This Week in Hospitality: From Ian Schrager to AKA — Blake Danner on the Loyalty Lie, Brand Differentiation, and Staying Small

Podcast: Behind the Stays · Zach Busekrus

Opublikowano: 2026-09-11

Blake Danner has spent his career inside the rooms where lifestyle hospitality was invented. Eleven years alongside Ian Schrager opening the Clift, Sanderson, and Shore Club. Seven years as founding COO of the Sydell Group, where he helped create Nomad, The Line, and Freehand — 11 hotels in seven years. A stint running operations at Proper Hospitality. And now, as COO of AKA Hotels & Hotel Residences, he's running a 16-property luxury serviced residence portfolio where the entry-level monthly rate starts at $30K and the loyalty program charges $750 just to join. This week, Blake makes the case that the mid-size in...