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First came the invasion of theme restaurants. Now come the theme hotels.
The Hotel Pennsylvania is expected to get a sports theme as part of its planned overhaul. Planet Hollywood, House of Blues and Hard Rock are maneuvering to put up new hotels in New York. And the Harley-Davidson Cafe, Opryland and the Virgin Group are noodling about getting into the lodging business here.
Planet Hollywood is expected to be the first to arrive because its Official All Star Cafe is part of the Hotel Pennsylvania plan. It is also expected to hook up with the buyers of the former Roxy Deli site, at 1567 Broadway in Times Square. Others won't be far behind.
The push into lodging, at a time when that business is thriving, is the next frontier for companies that have always been more about marketing than anything else.
"As urban entertainment continues to evolve, theme hotels were a logical progression," says Michael Fishbin, a hospitality consultant in E&Y Kenneth Leventhal's New York office.
Urban entertainment, the term du jour in real estate circles, accounts for the evolution of neighborhood movie theaters into multiscreen cineplexes, the retailing overdrive of Niketowns and the transformation of Times Square from a seedy crossroads to a touristy theme park.
Theme hotels originated in Las Vegas and Disney World, where tourism is the most...