Luxury hotel families Pomeranc and Pritzker merge

The Pomeranc family and one of the heirs of the Pritzker family have merged their luxury and boutique hotels businesses, in an attempt to increase global presence in the lifestyle accommodation market.

The new company, provisionally called JT Hospitality and to be based in New York, will include the 33 boutique hotels run by John Pritzker’s Joie de Vivre Hospitality and the 12 luxury hotels owned by the Pomeranc family’s Thompson Hotels, said a statement on 3 October.

Both families will own a 50% stake in the merged business, expected to raise revenues of around $500 million, according to the release.

The move comes as New York-based Thompson Hotels, founded in 2001 by brothers Jason, Lawrence and Michael Pomeranc and which has a strong presence in the eastern coast of the US, looks to expand its operations to the west, much dominated by Pritzker’s brands – Joie de Vivre manages the largest number of boutique hotels and resorts in California.

Pritzker, who is the son of founder of family-controlled Hyatt Hotels Jay Pritzker, said: “The merger will accelerate the growth of both brands, which will benefit from significant capital resources, greater distribution, economies of scale and collective expertise.”

Jason, the youngest of the three Pomeranc brothers, will be co-chairman of JT Hospitality along with Pritzker, while Michael and Lawrence will sit on the company board.

Fifty-year-old Pritzker, who exited the family business Hyatt Hotels in 1988, bought a majority stake in San Francisco-based Joie de Vivre last year from its founder Chip Conley, who will be appointed strategic adviser to the merged entity.