Luxury LGBTQ+ Hotel Planned for Chicago

- The project is spearheaded by Tristan Schukraft, a tech entrepreneur and hospitality visionary often called the "CEO of Everything Gay," who also founded MISTR, a telehealth platform for HIV prevention. His growing hospitality portfolio includes the acquisition of iconic LGBTQ+ venues like The Abbey in West Hollywood and a significant portion of the commercial district in Fire Island Pines. - The five-story, 21-room hotel will be located at 3350-3352 N. Halsted St., the former site of the popular D.S. Tequila bar. Plans for the property include a restaurant, a nightclub, and a fully enclosed rooftop pool and bar designed for year-round use while mitigating noise for the surrounding neighborhood. - Tryst Hospitality is partnering with the Chicago-based firm NEWLOOK Design | Build + Development as the architect and lead designer for the project. The brand's philosophy emphasizes creating an intimate, design-forward atmosphere that is deeply connected to the local community, with a focus on eco-conscious practices like eliminating single-use plastics. - This development is one of two new boutique hotels planned for the Northalsted district. The other is the 50-room Backbeat Hotel, slated to open in 2028, which will have a theme inspired by Chicago's house music legacy and feature a basement speakeasy and a Japanese-inspired Chicago-soul restaurant. - The Tryst brand positions itself as the first luxury hotel brand specifically catering to gay travelers, aiming to create an inclusive five-star experience. Schukraft was motivated by personal experiences of feeling unwelcome even in supposedly inclusive resorts. - This hotel enters a robust Chicago hospitality market that saw record-breaking summer hotel bookings in 2025, with over 3.56 million room nights sold in the Central Business District between June and August. This performance bucked national trends, where hotel demand was slightly down.