Hotel brands may seem a dime a dozen, but there is a reason why there are so many. The idea is two-fold: hospitality companies want to appeal to a variety of consumers while also drawing in different types of hotel and hospitality investors interested in opening a hotel under their brand name.
Travelers are familiar with loyalty program brands like World of Hyatt and Hilton Honors. But, there are also smaller brands worth exploring, some of which may also belong to those same loyalty program portfolios. Consumers can benefit greatly by understanding the variety of brands in the marketplace and in which loyalty programs they participate. Here is a selection of some of the up-and-coming brands worth exploring in the new year as they grow their portfolios.
Tivoli Hotels & Resorts
This hotel brand launched in 1933 and was founded in Portugal. Today, it has expanded across Europe, the Middle East and South America with plans to grow even more under the Minor Hotels umbrella. Minor’s involvement has helped to elevate its luxury profile as it grows the Tivoli brand into a mix of modern and historic architecture.
The portfolio includes both four and five-star hotels. Among them are Tivoli Avenida Liberdade, which belongs to The Leading Hotels of the World group, in Lisbon with its famous rooftop bar and Tivoli Doelen Amsterdam Hotel, the oldest hotel in the city. The Amsterdam property was also home to the famous Rembrandt painting “The Night Watch,” which hung in the building for seven decades. Today, the hotel has a suite with a replica of the painting (the original is now at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam).
Minor’s growth plans are impressive with new hotels opening in Tenerife (Tivoli La Caleta Resort), Tivoli Portopiccolo Sistiana Resort near Trieste, Italy, and its first all-inclusive property with Tivoli Alvor Algarve Resort in Portugal. In the coming two years, several hotels are in the pipeline including an expansion into Oman and Bahrain among other countries.
Tivoli is one of the many brands that participates in the DISCOVERY loyalty program, which allows travelers to earn “dollars” that can be redeemed for future stays and on-property experiences.
Spark by Hilton
The Hilton Honors family of brands includes everything from affordable to luxury hotel options. The premium economy segment is growing fast, and Hilton is tapping into this trend with a new brand, Spark by Hilton. There are more than 400 hotels already in the works, but Hilton says the brand could eventually grow to as many as 1,000.
According to Matt Schuyler, chief brand officer for Hilton, this is the “fastest announcement-to-market brand in Hilton’s history.”
It sees this as a fast-growing brand since it will only convert existing hotels into its own brand standards (rather than build new hotels). Key amenities include free breakfast with a bagel bar for all guests. The first hotel opened in Mystic, Connecticut, with many more already nearing completion. Other hotels already open (just one year since announcing the brand) include Charlotte; Hilton Head, South Carolina; Atlanta; and St. Augustine and Ormond Beach, Florida.
NH Collection Hotels & Resorts
This week, Minor Hotels announced a name change for its NH Hotels Group brand to Minor Hotels Europe & Americas, which includes brands NH Hotels & Resorts, NH Collection Hotels & Resorts and nhow Hotels & Resorts. Each brand will maintain its own identity under the newly-named umbrella group. Understanding what sets them apart is still key.
NH Collection Hotels & Resorts is the luxury arm of the three with almost 100 high-end hotels around the world in two dozen countries. It belongs to the DISCOVERY loyalty program. What sets many of its hotels apart are the historic and well-known buildings where many of its hotels are located. While the name may not be familiar to Americans, there is one hotel already open in New York, the NH Collection New York Madison Avenue.
Among its newest hotels are the NH Collection Helsinki Grand Hansa, NH Collection Milano Touring, NH Collection Chiang Mai Ping River and coming next year is NH Collection Paris Champs Elysées.
Other key hotels in the group include NH Collection Madrid Gran Via with the street’s most panoramic rooftop bar given its position at a bend in the road and NH Collection Firenze Palazzo Gaddi, known for its Florentine baroque architecture.
Vignette Collection
Belonging to IHG Hotels and Resorts and the IHG One Rewards loyalty program, the company says this brand is a collection of “one-off hotels” with “one-of-a-kind” stays in each destination. These are independent hotels that joined IHG to be part of its tremendous global distribution power, but still want to maintain their individual design and style.
“Vignette Collection stands apart in IHG Hotels & Resorts’ luxury & lifestyle portfolio,” says Tom Rowntree, vice president of luxury & lifestyle brands for IHG Hotels & Resorts. “It presents a compelling way for IHG to welcome one-of-a-kind hotels into our family.”
Many hotel companies have these “soft brand” collections, but Vignette Collection offers something called “memorable rituals” that vary between hotels. IHG says they can include things like complimentary tea rituals in the lobby to individually curated playlists for each guest room.
Among the notable hotels in this brand collection include Covent Square Hotel Lisbon (within a 13th century Dominican convent) and Yours Truly DC Hotel. When Shanghai Snow World Hotel opens in China, it will be part of the world’s biggest alpine-themed indoor ski park. The brand currently has 11 hotels open with 18 more in the pipeline.
Handwritten Collection
This is another soft brand that belongs to Accor’s portfolio and its All Live Limitless loyalty program. It fits into its mid-scale tier of hotels and allows individual boutique hotels to join its global reservations system and benefit from its brand reputation without each hotel losing its own local touches.
“Our aim, beyond delivering a truly authentic guest experience, is to support the growing number of independent and boutique hotel owners looking to boost their global profile, connect with more audiences and grow their revenue without losing their identity,” said Alex Schellenberger, chief marketing officer, premium, mid-scale, economy brands, Accor.
Accor already has experience in this space with its upper upscale brand MGallery Collection of hotels, many of which are in historic culturally important buildings.
The brand launched last year with a dozen hotels immediately signed on as members. By 2030, Accor has plans to have more than 250 properties, which is something the brand said is possible since the majority of the properties are being converted from existing hotels. Among the hotels that are part of the brand include Paris Montmartre Sacré Coeur and Square Lodge Hotel in La Roche sur Yon, France.