MIAMI — Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and sbe have launched a new smart-lifestyle brand under the working title, Project HQ Hotels & Residences.
Project HQ unites the decades of experience of lifestyle visionary Sam Nazarian with the global scale, resources and reach of Wyndham. Owned by sbe with strategic investment by entertainment icon, entrepreneur and sbe equity partner Marc Anthony and his company Magnus, Project HQ will be affiliated with Wyndham’s Registry Collection Hotels, which caters to owners in the luxury and smart-lifestyle segments.
This marks sbe’s first hotel brand after the 2020 sale of its hospitality brand and management platform, which included more than 100 hotels, more than 150 restaurants and lounges and more than $4 billion in luxury residential sales.
Smart lifestyle as a new category is revolutionizing hospitality by building communities and creating meaningful memories for its savvy millennial and Gen-Z guests through experiences. Project HQ was created to be a more approachable experience for the consumer that has been priced out of the lifestyle hotel market and doesn’t feel like they have a brand that speaks to their desires in travel. The brand name is born from the concept that Project HQ Hotels will be in the heart of the cities they launch in, serving as the headquarters for exceptional dining, nightlife and wellness.
Project HQ can equip a hotel with a desirable brand and global awareness, pre-approved FF&E packages, supply chain, technology integrations, OS&E packages and unique programming to monetize otherwise under-utilized spaces of the hotel. The brand can deliver this through its collection of partnerships and collaborations.
Specifically, Project HQ will provide owners with sbe wellness programming, adding the med-spa offering with sbe Wellness Clinics, and myriad food-and-beverage offerings ranging from fine dining to the array of brands from Nazarian’s C3 and Nextbite with influential celebrity partners such as Sofia Vergara, Dario Cecchini, Iron Chef Masharu Morimoto, Dani Garc’a and Wes Avila; YouTube influencers such as Dude Perfect and Matt Stonie; and legendary brands such as Umami Burger and Soom Soom.
Additionally, Project HQ will deliver a uniquely positioned branded residential offering for under-served markets such as integrated student housing and workforce housing. The brand plans to open 50 hotels by 2030, delivering approximately 7,500 rooms. Project HQ plans to open 50 per cent of its properties in the U.S., with 50 per cent of openings internationally, and a mix of 80 per cent conversion projects and 20 per cent new construction.
“We’re combining Sam Nazarian’s unmatched culinary and lifestyle experience with the unrivalled scale and resources of the world’s largest hotel franchisor to fuel Project HQ Hotels & Residences,” says Geoff Ballotti, president & CEO of Wyndham. “Our owners drive our success. Hotel owners searching for a differentiated, yet approachable, lifestyle brand will immediately benefit from the scale and resources of the world’s largest hotel franchisor, gaining access to best-in-class sales, distribution and technology, along with the industry’s number-1 hotel loyalty program in Wyndham Rewards.”
