American hotel brand The Standard — well-known for being an ‘it’ spot for late-night parties and celebrity sightings at its Los Angeles, New York City, and Miami locations — is slated to have four additional openings across Thailand by 2021.
The new properties under the brand, founded by the American socialite hotelier Andres Balazs, is estimated to be worth up to US$150 million.
Though not many details have yet emerged about the opening date of the first Thailand property, slated for Bangkok, the news was announced and shared widely this week on social media.
We are anxious to see what location they’ll choose (Riverside? Thong Lor?), how they’ll incorporate Thailand into their always-quirky design, and what kind of sure-to-be-wild nightlife features will be included.
The current hotels are known for their late-night see and be seen bars and restaurants, such as the NYC High Line location’s Boom Boom Room (now renamed the Top of the Standard, but it’s the same place), and Miami’s Lido Bar.
These Asia expansion plans may sound surprising, since the hotel chain seemed to hit its heyday in the early 2000s and doesn’t receive as much press as it used to — but it’s less surprising if you know that the hotel chain got a large cash infusion from a Thai investor, Sansiri, last year.
The Bangkok real estate development company put US$58 million into Standard International which manages the six current Standard hotels: two in Los Angeles, two in New York City, Miami, and London. Also in their portfolio is a booking app called One Night, the magazine Monocle and a few other businesses.
That 58 million got Sansiri a 35 percent share in Standard International and may have played a role in swaying the company to begin openings in Thailand, which will mark their first Asian offerings.
After opening The Standard’s first Thai location in Bangkok, they will open hotels in Phuket, Koh Samui, and Hua Hin.
The hotel chain’s first property opened in LA in 1999 and its all-night bars and party scenes are as infamous as its decor.
Thailand isn’t the only country set to enjoy The Standard’s fun, chic aesthetic, however. The chain will open 20 properties globally over the next five years, including in Paris and Milan.
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