A Lifestyle Hotel Brand Fights Through Carnage to Stay Independent
Photo Credit: Dream Hotel Group's CEO isn't deterred by the growing big-brand interest in the lifestyle hotel sector. Dream Hotel Group
Skift Take
The lifestyle hotel sector is increasingly crowded with bigger brands, but Dream Hotel Group is one of the few genuinely boutique players left on the field. Independence may be its trump card for brand identity moving forward."
It continues to be a brutal year financially for New York-based Dream Hotel Group. But the lifestyle brand sees a path ahead for future growth — without being gobbled up by a global hotel conglomerate.
Dream Hotel Group backs the Time Hotels, Dream Hotels, Chatwal, Unscripted Hotels, and By Dream Hotel Group luxury and lifestyle brands. But the largely U.S.-focused company has, like the entire hotel industry, imploded over the last seven months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dream Hotel Group CEO Jay Stein is still optimistic the company will make it to the other side of the worst year for travel intact, but it is a catastrophic year like no other for the New York hotelier.
“I never thought I’d call Sept. 11 a tiny issue from a financial impact on our business. We lost 50 percent of our top line revenue during Sept. 11, but, four or five months later, occupancies were at normal levels and then rates,” Stein said. “This has not been that. This one is devastating.”
