Ian Schrager, a well-known figure in the hospitality industry, is collaborating with Highgate to expand his Public Hotels brand. According to the Wall Street Journal, this partnership will focus on acquiring hotels or small hotel companies, developing new properties, and converting existing Highgate assets into Public-branded locations.
Highgate manages or owns over 400 properties worldwide but will not take an ownership stake in Public. Instead, its involvement will be limited to acquisitions and management contracts.
Schrager is changing his approach to food offerings at Public Hotels by moving away from high-profile restaurants in favor of fast-casual and takeout options as a cost-saving measure.
Since its launch 15 years ago, Public has operated only one hotel at 215 Chrystie Street in Manhattan. Discussions are underway with Danny Meyer about managing food and beverage services at this location, which recently secured $310 million through refinancing.
The Manhattan property has been involved in a dispute with Whole Foods Market. In July, Whole Foods filed a lawsuit against the hotel, alleging that guests at the rooftop bar obstructed overnight deliveries by blocking access to its driveway and loading docks. In response, an entity associated with the hotel filed a summons seeking to prevent Whole Foods’ delivery trucks from parking near the property.
The 28-story building was opened by Schrager and Steve Witkoff in 2017 but closed during the pandemic. It reopened in summer 2021; however, financial challenges followed when developers defaulted on their $189 million senior mortgage and faced foreclosure before refinancing resolved these issues.
A second Public Hotel is planned for West Hollywood with an expected opening in spring. This expansion falls short of Schrager’s original goal of operating 15 locations within seven years of launching the company in 2011.
Schrager gained recognition as a pioneer of boutique hotels and co-founded Studio 54. He also played a role in creating Marriott’s Edition lifestyle hotel brand before ending that partnership in 2022.
