tl;dr – Ace will continue to operate as an independent brand under Seibu Prince.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the possibility of Ace Hotels finally selling itself to another hotelier. The deal has been consummated, with Japanese-based Seibu Prince purchasing Ace Hotels for $90 million.
Ace Hotels has been in murky financial waters over the past few years and has seen a significant contraction in its portfolio. The chain that was once the shining star of boutique-hipster-no-sleep-till-Brooklyn-why-would-you-ever-want-an-enclosed-toilet-in-your-room hospitality has just eight locations in operation today, down from its peak of fifteen. When the chain was flying high, there were another ten or so locations that were planned but never came to fruition.
Seibu Prince, for its part, has some ambitious goals – it aims to grow its global portfolio to 250 locations in the coming years. As part of this acquisition, Ace Hotels’ creative team will join Seibu Prince, presumably to help with the planning and strategy necessary to achieve that growth.
A handful of Seibu Prince hotels are part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio. Last year, I stayed at The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho, a Luxury Collection Hotel, and thoroughly enjoyed my experience (review forthcoming).
It’d be interesting to see if Seibu Prince’s growth plans include opening additional Ace Hotels, and if so, if it’ll look to Marriott to assist with distribution.
