The Out Hotel in New York City has new owners and will be getting a new identity.
When The Out opened in 2012, it branded itself as a luxury property for LGBT travelers, but the property is expected to drop this focus under new ownership. The property’s former owners, developers Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass, hosted a dinner for Ted Cruz in 2015 during his bid for the Republican party’s presidential nomination, prompting boycotts from its intended LGBT audience.
The operator’s presumed relationship with Cruz likely led to the property’s closure as a number of organizations canceled events at the hotel. In the end, the property was sold for $40 million to real estate group Merchants Hospitality.
The hotel is located in Hell’s Kitchen near the Javits Center and Times Square. While it was open the hotel had on-site dining, a fitness center, spa, hot tubs, a business center and a lobby living room.
The developers of the Out pitched an idea for a similar hotel to be built in Chicago in April 2013. The $30-million project would have consisted of a 100-112-room hotel located above Minibar in Lake View, but public response to the initial concepts were negative. The hotel was eventually rejected by the Belmont Harbor Neighbors association and alderman Tom Tunney. Reisner last said in early 2014 that he had a plan for another hotel, but it has yet to become a reality.