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Ian Schrager, Ed Scheetz in deal for Standard Hollywood
Hotel moguls plan rebrand after purchase of property, operating lease
The Standard is losing its brand in West Hollywood.
Hotel moguls Ian Schrager and Ed Scheetz are in a deal to buy the shuttered hotel, with plans to reopen under a new flag, sources familiar with the deal told The Real Deal.
The 139-room Standard at 8300 Sunset Boulevard closed its doors last year after the leaseholder, Ferrado Group, and the property owner, Rittersbacher Sunset LLC, raised rents on the property.
After a legal battle with Ferrado Group, Rittersbacher Sunset — linked to Randy Garitty of Oregon — put the hotel up for sale. Neither Schrager nor Scheetz responded to requests for comment. Rittersbacher Sunset did not respond to a request for comment.
Schrager and Scheetz are in contract to buy both the underlying real estate and the operating lease. It’s unclear how much the duo is paying for the property, but they spent an additional $30 million to purchase signage rights on the property, which will allow them to sell or lease ad space on billboards, a source told TRD.
Known for opening the legendary Studio 54 and creating both the Public and Edition hotel brands, Schrager is familiar with the West Hollywood hotel scene. In 2020, Schrager’s firm opened the 190-key West Hollywood Edition at 9040 West Sunset Boulevard.
Scheetz is the former CEO of Morgans Hotel Group, which managed the Hard Rock hotel and casino in Las Vegas, and founded the Chelsea Hotels brand.
In 2020, Scheetz formed a hospitality-focused SPAC called Ventoux CCM Acquisition, which raised $150 million through an initial public offering. The SPAC is planning to merge with Presto, a restaurant technology platform that tracks customer data.
It’s unclear what brand the duo plan to reopen the hotel under. The Edition brand has already been taken in West Hollywood while there is no Public hotel in the Los Angeles area.
The city of West Hollywood is also debating whether to designate the hotel a “cultural resource,” given it was built in 1962 and is eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The sale is a blow for The Standard, which has also shut down its hotel in Downtown Los Angeles earlier this year. Sources familiar with The Standard’s operations said Ferrado Group, which owns the DTLA property, is exploring a sale, though the hotel has not yet been formally put on the market.
The Standard hotels in Los Angeles have attracted celebrity guests since André Balazs first brought the brand to West Hollywood in 1999. The brand still operates in Miami, New York, London and the Maldives.