Taco Bell is opening a Taco Bell-themed hotel (YUM)

Taco Bell

• Taco Bell is opening a hotel in Palm Springs, California, in August. 
• The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort will be open for a limited time, with reservations opening up in June. 
• "This idea of allowing people to kind of fully experience and embrace and immerse themselves in every aspect of the Taco Bell lifestyle led us to the idea of doing a hotel," Taco Bell’s chief global brand officer, Marisa Thalberg, told Business Insider. 
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Taco Bell is opening a hotel. 

On Thursday, the fast-food chain announced that it is opening The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort in Palm Springs, California, on August 9. 

The hotel will be fully Taco Bell-themed, with new menu items, a gift shop, and a nail art, fades, and braid bar inspired by the chain. And, executives want to be clear: This isn’t a stunt, but instead part of Taco Bell’s wider strategy of moving the brand beyond the traditional fast-food experience. 

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Taco Bell

"This idea of allowing people to kind of fully experience and embrace and immerse themselves in every aspect of the Taco Bell lifestyle led us to the idea of doing a hotel," Taco Bell’s chief global brand officer, Marisa Thalberg, told Business Insider. 

Thalberg said Taco Bell’s experience with hosting weddings in Taco Bell’s Las Vegas Cantina instructed the chain’s thinking around the hotel. Taco Bell began hosting weddings in the location in 2017; since then, more than 165 couples have gotten married at the festive location. 

"We’re really just creating experiences that feel like a reflection and extension of the essence of Taco Bell at its very best," Thalberg said. "Oftentimes they’re born out of real consumer insights or behaviors. And I think that’s what makes them very valid and very legitimate." 

Taco Bell fans can book reservations at the hotel starting in June. Reservations are up for grabs on a first-come, first-served basis, so be ready to book if you’re looking for a Taco Bell-inspired vacation this August. 

While currently The Bell is only set to be open for a limited time, Thalberg says that she would "never say never" to a full-time Taco Bell-themed hotel. 

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SEE ALSO: The death of the American middle class and rising costs have forced fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Taco Bell to try new strategies in their quest to win over budget shoppers

Source: Business Insider – ktaylor@businessinsider.com (Kate Taylor)