynamism of Lower Manhattan. The influence of Wall Street also shapes the design with murals of the Charging Bull in guestrooms. Warm red and gold tones were paired with dark woods and metallic finishes to reflect both the style of Manhattan and the social spirit of the brand.
The hotel has 569 renovated rooms, including 98 suites. Each room has workspaces, custom artwork and sustainable amenities such as eco-friendly bath products and aluminium water bottles with refill stations on every floor.
Along with its new name, the hotel will have a signature restaurant, Beast & Butterflies. The property also has 3,550 square feet of meeting and event space across six rooms, accommodating up to 160 guests. The rooms have 98-inch 4K displays and dynamic lighting.
All M Social hotels have a Beast & Butterflies restaurant, but each one is unique to its location. “We will never force a global concept onto a location which would appreciate something different,” Prakash said. While other Beast & Butterflies restaurants serve local fare, the downtown hotel serves Spanish tapas and wines.
A Brand’s Evolution
Over 30 years, Millennium Hotels and Resorts has grown to a portfolio of 150 properties, 70 of which are owned by Founder and Executive Chairman Kwek Leng Beng. “We are a very unique organization, being able to really have that entrepreneurial spirit [since] these are our own assets,” Prakash told Hotel Management during a site inspection over the summer. “Every general manager that we hire, we always have that vision [and] that spirit, that if this was your own home, how would you treat it?”
The company has reflagged a number of Millennium-branded hotels as M Socials, Prakash noted. “With each rebrand to M Social, we saw a fresh new energy and vibe.” Describing the Financial District as the city’s “fashion district of the future,” the company decided a new flag was needed for the legacy property in order to attract the next generation. “And that's what M Social is today. It is a lifestyle hotel.” In terms of positioning, he added, “lifestyle” hotels can operate at any price point.
All but two M Social hotels are conversions from other properties under the Millennium Hotels and Resorts umbrella. “We've strategically looked at locations which made the most sense for the brand,” Prakash said, noting Paris; New York City; Singapore; and Auckland, New Zealand as ideal locations for the brand. “We're not going to open an M Social everywhere,” he added. “There are certain locations [that] have a different demographic, a different vibe. We'll keep our Millennium & Copthornes for those locations.”
The Millennium team is “very optimistic and positive about how the trajectory of M Social as a brand is growing,” Prakash said at the new hotel’s opening. “We've seen that in the M Social Times Square. It was the previous Novotel, and after it converted, we saw an uplift in ADR, and we are seeing exactly the same in this hotel.”