Moxy Hotels

Origins

The earliest known origins of Moxy was in 2010, when The Lightstone Group began developing a new hotel concept aimed at younger audiences as well as offering affordable accommodations in urban markets with no compromises on design and comfort. The rooms were inspired by the small hotel rooms mostly found in Europe that reduce inefficiencies that traditional hotels usually have.^[1][2]

Lightstone then developed rooms with many space-saving features like pegboards instead of closets and collapsible furniture, similar to rooms in cruise ships. The rooms emphasized functionality while also incorporating furnishings, good quality beds, and fixtures that were intended to optimize very little space.^[3]

Along with the room design, Lightstone designed the lobbies to be multi-purpose rooms, that would also serve as a bar, which were different from traditional hotel lobbies which are often mostly empty. Lightstone was confident that Moxy aligned with this vision, and they collaborated with Marriott International and IKEA. They soon adapted it to include enhanced design elements and on-site dining and entertainment, particularly suited to large and populous cities like Miami, Los Angeles and New York.^[4][5] Lightstone intended that it would be playful, stylish, affordable and highly sociable.^[6][7][8]

Foundation and early days

Moxy Hotels was later announced by Marriott International in 2013, in partnership with IKEA and Lightstone.^[9] The first location opened in Milan, Italy near Milan Malpensa Airport on September 1, 2014. The chain mainly targeted price-sensitive millenial travelers.^[10]

Continued development

In 2019, Moxy Hotels expanded to the United States, with two new locations in New Orleans and Tempe, Arizona.^[11] In 2022, Moxy launched "Moxy Universe, Play Beyond," an augmented reality experience exclusive to properties in Asia and Oceania.^[12][13] In 2025, Moxy Hotels launched their 100th property in Europe, the Middle East and Africa with the introduction of Moxy Belfast City.^[14] Later in 2026, Moxy increased their presence in the Middle East and Africa.^[15] In 2025, Marriott International announced that Hotel Equities would operate a dual-branded property in Vancouver, set to open in summer 2028. Half of the property would be the Moxy Vancouver Downtown, which would be part of Moxy, while the other half would be the Element Vancouver Downtown, which would be part of Element, another limited service Marriott brand.^[b][16]