Tallest North American Hotel Opens

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Marriott International Inc. is opening the tallest hotel in North America today, a two-brand hotel tower in Midtown Manhattan. 

Located at 1717 Broadway, the building houses the 378-room Courtyard hotel and 261-suite Residence Inn. It reaches 754 feet high, passing the second-highest hotel tower in North America, the 727-foot-high Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. 

"The dual-brand concept is a way to appeal to many different audiences and budgets,"  Kathleen Duffy, a spokeswoman for Marriott's hotels in New York City, told Bloomberg. "More and more travelers are coming from South America, and the influx from places like China will only continue. So we have to have a product for example that appeals to those that fly very long distances and who may prefer a longer-term-stay-type property."

The opening of the building comes as New York is enjoying higher hotel demand. In 2013, 54.3 million tourists visited New York, with an expected 55 million visitors in 2014, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced last month.  

The 68-story building cost $320 million to build. It is owned by G Holdings and managed by Arlington, Virginia-based Interstate Hotels & Resorts Inc.