The 1,500 room/suite Las Vegas hotel will continue to operate as the Hard Rock until the renovations are complete sometime in 2019. Speaking to the press, Branson said his airlines had been taking people to Las Vegas for years, so it made sense to buy a pad.
“We wouldn’t have come to Las Vegas unless we could’ve found the property that was very Virgin, and I think that’s what we achieved,” said Branson.
Virgin Hotels didn’t do the deal alone. A group of partners invested including the LA-based investment firm Juniper Capital Partners. Virgin Hotel Las Vegas will be the second Virgin Hotel in existence (the first is in Chicago).
Virgin Hotels have plans to open more across the US and in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Source: GMB / Calvin Ayre
