Viacom (VIA) is expanding its hotel licensing business, leveraging its kid-friendly brand Nickelodeon in hopes of drawing more families.
In a deal with Karisma Hotels & Resorts, Viacom will license the brand to the Miami-based developer for a collection hotels that will be called Nickelodeon Hotels. The properties will feature popular Nickelodeon characters, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Shares of Viacom rose 1.4% to $70.70 Monday.
Nickelodeon Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic will be the partnership’s first property, scheduled to open in late 2016. A second hotel will open in Mexico “shortly thereafter,” the company said.
Viacom already has licensed the Nickelodeon brand to several hospitality partners, including the Nickelodeon Experience, which will be unveiled at several Azul hotels run by Karisma later this year.
In 2007, Viacom struck a deal with Marriott International and a hotel developer to license the Nickelodeon brand for a similar theme hotel project. But the economic downturn triggered by the financial crisis in 2008 forced the companies to shelve the plans.
Viacom also has hospitality licensing deals with Norwegian Cruise Line and Nickelodeon Suites Resort in Orlando.
Yes........ Just yes.
