PUBLIC is the first of 2 new brands being launched by Ian Schrager.

With the transformation of the famed, iconic Ambassador East Hotel and its legendary Pump Room into PUBLIC Chicago, this endeavor will be more than just a rebirth of a Chicago institution - it may well represent the revitalization of the hotel concept itself and another worldwide wakeup call for the entire industry.

PUBLIC is a new class... a new breed of hotel. Its fundamental attributes are innovative, sophisticated, authentic style (something we have come to expect from Schrager); spot-on, personalized empathetic "essential" service that makes people feel special; lasting comfort with complete functionality, all at a tremendous value. For the first time, this type of hotel experience will be available for everyone and anyone who wants it. What is unusual is that it is inclusive, rather than exclusive. Ian Schrager has taken the best from the luxury set, the best from the boutique/lifestyle set and the best from the limited service model and created a new kind of hotel where everything has been rethought and every original idea updated. This brand will be defined by the unique experience it creates rather than by a business classification or price point.

At PUBLIC service matters most. But the key point of differentiation is in the kind and quality of services it offers. The brand will only offer services that matter, those that guests really want and need rather than an array of superfluous services they do not use. For Schrager, this marks a new approach devoid of excess and a rejection of the old-fashioned idea of what defines "luxury" and what it actually means to people.

EDITION Hotels marks the next chapter in the lifestyle hotel story. Ian Schrager conceived the new Brand in a partnership with Marriott International. It will combine 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 will encompass, for the very first time, 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".

Each highly stylized hotel will function as a "home away from home" for leisure and business travelers. Each hotel will cater to the modern day business traveler by offering fully functional, technologically sophisticated working environments that provide the comfort and ease of conducting business in an "office away from the office".

The concept, the brainchild of the new partners, addresses new cultural and social imperatives that Mr. Schrager says have emerged. This brand will reflect these changing lifestyles and cater to a vast underserved market of guests expecting and in turn demanding a unique experience not merely a place to sleep. "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,” said Mr. Schrager. “People today are sophisticated and they understand good design, quality, originality and commitment to excellence. They will not accept something derivative and want the ethos and soul of a hotel to be authentic and have character as well as provide impeccable, modern and gracious personalized service that is at the same time luxurious yet down to earth. It is the ultimate balancing act of these apparent contradictions to achieve this and simultaneously create a hotel that is specific and customized yet universal. We intend to make this type of lodging widely accessible and available for the first time to everybody around the world who wants it."

Each of the hotels will reflect the best of the cultural and social milieu of its location and of the time. A diverse set of world-renown architects and designers will be recruited to create one-of-a-kind buildings spanning the complete range of project types, from new construction, to conversions, to gut renovations.

According to Mr. Schrager, the brand’s unifying aesthetic will be in its approach and attitude to the modern lifestyle rather than its appearance, with design and architecture derived from the scale, location and feel of the individual properties. "The brand will be about an attitude, about a feeling rather than a look," he said. "Sophisticated public spaces, finishes, design and details will serve the experience not drive it." Under terms of their agreement, which is non-exclusive, the partners divide responsibilities, with Mr. Schrager leading the effort on concept, design, marketing, branding, food and beverage as well as other forms of entertainment. Marriott oversees the development process, and operates and manages the completed hotels.

"This new brand is something neither of us could have done on our own," said Mr. Marriott. "The scale of this brand requires the reach, resources and expertise of a global player like Marriott, while the innovation necessary calls for the experience and originality of the category’s most accomplished entrepreneur, Ian Schrager."