tl;dr – This is not the first attempted sale involving Ace Hotels.
A full circle moment here. The very FIRST article I ever wrote on You Are Travel profiled the struggles of the mercurial lifestyle hotel chain, Ace Hotels. Once the darling-dream accommodation for every extra-long-mustached hipster, the Ace Hotels chain expanded to trendy cities, with its even trendier hotels. At its peak, the hotel group opened hotels across four continents in cities such as Sydney, Australia, and Kyoto, Japan. As of today, there are only eight existing Ace Hotels, with a new location in Fukuoka allegedly in development. Between the pandemic and mismanagement, the chain has struggled to stay afloat, closing several marquee locations and scrapping various planned openings.
Recently, a new development in the Ace Hotel drama has unfolded. As reported by Bloomberg, Ace Hotels group is close to a sale to Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide, a Japan-based hotel chain (subsidiary of Seibu Group). The ‘Prince’ in Seibu Prince might sound familiar to all you points-hotels enthusiasts – it’s the name of the chain’s line of luxury hotels, some of which are partnered with Marriott. On a trip to Japan in 2024, I stayed at the highly underrated Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho (review forthcoming!) and thoroughly enjoyed my stay.
One thing that’s curious about the purchase price here is that it’s the same amount Ace Hotels attempted to sell itself for to Sortis Holdings in 2023. Given the significant economic shifts over the last two years, Ace Hotels is aligning itself with the same valuation. Some degree of stakeholders may have drawn a line in the sand as to a minimum price they’ll accept.
Earlier this year, Ace Hotels saw the return of an old leader as CEO, and I imagine that ‘doing whatever is necessary to find a buyer at a palatable price’ was the only charge.
If this deal comes to fruition, I’d like to know what Seibu Prince’s plans are for the chain. Several former Ace Hotel properties have reflagged as Hyatt hotels and appear to be performing better under this portfolio. Given Seibu Prince’s familiarity with Marriott and its soft-brand offerings, I wonder if the plan might be to rebrand the existing Ace Hotel as Autograph Collection outposts, while developing a long-term vision for any future properties.
