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Dewberry moving into luxury hotel market
Former Tech quarterback branching out from mixed-use, office projects
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
John Dewberry is adding another job title to his resumé: hotel magnate.
The developer and former Georgia Tech quarterback is creating Dewberry Hotel Co., a luxury brand he hopes will resemble the high-end standards set by famed British hotelier Rocco Forte.
“I love his hotels,” he said of Forte, whose holdings include the Hotel de Russie near the Spanish Steps in Rome and the Hotel Savoy in Florence. “They are classic, elegant, clean, not over-designed.”
And the first hotel he’ll add to this new strategy will be the Wyndham Hotel he owns on 10th Street between Peachtree and Juniper streets. While he does not think it will carry the Dewberry Hotels name — he says the building physically doesn’t fit his vision for the chain — he will re-flag it at the end of August with a yet-to-be-determined name.
Dewberry, who is known for mixed-use developments and office projects like Peachtree Pointe in Midtown, hopes to open 10 Dewberry hotels over the next 10 years, he said. He is scouting locations in Atlanta, Washington, New York, San Francisco and Chicago, as well as some secondary markets like Charleston, S.C.
Interest in the hotel industry has grown over the years — especially in Atlanta — as demand has outstripped supply in some segments, like the luxury market and extended stay, experts said. While the weak economy has slowed the pace of hotel growth this year as it has other industries, lodging experts still see demand increasing over the next decade.
In Atlanta such well-known entrepreneurs as former Ritz-Carlton head Horst Schulze and Novare Chief Executive Officer Jim Borders have gotten into the game. Schulze has developed the Solis and Capella brands through his company West Paces Group while Novare launched Twelve Hotels in 2006.

ajc.com