Bethesda, Maryland, United States, November 18, 2020 / TRAVELINDEX / Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) and six industry-leading hotel operators today jointly announced the launch of Curator Hotel & Resort Collection, a hand-selected collection of small brands and independent lifestyle hotels and resorts worldwide. Curator’s distinct owner-centric platform offers an alternative for independent lifestyle hotels looking to strengthen their performance, providing them with best-in-class agreements, services, and technology, while allowing them to retain their unique identity. Created by owners and operators, Curator gives its members the power to compete together on their own terms, unbound by strict rules or constraints. As of today, Curator’s seven founding members represent an exceptional collection of more than 120 independent lifestyle hotels and resorts throughout the United States, with many more poised to participate over the next six to 12 months. In addition to Pebblebrook, the founding members of Curator include Benchmark Global Hospitality, Davidson Hotels & Resorts, Noble House Hotels & Resorts, Provenance Hotels, Springboard Hospitality, and Viceroy Hotels & Resorts.
“Curator is a champion for the independent lifestyle hotel, uniting and empowering individual small brands and properties. Every property in the Curator Collection offers its own distinct, singular guest experience. We’re excited to bring these hotels and resorts together in one collection that is incredibly diverse, yet unmistakably cohesive,” said Jon Bortz, Founder and Chairman of Curator Hotel & Resort Collection and Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust. “We are seeing a rapidly-growing segment of sophisticated travelers who value independence and creativity in their hotels. These travelers are searching for more individualized and unique experiences. Curator bridges the gap and connects these guests with independent hotels and resorts across the United States that provide just that.”
There is no one-size-fits-all uniformity for the Curator Hotel & Resort Collection. Instead, each property provides its own authentic and memorable experience with the freedom to operate on its own terms. Quality assurance comes from customer ratings rather than mandated standards, allowing Curator’s members to focus on being themselves and providing standout guest experiences rather than conforming to restrictive checklists, standards, and rules.
Curator also amplifies the performance of independent lifestyle hotels, giving them an alternative to consolidation and saturation while providing them with the benefits and support that come with belonging to a larger collection of like-minded unique properties. Leveraging the power of scale, Curator drives significant operating cost savings for its members through an array of curated benefits and initiatives. With its competitive market knowledge, Curator can utilize its economies of scale advantage to provide its members better and less expensive products and services.
Curator takes care of vendor negotiations so that its members don’t have to, executing and managing advantageous portfolio-level agreements to help owners reduce operating costs and increase profit. Members also benefit from shared business intelligence reporting, insights and proprietary tools and technology solutions, all of which help guide and focus key operational activities and cost-saving efforts. These initiatives allow owners to focus more time and resources on attracting customers and growing revenues.
“Benchmark Global Hospitality is honored to be a visionary owner with Pebblebrook and a part of this prestigious group of respected operators launching this innovative, owner-centric collection. Without question, as the independent and lifestyle segments of our industry grow in response to consumer demand, Curator fills a need for those owners seeking a competitive advantage without sacrificing their independent edge,” said Alex Cabañas, Chief Executive Officer of Benchmark Global Hospitality.
Strengthening independent hotels, Curator Hotel & Resort Collection will lift the industry as a whole by providing increased consumer choice. For consumers, Curator believes the fun is in the find – providing guests the freedom to decide what they want and the excitement of discovering it. The Curator Collection website will serve as an online matchmaker between collection members and guests. The portal will magnify the visibility and reach of small brands and independent hotels by connecting them directly with consumers, who will handpick their hotels based on their preferences. A Curator badge will also appear on participating hotel websites to celebrate genuinely independent lifestyle hotels and make selecting one that much easier and more fun. Guests can feel confident knowing that booking a Curator property will provide the sense of place they seek when traveling, paired with a world-class guest experience, to help them create a travel lifestyle that is uniquely their own.
Curator was founded for independent lifestyle owners, operators and small brands. Its creation was led by Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, the largest independent lifestyle hotel and resort owner in the United States.
About Curator Hotel & Resort Collection
Curator Hotel & Resort Collection is a distinct collection of hand-selected small brands and independent lifestyle hotels and resorts worldwide, founded by Pebblebrook Hotel Trust and six industry-leading hotel operators. Curator provides lifestyle hotels the power to compete together while allowing its members the freedom to retain what makes their hotels unique. It offers independent lifestyle hotels the benefits of associating with other unique lifestyle hotels and brands while participating in best-in-class operating agreements, services, and technology. In addition to Pebblebrook, the founding members of Curator include Benchmark Global Hospitality, Davidson Hotels & Resorts, Noble House Hotels & Resorts, Provenance Hotels, Springboard Hospitality and Viceroy Hotels & Resorts.
About Pebblebrook Hotel Trust
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (“REIT”) and the largest owner of urban and resort lifestyle hotels in the United States. The Company owns 53 hotels, totaling approximately 13,200 guest rooms across 14 urban and resort markets with a focus on the west coast gateway cities.
