Kor and SBE Grow

Two Los Angeles-based hotel groups are upping their exposure—one with the launch of an altogether new brand, the other by expanding an existing brand internationally.

SBE Hotel Group, a division of SBE Entertainment, has announced plans for the launch of a new luxury brand called SLS Hotels. Under a management agreement with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the first SLS property, to be called SLS Los Angeles, will be a reflag of the Le Meridien at Beverly Hills, after a transformation led by French designer Phillipe Starck.

Meanwhile, Kor Hotel Group is taking its Tides brand overseas. The first of these upscale-resort properties will be Tides Riviera Maya, followed by Tides Playa del Carmen. Both will grow off the original Tides Hotel in Miami. "Our aim is to create a series of resorts that emit an adventurous, global-coastal ambience," said Nicholas Clayton, president of Kor Hotel Group.