WYNDHAM BOARD OF DIRECTORS REJECTS UNSOLICITED PROPOSAL FROM CHOICE
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Veteran EDITION Executive Josh Fluhr Appointed to Lead Next Chapter of Brand Expansion for the Iconic Luxury Lifestyle Hotel Brand
New York, NY, July 6, 2022 – EDITION Hotels, a unique collection of one-of-a-kind hotels conceived through a collaboration between visionary hotelier Ian Schrager and Marriott International, announces Josh Fluhr as Senior Vice President and Global Managing Director effective immediately. A vital member of the EDITION leadership team, Fluhr, who succeeds long-time executive Dan Flannery, will guide the brand through its extensive growth, overseeing all aspects of the brand’s culture, training platform, hotel openings, design evolution, marketing and PR strategy, nightlife programming, and food and beverage concept development.
“Dan Flannery will be sorely missed as a one of a kind leader and gentleman. He embodied everything EDITION tried to achieve.” said Ian Schrager, the visionary pioneer of the boutique hotel concept and the EDITION creator. “However, EDITION is so lucky to have a man of Josh’s caliber, intelligence, know-how, experience, and expertise to step in right away. Having worked so closely with Dan for so long at EDITION, I’m sure the transition will be seamless and not miss a heartbeat. I personally can rest easy and be totally confident with Josh at the helm for the future of the brand”
Josh Fluhr, Senior Vice President and Global Managing Director
Fluhr brings over 30 years of luxury hospitality experience to the role. He began his career working in operations at the iconic W New York – Times Square and the W New York – Union Square during the brand’s game-changing entry into the Manhattan hotel scene. From there, he joined Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ corporate offices to help launch the Aloft Hotels brand, working across both operations and development to set Aloft on a path towards global growth.
In 2007, Fluhr became Vice President, Hotel Operations at SBE Hotel Group, helping to create, launch, and open the flagship SLS Hotel Beverly Hills. He played a pivotal role in helping integrate this property into The Luxury Collection portfolio, and as a member of the SBE leadership team, worked on growing the SLS footprint. In 2010, Fluhr joined Marriott International as a senior team member with the newly launched EDITION brand, helping to manage the logistics, training, F&B, and openings of the first two EDITION properties in Waikiki and Istanbul.
In 2011, Fluhr led Hotel Operations & Development for the SLS Las Vegas and SLS Miami, and later that year, he joined Morgans Hotel Group, where he worked in senior operations roles, ultimately becoming Chief Operating Officer. In 2016, Fluhr re-joined Marriott and the EDITION team, and has been a key leader in establishing the brand’s solid foundation for future growth, overseeing food and beverage development, brand operations, training, pre-opening budgeting and development, and the opening of 11 of the current 14 EDITION properties worldwide.
“EDITION has held a huge place in my heart since I assisted with the brand’s inception over 10 years ago,” says Fluhr. “I am honored to step into this role and usher EDITION into its next chapter as we continue to expand globally and set the standard for luxurious and culturally-connected hospitality.”
Fluhr assumes his new role at a critical time for EDITION Hotels, which plans to open its 15th property later this year in Tampa, Florida, followed closely by properties in Rome and Riviera Maya.
ABOUT EDITION HOTELS
EDITION Hotels is an unexpected and refreshing collection of individualized, customized, one-of-a-kind hotels which redefines the codes of traditional luxury. Displaying the best of dining and entertainment, services and amenities “all under one roof,” each EDITION property is completely unique, reflecting the best of the cultural and social milieu of its location and of the time. Conceived by Ian Schrager in partnership with Marriott International, EDITION combines both the personal and intimate experience that Ian Schrager is known for, with the global reach, operational expertise and scale of Marriott. The authenticity and originality that Ian Schrager brings to this brand coupled with the global reach of Marriott International results in a truly distinct product sets itself apart from anything else currently in the marketplace. Each hotel, with its individuality, authenticity, originality, and unique ethos, reflects the current spirit and zeitgeist of its location. Although all the hotels look completely different from each other, the brand’s unifying aesthetic is in its approach and attitude to the modern lifestyle rather than its appearance. EDITION is about an attitude and the way it makes you feel rather than the way it looks. Sophisticated public spaces, finishes, design and details serve the experience, not drive it. For an underserved market of affluent, culturally savvy and service-savvy guests, the EDITION experience and lifestyle explores the unprecedented intersection and the perfect balance between taste-making design and innovationand consistent, excellent service on a global scale.
ABOUT IAN SCHRAGER COMPANY
After leaving Morgans Hotel Group in 2005, the company he founded and created, Ian Schrager developed his namesake, Ian Schrager Company. This company owns, develops, manages and brands hotels, residential and mixed-use projects. Since then, he has transformed the fabled Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City, created two groundbreaking residential properties, 40 Bond and 50 Gramercy Park North, successfully launched his new brand, PUBLIC Hotels, and is currently working on multiple hotels in New York City and two luxury residential projects; 215 Chrystie and 160 Leroy also in New York City. In addition, Schrager in partnership with Marriott International created EDITION Hotels, a luxury lifestyle brand with properties in London, Miami, New York City, Los Angeles, Bodrum, Shanghai, Tokyo, Reykjavik and Barcelona and more in development around the world.
Schrager’s brand, PUBLIC, is a new genre of hotel offering great value, great service and great style that sets a new industry standard. He has taken the best from the luxury set, the best from the boutique/lifestyle set and the best from select service and created a new breed of hotel where everything has been rethought and every original idea updated. The brand is defined by the unique experience it creates rather than by a business classification or price.
EDITION Hotels, Ian Schrager’s partnership with Marriott International, marks the next chapter in the lifestyle hotel story. This brand combines the personal, intimate, individualized and unique lodging experience that Ian Schrager is known for with the global reach, operational expertise and scale of Marriott. This delicate balancing act encompasses not only great design and true innovation but also personal, friendly, modern service and outstanding, one-of-a-kind food, beverage and entertainment offerings… all “under one roof”.
“Together Marriott and I have a new vision and plan to radically rethink and catapult the boutique/lifestyle category hotel into the present by capturing the spirit of the times,” says Schrager.
Ian Schrager’s groundbreaking concepts have changed the business and set industry standards that continue to be imitated throughout the world.
ABOUT MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 7,600 properties under 30 leading brands spanning 133 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company offers Marriott Bonvoy™, its highly awarded travel program. For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.