Ace Hotel Appoints New Leaders After Failed 2023 Buyout Deal

Ace Group International, operator of the lifestyle hotel brand Ace Hotel, announced a new CEO and other management changes this week.

The move marks another chapter in the company’s evolving story following the 2023 collapse of Sortis Holdings’ attempted $85 million acquisition.

Chris Penn, who previously led Ace Hotel London, is rejoining the company as CEO. Penn brings a quarter century of hospitality experience, including having founded the UK-based Birch lifestyle hotel brand, which won the (London) Times and Sunday Times’ Hotel of the Year in 2020.

The New York-based hotel group also appointed Mostafa Abdella as chief operating officer.

“Chris and Mostafa led an incredibly successful property in Ace Hotel London, and they will be able to apply their global knowledge to our existing portfolio as well as to the new deals we’ve signed in Asia and Europe,” Brad Wilson, managing partner, told Skift.

Ace Hotel also elevated longtime executive Meriem Soliman to chief brand officer. Soliman, who joined Ace in 2012 as general counsel and later became president, will focus on audience acquisition and market share growth.

Wilson will remain Ace Group’s managing partner, overseeing the executive team. The company says it has one unannounced property signed for development.

On the Rebound

The appointments come after a tumultuous 2023 for the brand. Sortis Holdings’ proposed acquisition fell apart amid litigation, with Ace claiming Sortis lacked funding for the all-cash deal. Sortis claimed Ace had lost multiple management contracts and key personnel.

Ace currently operates nine properties globally, with locations spanning from Palm Springs to Sydney. It opened a property in Athens in September 2024. The company plans to open its first hotel in Fukuoka, Japan, in 2027. A spokesperson said it has some new deals signed in Asia and Europe.

Ace Group, which helped popularize the concept of hotel lobbies as social spaces, last year enlisted financial advisers to seek potential buyers, Bloomberg reported.

After the dissolution of Sortis’ takeover, the company has seen several properties exit its portfolio. Notable departures include its New Orleans location, which joined Hyatt Hotels Corp. as an affiliated property, while its downtown Los Angeles and Portland properties have rebranded under different flags.

The executive reshuffling positions Ace to compete in an increasingly consolidated lifestyle hotel sector following Highgate’s acquisition of Viceroy and Hyatt’s purchase of Dream Hotels Group in 2022. As one of the few remaining independent lifestyle brands, Ace faces the challenge of expanding without the financial backing of a major hospitality group.

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