Morgans Hotel Group (

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

: $MHG) was a global, publicly-traded

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

company founded by Ian Schrager, inventors of the

boutique hotel Boutique hotels are small inventory, design driven, unique hotels with their own character, personality and storytelling at the heart of their concept. Positioning is secondary for these hotels as they focus on authenticity and personalization ...

category with the 1984 opening of

Morgans Hotel Morgans Hotel was the world's first boutique hotel, located at 237 Madison Avenue in New York City. Founded by Studio 54 cofounder Ian Schrager as the first property in the Morgans Hotel Group, it opened in 1984. History The 1927 building ...

in New York City. MHG was listed on the NASDAQ exchange for over a decade.

History

1984-2006: Ian Schrager's Morgans Hotel: World's first boutique hotel

In 1984,

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater w ...

cofounder, Ian Schrager and his business partner Rubell opened their first hotel,

, named after John Pierpont (JP) Morgan's

Morgan Library & Museum The Morgan Library & Museum, formerly the Pierpont Morgan Library, is a museum and research library in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is situated at 225 Madison Avenue, between 36th Street to the south and 37th S ...

next-door. Designed by

Andrée Putman Andrée Putman (23 December 1925 – 19 January 2013) was a French interior and product designer. She was the mother of Olivia Putman and of Cyrille Putman. Life and work Childhood and youth (1925–1944) Andrée Christine Aynard was bor ...

, the instant hit introduced the

category, becoming a "worldwide phenomenon." It has triple-arched entrances that remain today.

Royalton Hotel & Paramount Hotel: Lobby socializing

Following the success of Morgans Hotel, they opened the well-received

Royalton Hotel The Royalton Hotel is a hotel at 44 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The hotel, opened in 1898, was designed by architecture firm Rossiter & Wright and developed by civil engineer Edward G. Bailey. The 13-s ...

and

Paramount Hotel The Paramount Hotel (formerly the Century-Paramount Hotel) is a hotel in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb, the hotel is at 235 West 46th Street, between Eighth A ...

, both designed by Philippe Starck. With these properties, Schrager introduced "lobby socializing" where the hotel lobby became a new kind of gathering place for hotel guests and New York City residents alike, and "cheap chic" was affordable luxury offered in a stylish, sophisticated environment.

Delano Hotel & Mondrian Hotel: Urban resort

Schrager is also credited with inventing the "urban resort" with his

Delano Hotel The Delano South Beach hotel was an upscale resort located in Miami Beach, Florida. Delano was a part of the Morgans Hotel Group collection prior to MHG being purchased by SBE Entertainment Group. SBE Entertainment has since sold the hotel t ...

in Miami and

Mondrian Hotel The Mondrian Hotel is a boutique hotel owned and/or operated by SBE Entertainment Group, located in West Hollywood, California. History The structure was built in 1959 as an apartment building. It was later renovated and reopened in 1985 as the ...

in West Hollywood, also designed by Starck.

Hudson Hotel et. al: Hotel as lifestyle

These were followed by the

Hudson Hotel The Hudson New York was a boutique hotel located along West 58th Street (at Ninth Avenue), in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The hotel closed in November 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. History The Hudson New York was co ...

in New York, where he fully realized his concept "hotel as lifestyle" which he continued to refine, expanding to cities such as San Francisco with the Clift Hotel and London with St. Martins Lane Hotel and the Sanderson Hotel, all designed by the prolific Starck.

NASDAQ: $MHG IPO

In June 2005, Schrager sold most of his stake in Morgans Hotel Group to launch the Ian Schrager Company. Despite stepping down as Chair and CEO, he retained $4 million in consultant pay and perks through end of 2007. On Valentine's Day 2006, $MHG IPO'ed in a $360 million-target raise underwritten by

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

, with Schrager cashing in his remaining 450,000 shares for another $9 million.

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong ('' né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 after recovering fr ...

served as a Board Member at IPO, and Morgans Hotel Group was a publicly traded company on

for over a decade.

2013: Ron Burkle vs. Alfred Taubman/Sothebys heir proxy war

In 2013, there was the end of lawsuit regarding a proxy war for Morgans control between two billionaire interests: * Yucaipa, the investment alter ego of

Ron Burkle Ronald Wayne Burkle (born November 12, 1952) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and managing partner of The Yucaipa Companies, LLC, a private investment firm that specializes in U.S. companies in the distribution, logistics, food, ...

