It’s over a year since Marriott International entered talks to buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts, leading to much speculation about which brands will survive within the combined, enlarged entity. This interesting article looks at how the world’s largest hotel group is in fact planning to retain and segment its portfolio of 30 brands.
The 30 brands, even if they are very similar or traditionally considered to be direct competitors, will continue to operate as normal and will not be undergoing and branding changes. Many international real estate marketing insiders assumed that at the very least, the three brands which comprised of independent properties would be placed under a single umbrella and take on consistent branding. As it stands, Luxury Collection (with such properties as the Gritti Palace in Venice or the Palace in San Francisco), Tribute Portfolio (which includes the Royal Palm in South Beach), and Autograph Collection (Pier One Sydney Harbour; Atlantis Paradise Island) all retain their separate and distinctive brands.
How Marriott is Keeping Branding Distinctive
Marriott is identifying two main types of luxury travel ‘personas’ for their international real estate marketing efforts, characterising Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, and JW Marriott as “classic luxury” while the other five luxury brands (e.g. Bvlgari, Edition, the Luxury Collection) are offering what they describe as “distinctive luxury.” The two categories represent different styles, with classic appealing to customers who are looking for traditional and business travel-friendly accommodation and distinctive appealing to those who want something more unique, modern and boutique.
This is a fascinating example of international real estate marketing at work, and it will be interesting to see how Marriott manages to retain the distinctions between famed rival brands such as Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis in practice. Global brand office of Marriott, Tina Edmundson, believes that it has already found the solution, explaining that each brand will cater to different mindsets. She points out that for the Ritz-Carlton, customers like to use it as a base to explore the surrounding area, whilst St. Regis customers consider the hotel itself to be the destination, and like to enjoy “performances by jazz legends or signature rituals like midnight supper and St. Regis bloody marys.”
