Page 22 - November 2021

Inspiration is

Key to Creativity

The celebrated hotel brand and management
company Dream Hotel Group has a rich, 35-
Dream Midtown, New York, US
year history of managing properties in some
of the world’s most highly competitive hotel
environments. RLI speaks with CEO Jay Stein
about how the company has maintained its
position during a turbulent 18 months and
what the future holds.

ith Dream Hotels, The Chatwal,
Unscripted Hotels and new By
Dream Hotel Group brands
Wunder its umbrella, New
York-based Dream Hotel Group is dedicated
to offering travellers an authentic connection
to their chosen destination through a truly
original approach.
The company encompasses three business
lines: Proprietary Brands, Hotel Management and
Dining & Nightlife, and they are committed to the
philosophy that forward thinking design, service
and guest experience should be available across
market segments.
When discussing the last 18 months with Jay, he
explains that ‘challenging’ is certainly one way of
describing the pandemic and everything associated
with it. “It has been not only challenging, but in some
cases devastating, to have so many of our hotels
temporarily closed for over 12 months. On the flip
side, however, markets do vary, and in a couple of
instances, we have actually seen some hotels have
their best year ever.”
At a time when many companies had to slow down
or stop their expansion strategies completely, Stein
says there has been absolutely no slowdown in growth
to date, and there will be no changes to the plans for
how to grow the company.
In terms of recent openings, the company celebrated
the opening of the $370M, 32-storey, 238-room
Margaritaville Resort Times Square in New York
back in July. Dream Hotel Group is the management
company for the hotel.
In addition, Dream Hotel Group reopened three of
its iconic lifestyle hotels in New York City this spring,
bringing the brand’s award-winning hospitality back
to the Big Apple. Dream Midtown reopened in New
York’s glittering Theater District on 14 May, followed
by Dream Downtown the famed Meatpacking District
on 26 May. The Time New York by Dream Hotel
Group also reopened its doors in June, ahead of
Broadway’s return in September. The company’s
only five-star luxury hotel, The Chatwal New York, is
expected to reopen its doors on 1 November.
Looking ahead, there are five new hotels in the
pipeline, with all five on course to open within the
Retail & leisuRe inteRnational seP/oCt 2021