Skift Take
Sam Nazarian once built buzzy hotel brands Hyde and SLS. Can Nazarian repeat the trick with the help of unlikely partners Wyndham and musical artist (and investor) Marc Anthony?
Sam Nazarian’s SBE is returning to the hotel business: It said Monday it plans to offer new "smart lifestyle" hotels as part of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts's Registry Collection, a soft brand.
Soft brands involve fewer rules, or “standards,” from Wyndham headquarters than so-called hard brands, which dictate details on decor and require more investment.
SBE (which stands for Sammy Boy Entertainment) became LA's largest nightclub operator in the 2000s. In 2005, it invented the hotel brand SLS, and, later, Hyde. In 2016, it acquired Morgans Hotel Group for about $700 million. In 2018, Accor became a half-owner of SBE and began to market its hotels.
The pandemic hit SBE hard. The company sold a remaining 50% stake in its hotel brands to Accor. It exchanged the marketing value and management control of about 100 hotels for roughly