Asset-light, tech-driven lifestyle brand Yotel has signed a franchise agreement with Hilton and will be the first brand included in Hilton’s Select by Hilton brand, according to a joint news release.
Yotel will continue management of its 23 hotels in 10 countries. Its latest agreement is part of its strategy to more than triple its portfolio.
Hilton said Yotel rooms will be available to book through Hilton's distribution channels “later in 2026,” but it did not state an actual date.
It is a major deal in the short tenure of new Yotel CEO Phil Andreopoulos, who started his position in September 2025.
In a note on his LinkedIn account, Andreopoulos said: “From the beginning, our ambition has been to challenge convention in hospitality through smart design, innovation and a distinctive guest experience. This collaboration allows us to scale that vision even further, leveraging Hilton’s industry-leading distribution and loyalty platform while remaining true to our independent spirit.”
In the hotel firm’s news release, Andreopoulos added: “What changes for Yotel is access — not identity — in a capital-light, and scalable way.”
For Hilton, the agreement gives it another lifestyle brand, one with a European bent.
“Select by Hilton is designed to grow into a brand that creates new ways to stay for guests. … High-quality, established hotel brands that join Select by Hilton will retain their own identity and brand management,” the news release said.
In January, Yotel promoted Rohan Thakkar to chief development and strategy officer; promoted Olivia Donnan to senior vice president, brand, culture and growth; and promoted Mark Henderson to senior vice president, design and construction. In March 2025, Yvonne Thomsen became Yotel's chief financial officer, arriving from IHG Hotels & Resorts, where she was vice president of finance, Europe, and chief financial officer, Six Senses Hotels.
Yotel has urban hotels in Amsterdam, Boston, Edinburgh, Geneva, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Miami, New York City, Porto, San Francisco, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. The brand has airport hotels at London Gatwick, Amsterdam Schiphol, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Istanbul and Singapore Changi.
In Yotel's pipeline across both urban and airport locations are hotels in Kuala Lumpur — to open in 2026 — Athens (2027), Belfast (2028), Lisbon (2028) and Neom, Saudi Arabia (2029).
Yotel's major shareholder is Kuwait-based Al-Bahar Group, which increased its stake in the firm in April 2025 from 60% to more than 95%.
Hilton has 27 brands, more than 9,100 hotels and approximately 1.3 million rooms.