Hyatt is stepping up the development of its lifestyle offering. At the beginning of the summer, the American group had already launched a new brand, Me & All, derived from its partnership with the German group Lindner Hotels. This development has recently been supplemented by the acquisition of Standard International. The group manages 21 hotels, including the renowned The Standard High Line in New York, launched in 2009 by André Balazs before Amar Lalvani bought the brand and then acquired a majority stake in The Bunkhouse Group from its founder Liz Lambert. This has added several boutique establishments to its portfolio, including the Hotel Saint Cecilia in Austin and the Hotel San Fernando in Mexico City, in addition to the parallel development of the Standard brand, which is now present in London, Bangkok and Miami Beach, with Singapore and Melbourne to follow shortly.
At closing, Hyatt will pay a base purchase price of $150 million, and up to an additional $185 million over time as additional properties are added to the portfolio. Hyatt does not hesitate to put its hand in its pocket to strengthen its position in contemporary and trendy hotelsIn 2018, it acquired Two Roads Hospitality and its Alila, Destination, JdV and Thompson brands. Including these acquisitions and the organic growth of its own lifestyle brands such as Andaz and the Unbound Collection, the number of rooms in its portfolio will have increased fivefold between 2017 and 2023 in this segment, which has become strategic for hotel groups.
Hilton proved this recently when it bought two brands in quick succession, both of which the American group intends to expand, Graduate Hotels and NoMad. Long before, Accor had also been involved in lifestyle. one of the cornerstones of its strategyThis was achieved firstly by acquiring stakes in promising brands such as Mama Shelter, 25Hours and those of the SBE group, and then by creating the joint venture Ennismore with Sharan Pasricha, the founder of Hoxton Hotels. An entrepreneur who still steers the destiny of Ennismore in the company of Gaurav Bhushan, co-general manager from the ranks of the French group.
Has this example inspired Hyatt? In any case, the American hotelier is preparing to create a new group dedicated to lifestyle hotels, to be led by Amar Lalvani, the Executive Chairman of Standard International. As future Chairman and Creative Director of this entity, Amar Lalvani will oversee the integration of the various brands housed under this umbrella, while guaranteeing their integrity, growth and sense of innovation.
Like Ennismore, whose offer extends beyond the hotel sector to include extend to restaurants and nightlifeThe group will be supported by a number of 'Standard' concepts such as The Boom Boom Room, The Standard Grill, The Standard Biergarten, Café Standard and lively rooftops such as Le Bain, Decimo, Sweeties and Sky Beach.
" We are delighted to welcome the Standard International properties and team to the Hyatt family, as part of the newly created lifestyle group, and to benefit from their brilliance, creativity, culture and innovation." said Mark Hoplamazian, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hyatt. For his part, Amar Lalvani said " honoured "Hyatt appreciates the uniqueness of its brands, its establishments and its employees. "We share the same vision of the enormous potential that lies ahead" he added.
Among the thirty or so projects in the pipeline at Standard International, several are expected over the next 12 monthsThese include The StandardX hotel in Bangkok Phra Arthit, another The Standard in Pattaya, as well as two Bunkhouse properties in the United States, in Houston: the Saint Augustine and Daphne hotels.
