Veteran hotelier Ian Schrager has announced plans to partner with a major hotel management group, to drive forward growth of his PUBLIC hotel brand.
A new joint venture has been established with Highgate, a leading global hotel management and investment business, to lead the expansion plans. Schrager will lead on the brand stewardship, holding tight on the reigns of creative control. Highgate will bring their long experience in setting up and managing successful hotel operations, in many global markets.
A Trailblazing Innovator
Schrager has been credited with developing a succession of trailblazing hotels, and coming up with the boutique hotel concept. His EDITION brand is now growing under the stewardship of Marriott.
“I could have chosen anyone in the industry to partner with, but I chose Highgate,” commented Schrager. “They are the smartest, most talented, and most disciplined operators and investors in the business. This partnership allows me to focus entirely on what I do best – concept, product, positioning and experience, while allowing Highgate to do what they do best.”
Highgate brings operational discipline via its substantial scale. The company manages over 80,000 hotel rooms, in properties across North America, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. The aim is for Highgate teams to manage and operate new PUBLIC hotels, as they are added to the portfolio.
PUBLIC launched in New York in 2017, with the concept of “luxury for all” at its core. The property and the brand were refreshed in 2021, building on operational learnings from those first few years in business. The second PUBLIC hotel is due to open in spring 2026 in West Hollywood, a 137 room property on Sunset Strip. Meantime, Schrager is already teasing another update in New York, with a new food and beverage offering promised for a launch later in 2026.
Growth for PUBLIC could take several forms, under the new partnership. The pair may look to acquire existing hotels for conversion, or even purchase small hotel companies. New builds are an option, while Highgate will undoubtedly be looking through their existing portfolio of hotels, to assess whether any could benefit from a rebranding to do business under the PUBLIC banner in future.
Schrager is seen as one of the hotel sector’s disruptors, along with Barry Sternlicht. These individuals have delivered a series of innovative concepts and business models into the accommodation world, each time taking it forward a step.
Creating New Brands
Sternlicht helped create brands and businesses. He was behind the development of the W brand, and helped develop Starwood Hotels as an innovator, ahead of that business being absorbed by Marriott.
In recent years, Sternlicht has been innovating again, through his SH Hotels & Resorts business. That has been the platform for developing new brands such as 1 Hotels, and Treehouse. The business, which has more recently itself been rebranded with the old Starwood name, is also driving forward the SH Collection, and Baccarat Hotels.
