Sonesta has become synonymous with strength, proving to be resilient during the ongoing pandemic. In fact, the veteran company now sits as one of the fastest growing hotel companies with 15 brands, 1,200 hotels, and 100,000 rooms. (According to data benchmarking company STR, it’s the eighth largest in the U.S.) In March 2021, Sonesta acquired Red Lion Hotels in a $90 million deal. That same year, Brian Quinn joined the team as chief development officer and has been integral to Sonesta’s growing portfolio ever since. “Sonesta has a great name and incredible assets,” says Quinn, “and we’re building on that 80-plus year [legacy].”
What’s new at Sonesta?
The question should be: What isn’t new at Sonesta? In just over a year and a half, we created one of the largest hotel companies in a very short period when a lot of our competitors were on their heels and shrinking. Our primary capital partner and minority owner, the SVC Group made an additional commitment to Sonesta and extended the management contracts to 2037. But just as important is they made a commitment to spend just over half a billion dollars in renovating our hotels.
What do you look for in design partners?
Part of doing business with people that have a proven track record is they have their thumb on the scale of what the consumer wants. As we are a new company [expanding through new acquisitions], we’re open to new relationships, as well. The fun thing about a half a billion spend is there’s a chance to talk to everybody. Wherever we can find a partner who will help us launch design elements or implement a renovation where we can enhance the consumer proposition and the owner’s proposition, that’s a great partner for us.
Designed by the Gettys Group, the Royal Sonesta Chicago Downtown’s lobby evokes an urban living room
What markets is Sonesta eyeing?
I’m the chief development officer, and my job is to grow. [Every market] needs additional locations across our entire brand family. SVC put a publicly stated goal to enter New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. Those are three markets where we don’t currently have a Royal Sonesta. What’s incredible is we can go into basically every market with all the brands right now because we are so new.
What do the next five years look like for Sonesta?
This year continues to be a bit of a foundational year. We want to make sure we’re on a journey to improve the commercial engines of the business and to make sure we can get a return on the committed capital for the renovations. We also have to grow. We’ll continue to strengthen the platform and build out the foundations of the business. We can be creative as we look at deals, and we’ll stay nimble. My mantra for my team is to be fast, flexible, and friendly because these brands are going to continue to evolve and to stand for things.
Given everything the industry has been through, what’s your take on where things are headed?
Debt and equity are out there. Transactions will start to ramp up and when that happens, it creates a lot of opportunities for our colleagues on the design side of the business because hotels have to be renovated. In the hotel space, we believe you have to be together to collaborate. You have to stand on the dirt, walk around the hotel, put yourself in the room, and root yourself in the community.
Fredericks restaurant in the Gensler-designed Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel in San Francisco blends modern moments with Art Deco details
This article originally appeared in HD’s February/March 2022 issue.
