Amber Asher’s Evolution from Lawyer to Standard International’s CEO

Image courtesy of Amber Asher

Amber Asher didn’t set out to run a hotel brand. Trained as an attorney, she grew up in Michigan taking the occasional family trip. 

“I'm from a small town in Michigan and […] I didn't travel to Europe until I was in college,” she said. 

But a work trip to a Miami hotel opened her eyes to the allure of hotels. She was captivated with the idea of how lifestyle brands were revolutionizing the hospitality industry.

Today, Amber is the CEO of Standard International, the company behind The Standard, Bunkhouse Group, The Peri Hotel and two new brands debuting this year — The StandardX and The Manner. We sat down with Amber to learn about her career and how her time as an attorney prepared her for her current role.

How becoming a lawyer unlocked the world of hospitality

Images courtesy of Amber Asher

As Amber progressed in her legal career, she became enamored with the real estate world. Although she always loved to travel growing up, the business of hotels didn’t fully surface until she was working in real estate law, eventually putting together deals involving various properties.

“I became a lawyer in real estate and finance when I was 25 years old. I love the idea of transactions and the business side of things,” she said. “But the most interesting, thrilling  part of real estate has always been hotels.”

As in-house counsel for a hotel group, Amber was exposed to many facets of the hotel business. 

“From the design contract to closing a deal, buying a new hotel and working with a variety of teams to piece these fragments together,” she said. “It was a wonderful background to grow my career and a catalyst for what was to come.”

After landing as general counsel for Standard International, Amber continued to progress in the company, moving on to president and then CEO in 2021. Along the way, she found herself in meetings and board rooms filled with men, recognizing that the lack of women in operations and the C-suite positions was partly due to less opportunities during the early career stages.

“One of the things I've wanted to do is to develop these incredible (women) leaders at an earlier stage of their careers and help them grow,” she said.

“One of our team members began as my associate general counsel,” Amber said. “She  kept evolving in her career, and it was inevitable that she was absolutely the right person for the job. Now, she's the president of Bunkhouse.”

How The Standard creates unique experiences

Image courtesy of Ojo Bangkok

Even on the outside, you can see from the upside-down signage that a Standard hotel experience will be far from ordinary. And the other brands, Bunkhouse Group, The Peri Hotel and recently created The StandardX (opening in Melbourne in August) and The Manner (opening in SoHo, NYC in September) are no exception. With locations across the globe, each brand evokes a distinct vibe, all the while combining bold design with sexy spaces, like rooftop bars with live DJs and decor that reflects the area’s roots.

One of the company’s missions is to bring The Standard to the world, and to Amber, this means creating a unique space in each city to welcome a variety of travelers and locals.

Pulling away from cookie-cutter design, lifestyle hotels promise to incorporate local influences into the design and offerings at their properties — something The Standard has been targeting for decades.

“Being a lifestyle brand has been in our DNA since day one, and it’s a space that we feel very comfortable with as we continue to evolve.” 

What’s next for The Standard

Image courtesy of The Standard Bangkok

Standard International is returning to its  roots with a new brand called The StandardX. The inspiration hails from the hotel’s former Hollywood location, a hotel that opened 25 years ago where nothing was off limits. Locations for The StandardX are chosen strategically in up-and-coming neighborhoods with a trendy vibe, where guests can dig deep into the local scene instead of being cocooned and protected from it.

“It’s essential that we enter a city and contribute to its fabric — whether it’s creating the coolest bar and a delicious restaurant that you want to return to,” Amber said. “We're working with local artists to come up with incredible retail or collaborative moments. Our spaces feel simultaneously new and familiar."

The StandardX’s first outpost will be in Melbourne’s Fitzroy neighborhood and features an all-day Thai diner, BANG, in tandem with a hip rooftop offering Mexican-inspired fare. In fact, we featured the property in our 2024 Hot List for the top trending hotels this year. 

Bangkok will soon follow as the second The StandardX outpost.

“We don't go into a city and say, ‘What's going to put the most heads in beds,’” Amber said. “Our purpose is to create a cultural hub.” 

Creating a thriving people culture

Images courtesy of The Standard Ibiza

Although the brand’s flashy properties garner the most attention, Amber shared that the people at Standard International are the heartbeat of the company. 

Recalling projects in far-flung destinations like London, Bangkok, Ibiza and soon-to-open Singapore, she described the commitment of the local teams. 

“We collaborate with people who are already ingrained in the culture who love the things that we love,” Amber said.

And part of nurturing a network of people means not taking yourself too seriously and creating balance between life and work — something Amber says is different for everyone.

“I don't know that there is such a thing as work-life balance, but it’s about what's balanced for you,” she said, adding that a vital part of her balance includes exercise and spending time with her family. 

After almost 13 years at Standard International, Amber points to a chance encounter at The Standard Spa, Miami as a moment that confirmed that the brand was creating a sense of place, not only for guests but also for employees.

As she and her friends were enjoying cocktails at the hotel’s Monterrey Bar, an employee started sharing how long he’d been with the hotel and why he loved it there.

“Hearing that gives me goosebumps because I could have been anybody, but he felt so impassioned by our brand that he wanted to share it with a random group of ladies getting cocktails,” she said. “That's what makes you feel like you're doing something right.”