More than two decades ago, Standard Hotels set up shop on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, establishing a property that was anything but standard for its denizens, which included the glitterati of Hollywood, from the young to the rebellious, to everything in between and beyond. Heck, The Standard branding that adorns properties is written upside down—an allusion to flipping hospitality. The Sunset Blvd. hotel was famously opened by hotelier extraordinaire André Balazs and had initial financial backing from the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Benicio del Toro, among others.
The property closed in 2022, but Standard International, its parent company, which also includes Bunkhouse Group and The Peri Hotel, and a newly launched “rebellious sibling” brand called StandardX, is opening new hotels at a swift clip under the leadership of CEO Amber Asher, who has been with the company for 13 years.
HOTELS laid out some questions for Asher about Standard International’s growth trajectory, its deep roots and the imprint of Balazs.
1) Standard is celebrating 25 years. From the original Standard on Sunset Boulevard to today, how would you characterize the evolution?
When I started at The Standard 13 years ago, we had four Standard hotels in the U.S.: two in Los Angeles, New York and Miami. The Standard brand flipped hospitality on its head with art, culture and nightlife, while always maintaining an irreverent spirit. Now, our footprint is global, adding outposts in London, Maldives, Ibiza, Bangkok and Hua Hin, with Melbourne, Singapore, Brussels, Mexico, Lisbon, Pattaya, Dublin on the way. We are more integrative than ever before. Our cultural impact after 25 years fills us with pride and we still feel like we are just getting started.
2) How would André Balazs characterize it? What are the biggest things you learned from him?
André, and the incredible creative team that surrounded him, pushed boundaries with creativity in every facet of our hotels—design, nightlife, art, programming and culture. In my opinion, he changed the game as did The Standard. He taught us the importance of the details: Every element matters, from the font on an invitation to an exclusive party at BOOM, to the size of the wine glass at the Café Standard in the East Village, to the playlist by the pool at The Standard Spa, Miami. These details shaped the unique experience found only at The Standard and are still at the core of our brand. As we have expanded globally, we have continued to push boundaries, which is why we remain relevant after over two decades.
3) When you joined Standard in 2011, it was very much still a U.S.-focused brand. That mentality has shifted some and you now have hotels across APAC and Europe with upcoming openings in Brussels, Lisbon and Dublin. Amar Lalvani, your predeccessor, put a focus on that. How are you growing now—both in North America and internationally? What are the types of owners you work with and how are you able to beat out competitor brands for deals?
We partner with developers who have a shared vision to create something unique and love our brand as much as we do. They place a lot of trust in our team to create something very special, a true cultural destination, often in their home cities. We want them to be proud and become regulars themselves. When we find a partner who shares our commitment to innovative design, culinary, nightlife, art and culture—the skies the limit. Our team is very creative and solution-oriented in our approach to projects—where there’s a will, there’s a way. We don’t have a manual with a defined set of design standards and we try not to be too prescriptive in our approach. We work with our developers to find a common ground to create something special in the location that suits the needs of the community, the traveler, the owner and remains uniquely Standard.
Our growth strategy involves both North American expansion and abroad, with upcoming properties in Singapore, Brussels, Mexico City, Lisbon, Bangkok, Pattaya, Chattanooga, Dublin, Tulum, Vancouver, Medellin, Philadelphia and Nashville.
4) What does the deal landscape look like in this era of higher interest rates. Are you looking to expand via ground-up development or conversions or both?
Despite the current challenges with interest rates and rising costs in general, especially labor expense, we continue to sign new deals for new hotels. We are working on ground-up and conversions dependent on the market and the opportunity. The hotel development market is cyclical and we continue to be nimble and commercial in our approach to deals. Many of the deals we are seeing for Standard include an element of branded residences, which help developers in a market like this bridge the gap with their financing constraints and return requirements. Our branded residences segment is thriving. The combination of thoughtful design, prime locations and extensive amenities attract local buyers, whether for their primary home or a pied-à-terre, such as the lobby lounge and café, a rooftop pool with a strong food and beverage concept, gym and spa, pickleball court, a karaoke room and/or co-working spaces. We currently have four branded residences that are selling well: The Standard Residences in Midtown Miami and Lisbon are both over 90% sold, most of which were sold without a sales center or spec and at a premium to our collective underwriting—just on the strength of the brand and the reputation of experienced developers, like Carlos Rosso and Stone Capital, respectively. We also recently launched large scale stand-alone Standard Residences in Hua Hin and Phuket. Sales have been incredible.
5) Standard has and still is known to be that sexy, cool, hip place to hang. That’s how it started. How do you adapt over the last two decades to keep it that way?
At the heart of our success is a celebration of design, culture and community. We are very fortunate to work with our chief design officer, Verena Haller, who has a talent for curating collaborations with artists and designers, such as Jaime Hayon of Hayon Studios, Nicolas Villamizar, Matt Goodrich, just to name a few. These partnerships result in spaces that feel both familiar and new. As we have expanded our offerings with the Bunkhouse collection of hotels, The StandardX, branded residences and more to come, we have made sure there is something for everyone in each market. This adaptability keeps The Standard fresh and exciting for all who love it.
6) The hotel industry continues to be dominated by a small number of global lodging companies, who are always on the lookout to bolt on smaller brands to fill a particular gap or niche. How do you continue to operate amid this landscape and do you listen to potential suitors on the M&A hunt?
Frankly, we try not to pay too much attention to what others are doing. We are well capitalized and have a large pipeline of incredible projects. We just continue to do what we have always done which is create incredible experiences for our guests and local communities. Being independent allows us to push boundaries and take risks which big companies cannot or will not do so in many ways. That consolidation sets us even further apart from the competition and plays to our strengths. As it relates to potential suitors, we are often approached, as you can imagine.
7) You launched a sibling brand StandardX recently. Why was it time for it, the need and how does it complement Standard Hotels? Do you envision it as a brand that is easier to develop?
The Standard, Hollywood was beloved and brilliant in its simplicity and contained an X-factor that people were drawn to. There wasn’t over-the-top design budget or Michelin-level culinary concepts; it was just the true essence of lifestyle hospitality. It offered an approach that kept things interesting. We’ve evolved since then and have continuously elevated our design to create incredible concepts that are unlike our counterparts in major cities like London, Ibiza and Bangkok. The StandardX was an opportunity to return to that raw simplicity that was accessible to the next generation traveler looking to experience a city through the lens of The Standard brand. It’s a more linear, straightforward concept, but we always keep it interesting. Following our Melbourne opening, we’re excited to grow the sub-brand into other markets including Bangkok, which debuts in late 2024.