Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger now in hotel business

The American clothing mogul Tommy Hilfiger is adding a new business activity to his already impressive portfolio: hotels. He purchased the Raleigh Hotel in Miami's South Beach for $70 million.

CNN Money reports that Hilfiger has plans to convert the Raleigh Hotel into a membership-based luxury boutique hotel, offering exclusive benefits to those who pay a yearly fee.

Hilfiger plans to expand the size of the current rooms, reducing the number of rooms from 109 to 88. Members will have access to a spa, a health club, and a restaurant. The renovations are estimated to take 18 months.

The Raleigh's members will have first priority to rooms and to the hotel's amenities. Membership will be slightly more expensive than the neighbouring Soho Beach House that charges $2,000 dollar per year. Hilfiger says he has plans to expand the Raleigh into a chain of hotels in other cities, like LA, Aspen, New York, London.

Further reading on money.cnn.com

Image by The Raleigh Hotel