# This is not a hotel

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2022-12-13

brand, brand-ecosystem, business, hospitality, hotel, restoration-hardware, soho-house, surface-magazine

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I am not the target market for Restoration Hardware, I mean RH. But I do think it is interesting the way they are evolving their brand. At the beginning of 2021, [the company announced](https://brandondonnelly.com/2021/01/26/restoration-hardware-to-develop-first-ecosystem-in-aspen/) a $105 million equity investment in a development project in Aspen, where it is planning a new guesthouse and, more broadly, a new "RH ecosystem" that will include residences, restaurants, a spa, etc. It hasn't opened yet, but RH does now have [a guesthouse in New York](https://rhguesthouse.com/). To be clear, it is not a hotel:

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/838801765b979cd474aabbce4e3f7745.png)

So what is RH trying to do with all this?

[Surface Magazine](https://www.surfacemag.com/) recently argued that they are trying to become the "public" version of Soho House. That is, a lifestyle omni-brand that isn't membership-based, but that will still make you feel rich and special while you eat, sleep, play, and shop for various things for your home. Now, I do think that their target customers aren't exactly the same person. But of course, I see the parallels. And it's certainly interesting from an experiential retail, brand ecosystem, and real estate development standpoint. It gets the brand everywhere.

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/this-is-not-a-hotel)*