West Elm Is Checking Into the Hotel Business

Brooklyn-based home furnishings retailer West Elm, which is owned by Williams-Sonoma, is checking into the hotel business. Today, the company announced its plans to open multiple hotels with DDK, a hospitality management and development company led by former executives from Andres Balazs Properties, Commune Hotels, Ian Schrager Hotels, Marriott, and Starwood Hotels. The first West Elm Hotels are slated to open in late 2018 in the following cities: Detroit; Minneapolis; Savannah, Georgia; Charlotte, N.C.; and Indianapolis. So why is West Elm entering the hotel business? And what happens to its partnership with Marriott's SpringHill Suites brand, which was just announced in August? In a statement, West Elm presi