If you’re looking for some goods from some top department store in the New York City this holiday season, you might find it in shocking places: the lobbies of major Manhattan hotels.
Bloomingdale’s will be selling Baccarat crystal, French chocolates and more at the Loews Regency New York. Nordstrom for the second year will have a pop-up presence at the JW Marriott Essex House New York on Central Park South, where it will give away men’s and women’s clothes. Macy’s is selling souvenirs for the third time, along with holiday ornaments and other merchandise in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt New York, near Grand Central Terminal.
And then there are the more elaborate partnerships.
F.A.O. Schwarz is teaming up with the nearby Conrad New York Midtown to develop a superlative suite whose rate starts at $3,000 per night. Guests can play with and buy merchandise like dance-on piano and huge stuffed animals.
The Benjamin has offered guests amenities since 2013 to provide them their best sleep, will have a new pop-up in its lobby that sells slumber-friendly products like sleep-detox kits by Kaia Naturals and pajamas by Dagsmejan. And, working with the Well Traveled Trunk, a New York vintage luggage specialist, the Sofitel New York has set up a 15-foot-tall Christmas tree for its lobby; it comprises 15 pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage dating from the 1880s to the 1930s that sell from $10,000 to $16,000 each.
“It’s about convenience, bringing the store to the customer,” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst for Atmosphere Research. “And after seeing the pop-up, the guest can go to the retailer’s website in his or her hotel room, or to the store itself.”
