Hyatt Acquiring The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels Brands — What To Know

Updated: August 21, 2024, 2:02am CDT

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About The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels
Hyatt Launching New Lifestyle Group
Final Thoughts

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It’s not often we get hot news like this late in the day, but this one is sure to pique your interest: Hyatt plans to acquire Standard International, the parent company of The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels.

These lifestyle hotel brands offer some incredible properties in excellent destinations around the globe. Here’s what you should know about the new lifestyle brand being formed by this acquisition.

About The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels

Both The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels are owned by the same parent company, Standard International. Created in 1999, The Standard hotels are … not standard. They have unique designs across their locations in London, New York City, Miami, Maldives, and more. Plus, The Standard properties are coming soon to Singapore, Lisbon, Brussels, and Mexico. You’ll find The Standard properties in cities and near oceans, but you won’t find cookie-cutter designs at any of them.

The Standard London — The Standard, London. Image Credit: The Standard

Bunkhouse Hotels are meant to be one-of-a-kind properties that “offer more than just a good night’s sleep and a great cup of coffee.” You’ll find properties in California, Kentucky, Texas, and Mexico.

Standard International owns a majority stake in Bunkhouse Hotels, The Peri Hotels, The StandardX, and an upcoming brand called The Manner, set to launch in 2024. The brand will also venture into branded residences soon, with projected locations in Phuket, Miami, Mexico City, Hua Hin, and Lisbon. The brand has more than just hotels, though, also offering top-notch restaurants and nightlife concepts.

“These properties truly drive the zeitgeist, creating destinations unto themselves with celebrated and talked-about programming and events, such as the Met Gala afterparty. We are thrilled to welcome Standard International’s properties and team to the Hyatt family with the newly created lifestyle group and draw on their brilliance, creativity, culture and innovation.”
Mark Hoplamazian, president and chief executive officer, Hyatt

Hyatt will pay an initial price of $150 million for the purchase of Standard International. Additional payments could reach $185 million over time as additional properties join the Hyatt portfolio.

Hyatt Launching New Lifestyle Group

In acquiring Standard International, Hyatt plans to launch a new lifestyle brand. It will be led by Standard International’s Executive Chairman Amar Lalvani. Lalvani previous led global development of W Hotels.

“We waited a long time to find the right company with whom to join forces. In choosing Hyatt, we tap into a powerful global infrastructure and loyal guest base. I am very proud that our team has delivered on the potential we saw with The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels and am honored that Hyatt appreciates how special our brands, properties, and – most importantly – our people are.”
Amar Lalvani, executive chairman, Standard International

This acquisition will bring 21 open properties with 2,000 hotel rooms into World of Hyatt. It also covers more than 30 projects with signed agreements or letters of intent. Some of these will open within the next 12 months: The Standard, Pattaya Na Jomtien; The StandardX, Bangkok Phra Arthit; Bunkhouse Hotels Saint Augustine; and Hotel Daphne.

It’s the mention of a new “lifestyle group” that caught our attention. We asked a Hyatt spokesperson whether these properties would fall into existing Hyatt brands, such as JdV by Hyatt or The Unbound Collection. The response was that we’ll learn more later.

“We will share more about our new lifestyle group — as well as when World of Hyatt members can earn & redeem at Standard International properties — later this year in conjunction with the transaction’s anticipated close. Looking forward to sharing more soon.”
Hyatt Spokesperson

This leaves the door open for creating something new under World of Hyatt, possibly expanding the number of brands and providing another credit under Brand Explorer while applying the standard award charts. Alternatively, we could see something unique like Hyatt did with Mr & Mrs Smith properties, using a form of dynamic pricing.

Bottom Line:

Hyatt will announce details later this year about how these properties will fit into World of Hyatt, including which brands they’ll participate in and what the points redemption rates look like.

Final Thoughts

Hyatt plans to acquire Standard International. Once all the paperwork is complete, The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels should join World of Hyatt, allowing you to earn and redeem points at these unique properties.