Sonesta Acquires RLH Corp
NEWTON, MA – Sonesta International Hotels Corporation (Sonesta) recently entered into a definitive agreement to acquire RLH Corporation (NYSE: RLH). RLH is the 10th-largest U.S.-based hotel franchise company with more than 900 hotels. After the closing of the transaction, Sonesta will become one of the largest hotel companies in the U.S. with approximately 1,200 hotels in diversified brands across multiple market segments. Sonesta also announced that upon closing of this transaction, 35-year hotel industry veteran Keith Pierce will be joining Sonesta as executive vice president, president of Franchise & Development.
“Whereas all of Sonesta’s hotels in the U.S. are currently self-managed, the acquisition of RLH significantly accelerates Sonesta’s hotel franchising capabilities by adding a franchise platform with more than 900 hotels,” said Carlos Flores, president and CEO of Sonesta. “With the addition of Keith to our leadership team, we also have an experienced executive ready to manage the RLH business upon closing this transaction and we are well positioned to grow Sonesta’s franchising business in the future.”
The acquisition of RLH is currently expected to close in the first half of 2021, and it is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of RLH’s shareholders. Sonesta expects to fund this transaction with cash-on-hand and/or through capital contributions from its shareholders.
Hyatt Plans Three Hotels in Sweden
CHICAGO – Hyatt Hotels Corp announced this week that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into franchise agreements with Story Hotels to build three hotels in Sweden under the JDV Hotel brand, helping to grow Hyatt’s independent collection brand in Europe. The three boutique hotels – Story Hotel Riddargatan and Story Hotel Signalfabriken in Stockholm, as well as Story Hotel Studio Malmö, Sweden – will all retain their individual hotel names and identities. The three Story Hotels will be available for reservation through Hyatt’s booking channels and for World of Hyatt members to earn and redeem points for stays starting April 1, 2021.
Story Hotel Studio Malmö will feature 95 unique guestrooms.
“We are very excited to bring these three Story Hotels in Europe under Hyatt’s JDV Hotel brand portfolio and at the same time grow the Hyatt hotel footprint in Sweden,” said Felicity Black-Roberts, vice president development for Europe at Hyatt. “We are focused on thoughtful growth in locations that meet our guests and members needs, and the upcoming addition of three Story Hotels help us fuel this growth in markets like Scandinavia, as we collaborate with owners who want to maintain each property’s unique identity. With their strong design focus and neighborhood feel, Story Hotels will be the perfect representation of Hyatt’s independent collection in Europe.”
Story Hotel Riddargatan, Story Hotel Signalfabriken and Story Hotel Studio Malmö are located at the heart of their destinations and each will celebrate the neighborhoods in which the properties reside. With modern, Scandinavian design that reflects the edgy nature of both cities, the hotels will offer amenities for business and leisure travelers.
“It was clear at an early stage that Hyatt and Story Hotels had a similar vision of how modern upscale living should look and feel,” said Staffan Åkerlind, CEO Story Hotels. “We are thrilled to introduce the JDV Hotel brand to Europe and Scandinavia and, we are proud to be working with such an experienced, international hospitality company like Hyatt. We look forward to leveraging their experience to offer excellent service to guests and benefit from their global scale and distribution.”
Celebrity-backed Sunset Boulevard Hotel Closes in West Hollywood
LOS ANGELES – The Standard Hotel in West Hollywood closed its doors last week. With celebrity backers Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, and Benicio Del Torro, the upside down logo hotel originally opened in 1999. A caption on the hotel’s Instagram post reads: “Despite 22 years of unconditional love for our hotel, our guests, our team and our community, the hotel was unable to prevent a significant increase to its lease, which makes operating the property impossible.”
“The location was the first that hotelier Andre Balazs opened in the Standard chain of boutique hotels,” wrote Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times. “The brand, with its irreverent upside-down logo, cultivated a casual, cool, celebrity-studded ambience. The chain grew to six locations in the Los Angeles area, New York, Miami and London, and it operates under Standard International. Balazs stepped down as the company’s chairman in 2017.”