Marriott Now Has 8 Luxury Hotel Brands It Needs to Somehow Define Individually
Photo Credit: St. Regis Hotels has developed partnerships with fashion brands like Polo to help differentiate its brand promise. St. Regis Hotels
Skift Take
Marriott is promoting the fact that its eight luxury brands answer to the demands from different segments of luxury travelers, but it needs to make sure consumers understand what makes each brand unique.
Marriott International finds itself in new territory heading into 2017 with no less than eight luxury hotel brands following its recent acquisition of Starwood Hotels.
Previous to the merger, Marriott only operated one true luxury flag in any significant number: The Ritz-Carlton. The other upscale brands were either too few, or they're somewhat ambitiously positioned as luxury product, to have made much of a dent in the luxury hospitality space.
In Marriott's pre-Starwood luxury portfolio, there are only three Ritz-Carlton Reserves, three Bulgari Hotels, and four EDITION Hotels. And, one could argue, JW Marriott is more at the top end of the upper upscale hospitality tier, at least in the Americas, although the growing JW Marriott Marquis sub-brand does nudge JW into legitimate luxury territory.
However, the Starwood group of St. Regis Hotels, W Hotels, and The Luxury Collection is more formidable in terms of the brands' collective room count, and their various level
