Austin Icons Part of Hyatt’s $335M buy of Standard International

Hyatt’s $335 million deal to purchase Standard International includes a Texas brand that changed the hospitality game in Austin.

When the hotel giant bought 21 properties plus development projects in the pipeline, a bit of Liz Lambert’s creative genius was peppered in with the deal.

Austin’s “Queen of Cool” founded Bunkhouse Group, the company behind the formerly infamous Austin Motel, plus the Hotel St. Cecilia and the Hotel San José.

A Jo’s Coffee is a key part of Lambert’s legacy. The iconic coffee shop on South Congress Avenue was one of the early projects that contributed to the revitalization of the area and remains a popular local spot.

The Carpenter Hotel in the Zilker neighborhood and nearby Hotel Magdalena further exemplify Lambert’s knack for merging historical elements with modern design in South Austin. As it turns out, projects like those align with Hyatt’s strategic focus on enhancing its boutique and lifestyle offerings.

Standard acquired a 20 percent stake in Bunkhouse in 2014, eventually increasing its ownership to 51 percent by 2022, the same year Lambert departed from the company. Shortly thereafter, Lambert joined MML Hospitality, which specializes in trendy restaurants, but has recently embarked on a luxury residential development in Clarksville.

When Standard acquired its majority stake in Bunkhouse nearly a decade ago, it came with a real estate portfolio that included a wide range of properties in Texas. Besides its boutique hotels in Austin, the company also owned prominent locations like the Hotel Havana in San Antonio and El Cosmico in Marfa.

As Hyatt takes the reins on Lambert’s former projects, the challenge will be to preserve the character that has made Bunkhouse properties so appealing while also scaling their business model to fit a global platform.

The “asset-light” approach — focusing on managing, franchising, and licensing rather than owning the physical real estate — suggests Hyatt’s commitment to maintaining the distinctiveness of Bunkhouse hotels, which will continue to operate from Austin.

That gives Hyatt the ability to expand its footprint without diluting the brand’s essence.

Meanwhile, Lambert is onto the next thing. Her latest hospitality project in Marfa includes 3D-printed homes designed by Bjarke Ingels Group and Austin-based Icon.

— Rachel Stone, Joe Lovinger and Andrew Terrell