Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 97

the legacy builder
A rendering of the pool at Equinox Hospitality's
Tribute Portfolio by Marriott project in Marin
Country, crafted by EDG Design
Sam Suleman
Principal + Executive Vice President
Equinox Hospitality
Though Sam Suleman has lived in various cities across the U.S., San
Francisco has always been home. The city is an anchor for his family,
which runs locally based Equinox Hospitality, the hotel investment,
development, and management company founded by his father, Abdul
Suleman, in 1994, and where Suleman and his brother, Adam, serve as
principals and executive vice presidents.
Originally from India, Suleman's father ended up in San Francisco
when he was recruited by engineering firm Bechtel while doing graduate
work at the University of California, Berkeley in engineering. The firm
put him up in the Hyatt Regency San Francisco. Abdul fell in love with
the property, particularly the iconic atrium lobby, and left the Bechtel
program, dropped out of Berkeley, and got a job at the hotel's front desk.
He worked his way up from there, meeting Suleman's mother along the
way (the pair was married at the hotel).
After Suleman was born, the family followed Abdul's Hyatt career
across the country-from Chicago to Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Michigan,
and Dallas-before they found their way back to the Hyatt Regency San
Francisco. Abdul was now senior vice president, and the family lived in
an apartment in the hotel (this was the third Hyatt they resided in). " I was
the kid with the backpack eating pineapple and toast in the Regency Club
Lounge before taking the Muni train to high school, " he says.
Turning down a promotion to move to Hyatt's Chicago corporate
headquarters, Suleman's dad decided, after 22 years with the brand, it
was the right time to launch his own company. Equinox Hospitality's first
hotel purchase was in Kauai, Hawaii.
Suleman, for his part, didn't initially join the family business. He was
first drawn to medicine, receiving a National Institutes of Health grant
as a senior clinical researcher in pediatric cardiac surgery and working
at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University.
While at Stanford, after taking a leave from medical school, he started
simultaneously working with the Equinox team. His interest in design
and technology made the construction and renovation world exciting.
" I'm passion driven, and I was passionate about hospitality. I knew that
from a young age, " he says.
Today, Equinox Hospitality owns and operates eight hotels, and the
company was also consultant, adviser, and asset manager for Jabal Omar
Development Company (JODC)'s Makkah, Saudi Arabia development
of 36 high-rise buildings comprising 26 hotel brands. A more personal
project is the conversion of a Four Points by Sheraton into a Tribute
Portfolio by Marriott in Marin County, the handiwork of local firm EDG
Design. " We're excited [to create] one of the only true boutique lifestyle
hotels in the midpoint between San Francisco and Napa Wine country, "
Suleman says.
As for what makes San Francisco ready for its comeback? " There's
a real sense of people wanting to rebuild that connection, " Suleman
explains. " There's a physical beauty here, but also a spirit that makes
San Francisco special. " hd
" I'm passion driven, and I was
passionate about hospitality. I
knew that from a young age. "
- Sam Suleman
hospitalitydesign.com November 2023
097
Photo and rendering courtesy of EQUINOX HOSPITALITY
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com
Hospitality Design - November 2023

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