, who loaned MHG $75 million in 2009 (during the recession), * vs. the Morgans Chairman and Interim Acting CEO, representing 13% majority interest of an investment vehicle for his grandfather,

Alfred Taubman Adolph Alfred "Al" Taubman (January 31, 1924 – April 17, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was convicted in 2002 for a price-fixing scheme involving the top two auction houses in the United States. Backgro ...

, owner of

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

and Short Hills Mall, among other real estate interests. It had no permanent CEO to lead the company since 2013.

2016-2017: Sam Nazarian's SBE Entertainment Group M&A

After years-long battle and board-rejected offers to buy MHG, Burkle partnered with Sam Nazarian's

SBE Entertainment Group SBE (''SamyBoy Entertainment'') is a privately held lifestyle hospitality company. SBE owns and operates over 20 hotels, 70 restaurants, and 42 lounges, and shares its headquarters between Los Angeles, New York City, and Miami. History SBE w ...

, who agreed to acquire MHG for $805 million, in a take-private transaction completed November 30, 2016. Burkle converted his Morgans existing equity stake into a SBE ownership stake with a board seat. SBE also received investment from Cain international, a global real estate investment company headed by

Todd Boehly Todd Boehly (born September 20, 1973) is an American businessman and investor. He is the co-founder, chairman, chief executive officer and controlling member of Eldridge Industries, a holding company headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is ...

and Jonathan Goldstein. Nazarian retained majority ownership of SBE, remaining its Founder & CEO leading day-to-day operations. The son of

Qualcomm Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, ...

board member and stakeholder

Younes Nazarian Younes Nazarian (January 26, 1931 March 18, 2022) was a Jewish Iranian-American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. An early investor in Qualcomm, he was the Chairman of Nazarian Enterprises. He was also a major donor to charitable causes ...

(via M&A), Nazarian and SBE are better known as owners of LA lounges frequented by celebrity patronage and HBO's ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'', appearing as himself in the "No Cannes Do" episode. The merged company owned or operated over 20 hotels, including six properties under SBE's flagship SLS brand.

2017-2018 closure: No. 237 (PE luxury condo conversion)

In July 2017, the building was purchased as private equity by Shel Capital and Kash Group, who closed Morgans Hotel and converted it to luxury condos in 2018, named No. 237.

Portfolio

As an independent company before M&A, MHG owned and managed 14 hotels in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

comprising over 3,000 rooms. Each of its hotels was designed by a world−renowned designer: New York *

(1984) - designed by

- designed by Philippe Starck *

South Beach *

- designed by

Marcel Wanders Marcel Wanders (2 July 1963) is a Dutch designer, and art director in the Marcel Wanders studio in Amsterdam, who designs architectural, interior and industrial projects. Life Born in Boxtel, Wanders graduated cum laude from the Hogeschool v ...

*Shore Club Hotel Los Angeles *

- designed by Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz Las Vegas *

Delano Las Vegas Delano Las Vegas (formerly known as THEhotel) is a 43-story 1,117-room luxury suite hotel. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts International. It is located within the Mandalay Bay complex on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It opened ...

- opened in 2014 as a rebranding of

THEhotel at Mandalay Bay Delano Las Vegas (formerly known as THEhotel) is a 43-story 1,117-room luxury suite hotel. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts International. It is located within the Mandalay Bay complex on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It opened ...

, in partnership with

MGM Resorts International MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and ...

. San Francisco * Clift London *St Martins Lane Hotel *

Sanderson Hotel The Sanderson Hotel is a hotel on Berners Street, London, built in 1958 as the new headquarters and showroom for Arthur Sanderson and Sons, manufacturers of wallpaper, fabrics and paint, for the company's centennial. The building was designed ...

*Mondrian London at

Sea Containers Sea Containers was a Bermudan registered company which operated two main business areas: transport and container leasing. It filed for bankruptcy on 16 October 2006. In 2009 its maritime container interests were transferred to a new company SeaC ...

(2014)- designed by

Tom Dixon Tom or Tommy Dixon may refer to: *Tom Dixon (American football) (born 1961), American football player * Tom Dixon (catcher) (1906–1982), Negro league baseball catcher * Tom Dixon (pitcher) (born 1955), Major League Baseball pitcher * Tom Dixon (C ...

Doha *Mondrian Doha Istanbul *10 Karakoy A Morgans Original (2014) - located in historical, Eski Balıklı Han. The architectural work of the historical Büyük Balıklı Han has been undertaken by award-winning architect Sinan Kafadar – METEKS Group which used to be a hospital in 19th century.

References

External links

* {{Hotel chains Hotel chains in the United States Companies based in New York City Hospitality companies of the United States 2016 mergers and acquisitions