About Benchmark Global Hospitality
BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company, is a leader in the development, management, and marketing of independent, soft branded, and experiential hard branded resorts, hotels, and conference centers. In addition to the company’s award-winning full-service Benchmark Resorts & Hotels, its lifestyle and luxury Gemstone Collection, and its industry-leading Benchmark Conference Centers. BENCHMARK is also an investor in etc.venues, a leading provider of contemporary city centre venues for meetings, signature events, and conferences. Benchmark’s combined portfolio features more than 80 unique projects across three continents. The company is passionately committed to delivering personal, inspiring, and memory-making experiences, driving total revenue and profitability, and cultivating an award winning, “Be The Difference” culture for all its employees. Benchmark is based in The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, with offices in London, England; Miami, Florida; Park City, Utah; Scottsdale, Arizona; New Brunswick, New Jersey; Seattle, Washington; and Tokyo, Japan.
About Davidson Hotels & Resorts
Davidson Hotels & Resorts is an award-winning, full-service hospitality management company comprised of 55 existing hotels and resorts; more than 120 restaurants, bars and lounges; and nearly 1.5 million square feet of meeting space across the United States. Amassing one of the purest full-service hotel portfolios in the industry, Davidson, along with its lifestyle and luxury operating vertical, Pivot Hotels & Resorts, specializes in independent and branded assets in the upper-upscale to luxury segments. A trusted partner and preferred operator for Hilton, Hyatt, Kimpton, Marriott, and Margaritaville, Davidson offers a unique entrepreneurial management style and owners’ mentality that provides the individualized personal service of a small company, enhanced by the breadth and depth of skill and experience of a larger company.
About Noble House Hotels & Resorts
Built upon a philosophy that emphasizes location, distinction, and soul, Noble House Hotels & Resorts dedicates itself to creating and managing exceptional properties that celebrate their local communities. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington and continuously growing, the Noble House portfolio features a luxury and upper upscale portfolio of 18 distinct and visually captivating hotel properties, over 50 restaurants, bars, and lounges, the Napa Valley Wine Train, and a collection of spas, marinas, and private residences throughout the U.S. and Canada. A range of beachfront resorts spanning California and Florida, luxury retreats in Jackson Hole, WY, British Columbia, and Colorado, and award-winning urban hotels in Seattle and San Francisco punctuate the diverse collection. Centered within destinations worthy of every bucket list and layered with unique amenities that inspire adventure, the curated collection of one-of-a-kind hotels, resorts and adventures, are known for creating unforgettable travel experiences.
About Provenance Hotels
Headquartered in Portland, Ore., Provenance Hotels owns, develops and manages market-leading independent hotels. Inspired by the soul of the cities in which they thrive, these award-winning hotels showcase trend-setting amenities, locally curated art, creative collaborations with local tastemakers and innovative food and beverage operations, while focusing on operational efficiency and profitability. The portfolio includes 12 properties in Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, Palm Springs, New Orleans, Nashville and Boston. Projects in development include Fort Wayne, Ind.
About Springboard Hospitality
For more than 30 years, Springboard Hospitality has transformed people, properties and communities as a leader in the hospitality industry managing and developing innovative boutique and branded properties throughout the U.S. With dual offices in Honolulu and Los Angeles, Springboard operates more than 30 properties across 10 states. Led by technology entrepreneur Ben Rafter, Springboard specializes in using analytics and technology with its Hospitality Intelligence (H.I.) to ensure properties are optimizing return on investment. The company offers a full spectrum of hotel services with expertise in accounting, creative management, food and beverage, human resources development, marketing, sales and more. The Springboard Hospitality team is committed to going above and beyond with high-touch, personalized service in every aspect of its operations, from its interactions with guests to its relationships with owners.
About Viceroy Hotels & Resorts
Viceroy Hotels & Resorts inspires travelers with one-of-a-kind authentic lifestyle experiences that bring together provocative design and intuitive service in sought-after locations. A leader in modern luxury, Viceroy’s vibe-led hospitality is guided by the brand promise “Remember to Live,” an affirmation to create lifelong memories for each and every guest. Viceroy destinations are segmented into three distinct portfolio tiers to help travelers find exactly the kind of experience they’re looking for. The Viceroy Icon Collection properties include epic hotels and resorts in Los Cabos, Chicago, Beverly Hills, Riviera Maya, Snowmass, and St. Lucia, with forthcoming openings in Serbia, Algarve and Panama. The Viceroy Lifestyle Series hotels and resorts are found in attitude-led destinations such as Santa Monica and Washington DC. The Viceroy Urban Retreats in San Francisco and Washington D.C. have an independent spirit and bold, eccentric personalities. Viceroy Hotels & Resorts is a member of the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) DISCOVERY, a unique loyalty program offering exclusive benefits and experiences to its members at over 570 hotels around the world.