Hyatt To Acquire Cooler-Than-Cool Standard Hotels, Per Reports

Hyatt Hotels is in “advanced talks” to acquire upscale boutique hotel operator Standard International, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, hedging that discussions have been private and tentative and the deal “could fall through.” No financial details were disclosed.

Both firms are certainly being tight-lipped. “As a matter of policy, we don’t comment on questions of this nature,” a Hyatt spokesperson told Forbes. “Regarding Hyatt, we have no comment at this time,” Lara Bogossian, vice president of communications at Standard International told Forbes via email.

Founded by legendary hotelier Andre Balazs, the Standard Hotel brand has always been known for its celebrity-dense, hipper-than-thou vibes. When the first Standard Hotel opened in 1999 on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip (remodeled from a nursing home that had previously been the circa-1962 Thunderbird Motel), investors included Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Benicio del Toro. (That property closed in 2021.) Earlier this month, Madonna headlined a dance party at Le Bain, the rooftop bar at The Standard, High Line in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.