Skift Take

As we've noted before, while this merger makes sense for a lot of reasons, it's a shame that the Commune Hotels brand is going away, especially since its branding has become so synonymous with leading design hotel development over the past few years.

When Niki Leondakis takes the stage tomorrow at the third annual Skift Global Forum, she won’t be attending as the CEO of Commune Hotels + Resorts.

After announcing their merger in January, Destination Hotels and Commune Hotels & Resorts have just announced a new name for their newly formed company: Two Roads Hospitality.

The CEOs of Expedia, Two Roads Hospitality, Upside, and More Are Speaking at Skift Global Forum 2016. Join Us.

The new lifestyle hotel company, based in Boulder, Colo., encompasses the following hotel brands, spread out over 95 hotels in eight different countries: Joie de Vivre Hotels; Thompson Hotels; Destination Hotels; tommie; and Alila Hotels & Resorts. Two Roads Hospitality is also co-owned by Lowe Enterprises and Geolo Capital.

Both Jamie Sabatier, former CEO of Destination Hotels, and Niki Leondakis, former CEO of Commune, will jointly lead the new company. Sabatier will be CEO of Two Roads Hospitality, focusing on finance and operations, and Leondakis will be CEO of Hotels & Resorts, overseeing hotel property financial performance, operations, sales, marketing, and more.

Why call the new company Two Roads? If your immediate thought was that of Robert Frost’s famous poem about the “road less traveled,” you’d be correct.

When Sabatier and Leondakis spoke earlier this year with Skift, they mentioned they were working with a third party to examine a possible new brand name. They also said that the newly combined company would benefit greatly from both companies’ strengths: Destination’s expertise in resorts and more corporate business, and Commune’s reputation for having lifestyle-driven urban hotels.

Sabatier also told Skift, “… given Niki’s expertise and background, she’ll be focusing on the property side to make sure that we’re doing a great job there. My focus is going to be on the integration and on the parent company, making sure we’re bringing the two companies together in a way that allows us to be successful on that front.”

In a release, he said, “We have already witnessed the numerous benefits of our merger from an operational and financial standpoint, and we only anticipate continued success ahead,” said Sabatier. “Together, we have expanded and strengthened opportunities for our owners, driving profitability while still providing new and distinctive offerings to travelers across our collection of independent hotels, resorts and restaurants.”

“Our dedication to innovative guest experiences in both urban and resort locations, locallyloved restaurants and bars, and the highest standards of personalized service has only intensified since Commune and Destination Hotels joined forces,” added Niki Leondakis, CEO of Hotels & Resorts, Two Roads Hospitality. “We are passionately committed to excellence across all of our brands, and look forward to sharing this exciting journey with our loyal guests and travelers worldwide.”

Since announcing the merger, Two Roads has opened five additional properties and in the next year it will open hotels in Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, Baltimore, India, Cambodia, China, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

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Tags: commune hotels, Destination Hotels, two roads hospitality

Photo credit: Terranea Resort, a Destination Hotel. Following their merger, Destination Hotels and Commune Hotels + Resorts are rebranding themselves as Two Roads Hospitality. Two Roads Hospitality

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