Fresh Faces at Ace Hotel: A Bold New Chapter in Lifestyle Leadership

Ace Group International, the operator behind the lifestyle hotel brand Ace Hotel, revealed a new CEO along with other management alterations this week.

This transition signifies another phase in the organization’s developing narrative following the 2023 failure of Sortis Holdings’ attempted $85 million acquisition.

Chris Penn, who formerly managed Ace Hotel London, is rejoining the company as CEO. With twenty-five years of hospitality expertise, Penn has also founded the Birch lifestyle hotel brand in the UK, which was honored as the (London) Times and Sunday Times’ Hotel of the Year in 2020.

The New York-based hotel organization has also appointed Mostafa Abdella as chief operating officer.

“Chris and Mostafa successfully managed Ace Hotel London, and they are poised to leverage their extensive global knowledge across our current portfolio and the new projects we’ve signed in Asia and Europe,” stated Brad Wilson, managing partner, to Skift.

Ace Hotel has additionally promoted long-serving executive Meriem Soliman to chief brand officer. Having joined Ace in 2012 as general counsel and later rising to president, Soliman will concentrate on audience engagement and market share expansion.

Wilson will continue as Ace Group’s managing partner, supervising the executive team. The organization states it has one undisclosed property planned for development.

On the Recovery

The new appointments follow a challenging 2023 for the brand. The proposed acquisition by Sortis Holdings collapsed amidst legal disputes, with Ace asserting that Sortis lacked the funds for the all-cash purchase. In turn, Sortis contended that Ace had lost several management agreements and key staff.

Ace presently operates a total of nine properties worldwide, with locations ranging from Palm Springs to Sydney. The company inaugurated a new property in Athens in September 2024 and aims to launch its first hotel in Fukuoka, Japan, in 2027. A spokesperson mentioned that several new agreements have been signed in Asia and Europe.

Ace Group, which was pivotal in popularizing the idea of hotel lobbies as social hubs, last year engaged financial advisors to explore potential buyers, as Bloomberg noted.

Following the collapse of Sortis’ acquisition, the company has seen several properties leave its portfolio. Significant exits include its New Orleans location, which has become affiliated with Hyatt Hotels Corp., while its downtown Los Angeles and Portland sites have rebranded under different names.

The executive realignment positions Ace to compete in a continuously consolidating lifestyle hotel market following Highgate’s acquisition of Viceroy and Hyatt’s purchase of Dream Hotels Group in 2022. As one of the few remaining independent lifestyle brands, Ace now faces the challenge of expanding without the financial support of a major hospitality organization.

Accommodations Sector Stock Index Performance Year-to-Date

What am I viewing? The performance of hotels and short-term rental sector stocks within the ST200. The index encompasses companies that are publicly traded across international markets, including global and regional hotel brands, hotel REITs, hotel management firms, alternative accommodations, and timeshares.

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