Moscow is a city of contrasts. Opulent wealth and grinding poverty exist side by side; dilapidated, non-descript apartment blocks and offices jostle with elegant neo-classical architecture. All these buildings have a story to tell, and together they make up the patchwork of Moscow's chequered history. Dominating today's skyline, Stalin's seven sisters rise phoenix-like out of the communist era and its lumpen, concrete blocks. Their monumental architecture leaves its indelible mark on the city, a constant reminder of a fallen regime.
Moscow and New Russia are nothing if not forward-looking, and the seven sisters represent opportunities. By subtly manipulating these vestiges of a bygone era, Russia is embracing the outside world and cementing new alliances overseas.
Such is the story of the Hotel Leningradskaya. Built in 1954, the hotel was the Soviet Union's answer to American capitalism. Then, as now, it boasted impressive interior features ranging from pillars in black marble to glittering chandeliers and Empire style furniture. The staircase still boasts one of the longest lighting features in the world, listed in the Guinness Book of Records, and completes the impressive if somewhat gaunt air of luxury.
The Hotel Leningradskaya is now undergoing a metamorphosis. For one thing its name is changing. It is becoming the Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya, following the Hilton policy of combining the brand and city names with the hotel's existing name, to preserve the historical significance of the building.
For another, it will be the responsibility of a new directorial team. In 2006 Hilton Hotels Corporation signed a franchise agreement to operate the hotel with Interstate Hotels and Resorts (IHR), the USA's largest independent hotel management company. IHR administers approximately 80 hotels under the Hilton Family of brands in the United States.
The new addition to the Hilton family will be the jewel in the crown of IHR's Moscow presence. The corporation already operates five properties in Moscow: the Marriott Royal Aurora, the Marriott Grand, the Marriott Tverskaya and two Holiday Inns. The hotel reopens later this year.
In a press release Wolfgang Neumann, Hilton's area president for Europe and Africa, explained the significance of this opening for the corporation, "The signing of the Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya marks an important step in the continuing growth of the Hilton's family of brands into emerging international markets like Russia. Russia is a strategic growth for Hilton and I am delighted that our strong relationship with Interstate has now been expanded for the first time outside of North America."
The rebranding of the Leningradskaya is clearly an important occasion for both Moscow and the foreign based corporation. The opportunities that many big conglomerates have identified in Russia are attracting a good deal of attention from Hilton. They have recently opened their first development office in Moscow and have given the task of overseeing it to their newly appointed Director of Development for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Rob Stoddard.
Clearly, Hilton see opportunities in Moscow and are investing a great deal in their new presence here. To oversee their arrival they have appointed Joerg Beginen to General Manager of the Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya. Beginen has plenty of experience in the field, having moved through the Kempinski Vier Jahreszeiten Hotel in Munich and the Ritz-Carlton in Boston. He has been in Moscow since 1999, working in directorial roles at the Marriott Grand and the Marriott Tverskaya. His appointment has implications not just for Hilton's exploration in Russia, but for the city as well, as he told The Moscow News, "The task is to open the first Hilton in Russia, to re-open this landmark building, which is considered one of the grandest landmarks in Moscow."
Moscow is burgeoning with opportunities, its rich history provides a distinctive basis for many ambitions to build on. Certainly, IHR's experience lends credibility and resources to their latest venture. The success of it would be an interesting twist in the Leningradskaya's history.
By Tom Washington
