Built on Hospitality. Driven by Opportunity.
What began with one hotel and a conversation between two hospitality and real estate professionals has grown into a distinctive portfolio built around university communities, entrepreneurial thinking, exceptional hospitality, and a belief that the best opportunities are created by people willing to see things differently.
Where It All Began
One Conversation. One Hotel. A Vision for Something More.
Scholar Hotels was founded in 2017, but the relationships behind the company had been developing for a decade.
Gary Brandeis and Aditya “Addy” Maini first met in 2007 at the Holiday Inn on City Avenue in Philadelphia, where Gary's company had acquired a majority interest and Addy had recently joined the hotel's management team. Over the next 10 years, the property underwent two major renovations, Addy grew into its Vice President/General Manager, and a trusted team of hospitality and real estate professionals began to take shape.
Then came the drive that changed everything.
In 2017, Gary and Addy were traveling from State College to Philadelphia following the grand opening of Hyatt Place State College, a hotel Gary's Real Estate Capital Management had developed and owned. The property was being operated by a third-party management company, and Gary asked Addy for his assessment.
Addy's response was simple:
“Why don't we just manage the hotel ourselves?”
It didn't take more than one song on the radio for them to decide to do exactly that.
Within 45 days, Scholar Hotels was managing Hyatt Place State College—and a new hospitality company was born.
From One Hotel to a Growing Portfolio
Built Differently from the Beginning
From that first property, Scholar Hotels began to grow.
Hotels were developed, redeveloped, and acquired, and the company established a particular expertise in properties located in and around vibrant university communities—markets shaped by academics, athletics, alumni, families, conferences, celebrations, and year-round community life.
Today, Scholar's portfolio spans distinctive independent hotels and properties affiliated with some of the world's leading hospitality brands. Each hotel has its own identity, but all share Scholar's commitment to exceptional hospitality, strong communities, entrepreneurial thinking, and long-term value.
Hospitality should feel connected to where you are.
The Scholar Approach
Hospitality Through an Owner's Lens
Scholar Hotels grew from the intersection of two disciplines: real estate and hospitality.
That combination continues to shape how we operate today.
We understand that a hotel is simultaneously a real estate investment, an operating business, a workplace, a gathering place, and an experience.
Our real estate roots encourage us to think long-term—to understand the asset, recognize opportunity, invest thoughtfully, and create lasting value.
Our hospitality roots remind us that none of that matters without people.
A guest who feels genuinely welcomed.
A team member who feels valued.
A wedding celebrated.
A family reunited.
An alumni group returning to a place filled with memories.
A community gathering around a table.
The most successful hotels create value on both sides of the equation.
They perform as investments because they matter as places.
Who We Serve
Exceptional hospitality begins with understanding the people who walk through our doors.
We strive to anticipate needs, pay attention to the details, and create experiences defined by warmth, care, and genuine connection. Whether someone is staying for one night or returning to a property they've visited for generations, our goal is simple:
Make them want to come back.
That commitment evolves the guest-focused mission articulated on Scholar's original About Us page: exceeding expectations through thoughtful, confident service.
Hotels are buildings.
Hospitality is people.
Our team members bring Scholar Hotels to life every day. We believe in giving people opportunities to learn, grow, take responsibility, contribute ideas, and build careers they're proud of.
We encourage decision-making throughout the organization and value people who take ownership of their work and understand the impact they can make on guests, colleagues, and the business.
Because when our people grow, Scholar grows with them.
Our roots in real estate remain fundamental to the Scholar model.
We approach every property with an owner's perspective, looking beyond today's operations to understand how thoughtful investment, strong management, strategic positioning, and disciplined execution can create value throughout the real estate lifecycle.
That perspective allows us to speak the language of hospitality and investment—and understand how the two work together.
Entrepreneurial at Heart
Big Enough to Deliver. Nimble Enough to Act.
Scholar Hotels was created because two people recognized that there might be a better way to operate a hotel—and decided to do something about it.
That entrepreneurial spirit remains part of our DNA.
We value curiosity.
We encourage ideas.
We believe decisions should be made close to the people and properties they affect.
And while our portfolio and capabilities have grown considerably since that first hotel in 2017, we remain committed to preserving the hands-on approach that helped make Scholar successful from the beginning. That commitment is also the closing vision in Aditya's company history.
We never want growth to make us forget how we got here.
Rooted in Our Communities
More Than a Place to Stay
Our hotels don't exist separately from the communities around them.
They are part of them.
That's particularly meaningful in university markets, where hotels become gathering places for generations of students, alumni, families, faculty, businesses, visitors, and neighbors.
We believe that comes with a responsibility to participate in and support the communities we serve—a principle that has been part of Scholar's vision from the beginning.
From local partnerships and charitable organizations to university relationships, community events, and neighborhood businesses, we want our hotels to contribute to the places they call home.
Every Chapter Opens a New Door
Description
Growth With Purpose
Growth, to us, isn't simply about adding another property.
It's about finding the right opportunity, understanding its potential, and imagining what it could become.
Sometimes that means developing something new.
Sometimes it means breathing new life into an existing property.
Sometimes it means preserving the history and traditions of a beloved hotel while preparing it for its next generation of guests.
And sometimes it means recognizing potential others may have overlooked.
With every new destination and every new chapter, Scholar continues to expand its vision while remaining grounded in the principles that brought us here: entrepreneurial thinking, thoughtful hospitality, strong partnerships, hands-on leadership, and experiences people remember.
The Best Part of the Story Is What's Next
Still Growing. Still Curious. Still Scholar.
A lot has changed since that drive from State College to Philadelphia in 2017.
The portfolio is larger.
The team has grown.
The opportunities have become bigger.
But the spirit behind Scholar Hotels remains remarkably similar.
See the opportunity.
Ask the question.
Surround yourself with talented people.
Do the work.
And never become too big to stay involved.
As Scholar Hotels continues to grow, our focus remains on creating exceptional hospitality experiences, developing great teams, strengthening the communities we serve, and building lasting value for our partners.
Our story is still being written.
And we think the chapters ahead may be the best ones yet.