Lotte Hotels & Resorts and Highgate announced a strategic partnership, under which Highgate will assume management of the 909-room Lotte New York Palace Hotel at 455 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.
Lotte will retain full ownership of the property, while Highgate will oversee day-to-day operations, revenue management, sales, marketing and labor relations. On-property transition activity is already underway.
Built around the landmarked Villard Houses, a brownstone complex commissioned in 1882 and designed by McKim, Mead & White, the hotel’s 55-story modern tower opened in 1981. Lotte Hotels & Resorts acquired the property in 2015, its first North American investment, and has since purchased the underlying land from the Archdiocese of New York, consolidating fee ownership of the Madison Avenue address.
Beyond the Palace, the two firms plan to pursue joint operating opportunities in North America and Asia, coordinate global distribution across direct channels, group and wholesale, loyalty and third-party intermediaries and develop revenue management and AI-powered systems drawing on both companies’ datasets. A formal talent exchange and secondment program will rotate executives between Highgate and Lotte properties across markets.
Lotte Hotels & Resorts operates more than 40 hotels across Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Russia, Myanmar, Uzbekistan and the U.S. under brands including Signiel, Lotte Hotels, L7 by Lotte Hotels and Lotte City Hotels. Its U.S. portfolio also includes Lotte Hotel Seattle and L7 Chicago by Lotte Hotels.
“Lotte is one of the great hospitality and consumer companies of our era, and the opportunity to build a long-term, multi-platform relationship with an organization of its caliber and ambition is rare,” said Richard Russo, principal of Highgate. “What gives this relationship its foundation are the core tenants that both companies share: an entrepreneurial, principal-led culture; a willingness to invest deeply in our people, in our technology, and in our operating discipline; and a commitment to building for the long term. We are deeply grateful that Lotte has entrusted the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, one of its most important assets, to our care. That responsibility is not lost on us, and the Palace is only the beginning of this work. The broader collaboration across hotels, distribution, technology, and the wider business ecosystems both companies bring is where the long-term value for both Highgate and Lotte will be created. We approach this significant partnership with excitement and admiration.”
Highgate’s New York City portfolio includes The Row Hotel, the InterContinental New York Times Square, the Public Hotel and the Courtyard Hotel on Third Avenue.