A 322-key project scheduled to open in late 2028 will become the first branded residential development under Marriott's Apartments by Marriott umbrella in the United States, developer The Big Key Group said.

The Miami-based firm is building the three-tower Ambar Residences Orlando, a soft brand Big Key created internally. Dallas-based Coury Hospitality will manage the property, with Big Key holding about 80% of the equity as general partner alongside outside limited partners. Siehr expects the equity position to dilute further as additional capital comes in.

Why Apartments by Marriott now?

The deal extends Marriott's branded residential reach beyond its luxury tier. Marriott has run branded residences for 25 years, anchoring its pitch to developers on operational consistency and resale value rather than a simple name attached to square footage.

"Marriott's been in the branded residential business for the longest, 25 years, and obviously it resonates very well with the buyers," co-founder and principal Nate Siehr said. "If you don't have a great brand that brings that operational excellence and reputation and value to the property, the brand is just a decoration."

What's the pricing play?

Big Key is positioning Ambar in the upper-upscale segment rather than the trophy-asset market that dominates South Florida's condo pipeline. Siehr, who spent 12 years at Marriott before launching his firm with residential-experienced partner Rodrigo Gana, framed the under-served middle of the buyer pyramid as the real opportunity.

"You see a really high concentration of branded residential products in the Miami area," Siehr said. "But I don't think you've seen that extrapolation to interior Florida, and along the coast."

He added: "We're really happy focusing on this upper-upscale price point… bringing the aspects of branded resident ownership to a different consumer class."

How does this shift resale economics?

Branded residences turn a hotel distribution machine into a condo sales channel. Marriott's reservation platform, loyalty database and property-management standards flow downstream into the unit sale, giving developers a built-in marketing engine and owners a familiar operating standard at resale.

"They're not just buying square footage with the name on it," Siehr said. "They're investing with the confidence of how it will be delivered over time. [Marriott's] platform continues to expand… So that's obviously great for us as the developer."

For Big Key, that is the investor pitch: faster unit absorption and a credible case against a traditional condominium development.

Is Orlando saturating?

Florida's branded residential pipeline is crowded, but Siehr pushed back on a ceiling in Orlando. He pointed to leisure demand depth and family travel as differentiators from Miami's trophy market.

"What appeals to us about broader Florida is the depth and repeatability of demand," Siehr said. "A lot of these ultra-luxury projects are one-time purchases, whereas, being in the space that's upper upscale… we really enjoy it addresses that multi-generational travel market."

He added: "I don't see that saturation in Orlando. It's one of the deepest leisure markets in the country."

What's next in Big Key's pipeline?

Big Key is weighing a second Orlando project that could mirror Ambar. The firm has not decided whether to repeat the Ambar name or build a new brand identity. Separately, the company is exploring a smaller Tribute Portfolio hotel with attached branded residences.

"We're not 100% married to doing all branded residential projects," Siehr said. "Some of our pipeline projects include traditional hotels with a branded residential component. Our preference is to have some sort of branded residential component if we can, just because of what it brings to the property in terms of returns and operations."

The Tribute move would matter: it would extend branded residential from Marriott's upscale Apartments soft brand into its soft-collection tier, widening the funnel of brand-adjacent real-estate products Marriott can offer developers across multiple price points.

The late-2028 opening of Ambar Residences Orlando will test whether a soft-branded, upper-upscale model can deliver the absorption and resale premiums that the luxury-tower segment has historically owned.