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The lifestyle hotel sector continues to attract some of the biggest hotel companies in the world, it seems.

Hyatt is once again set to make a play for an established lifestyle hotel brand. The Chicago-based hotel company is in advanced talks to acquire Standard International, Bloomberg reports. Standard International operates a global network of hotels under brands such as The Standard, Bunkhouse and Perry. The structure of any potential Hyatt deal — and whether it would include all Standard International brands — is not yet public.

“As a matter of policy, we do not comment on these types of questions,” a Hyatt spokesperson told TPG. “We remain committed to asset-light growth through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions but have nothing new to share at this time.”

When contacted by TPG on Thursday morning, a Standard International representative declined to comment. But any potential Standard International tie-up would be the latest in a long list of luxury and lifestyle plays by Hyatt.

The company’s 2018 acquisition of Two Roads Hospitality brought brands such as Thompson Hotels, Alila, Tommy, Joy de Vivre (now JdV) and Destination. Since then Hyatt has continued to make a splash in the all-inclusive resort space with its 2021 Apple Leisure Group takeover, offering luxury offerings such as Secrets and Impressions by Secret. The company has also acquired lifestyle hotel-focused Dream Hotel Group as well as Mr & Mrs Smith luxury and lifestyle booking platform in recent years.

However, we shouldn’t see the Standard as a case of Hyatt promoting lifestyle hotel gluttony. The brand, first developed by hotelier Andre Balazs and now overseen by CEO Amber Asher, has achieved what very few lifestyle hotel brands have: staying power. Further, some could argue that The Standard will easily become Hyatt’s most headline-stealing brand: FKA Twigs, Madonna, Janelle Monae and Billie Eilish have all come to — some even perform — at The Standard, the high line’s mate. At the gala after-party.

The Standard’s first hotel — the now-closed The Standard, Hollywood — was a media staple, appearing in everything from “Sex and the City” and “Ocean’s Twelve” to “Entourage.”

But the brand did not stop there. A standard in New York City, the High Line has been a hotel hot spot and nightlife staple — good luck trying to get into the hotel’s rooftop bar Le Bain — since its 2009 grand opening. Standard has since gone global and now has Thai real estate firm Sansiri as a major investor. TPG is a big fan of the brand’s outposts in Bangkok as well as the Thai resort destination of Hua Hin, and you’ll also find standard properties in places like London, Miami and Ibiza, Spain. Upcoming openings include hotels in Singapore, Dublin and Lisbon, as well as the first hotel under the new brand StandardX in Melbourne, Australia.

It will be interesting to see how the cool-than-cool standard vibes mesh with Hyatt’s loyalty network and scale. Hotels and lifestyle brands aren’t mutually exclusive: Marriott’s edition brand shows you can do both. But it’s also abundantly clear that major brands see the way forward for lifestyle brands, each offering more operational autonomy than Hyatt Regency or Westin.

Accor’s Ennismore lifestyle arm, which includes standard competitors such as the Mondrian and Delano, is more removed from the Paris-based hotel company than from harder brands such as Sofitel and Fairmont. The original Ennismore team also retains an ownership stake in the division. Hilton’s Nomad growth plans still include the core team of the Seidel Group’s luxury lifestyle brand. Marriott has recruited nightlife and boutique hotel maven Ian Schrager to help get the addition off the ground — a sign that this type of hotel requires attention to detail.

While details are not yet clear on how Hyatt and Standard will integrate, there will need to be some “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” belief here. While Hyatt’s acquisition of Dream Hotel Group gave the company a boost in New York City, even the Big Apple’s Dream Hotels feel a bit past their cool-factor expiration date, I can tell after several investments in each over the past few years.

It’s a different story at Standard International, which has New York City hotels in the Meatpacking District and East Village, and a new concept in the works in SoHo. It would be imperative for Hyatt to listen to the lifestyle experts who still have lines at their hotels after 25 years and counting.

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