Well, I suppose Marriott had to do something. With as many hotel brands as they have now, they had to clarify to people what’s what and what goes where and with what.
But the way they did it? Not so user-friendly, in my opinion.
By now, you’ve likely seen how Marriott has applied some logic to its now-30-brand-strong portfolio, dividing them into Luxury, Premium, Select and Longer Stays categories. Then, within those categories, they’ve determined “Classic” brand designations and “Premium” ones. So for example, Residence Inn is a “Classic Longer Stays” brand, while AC Hotels is a “Distinctive Select,” and Westin is a “Distinctive Premium.” But don’t confuse those with Element, which is a “Distinctive Longer Stays,” or Courtyard, which is a “Classic Select.”
Huh?
Exactly. If it took me about four read-throughs of the Bloomberg piece in which Marriott Global Brand Officer Tina Edmundson explains this—and I know a little bit more about the inner workings of the hotel industry than the average travel consumer—then I’d say we might have a clarification problem here.
To be fair, clarifying the positioning and unique selling propositions of this many brands—every one of which company executives say they will keep—is daunting, if not impossible. Maybe the way Marriott did it was the best possible outcome. But beyond the “how,” I’m most concerned with the “who”—as in who are these new labels really for?
They can’t possibly be for hotel developers or owners—those people already know these brands. They know the ROI they’ll get building a Courtyard without caring whether it’s called “Classic” or “Premium” under this new taxonomy.
So that means this labeling process is for consumers—people whose traveling lives the hotel industry is trying to make easier, not more complicated.
I’m not convinced the traveling public even knows or cares about such classifications and labels. They know brands, but they don’t need to know the difference between upper-midscale and upscale, or full-service and select-service.
That means classifications like this are for consumers in a bit more of an oblique way, and I believe it might play out in loyalty. While we don’t know yet how Marriott will put both loyalty programs together down the road, it would be mighty easy, I should think, to set higher redemption levels for “Premium” brands—or perhaps offer fewer rewards for “Classics?”
This, of course, is all just speculation at this point. A plan like that might benefit owners in the long run; it might not. But it’s something to think about.
Share your thoughts about what you think these new classifications mean in the comments below or you can email me at sricca@hotelnewsnow.com or find me on Twitter @HNN_Steph.
The opinions expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or its parent company, STR and its affiliated companies. Bloggers published on this site are given the freedom to express views that may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussion within our reader community. Please feel free to comment or contact an editor with any questions or concerns.