Sonesta Built a Hotel Empire During the Pandemic: Here’s What’s Missing
Photo Credit: Sonesta's wild growth during the pandemic continues, but company leaders recognize they need to implement some kind of loyalty program to appeal to more customers. Sonesta International Hotels Corp.
Skift Take
Sonesta is now a major hotel company with hundreds of franchised properties and an eye toward further growth. But the big hurdle is expanding its loyalty program. Marriott's takeover of Starwood showed the complexities of engineering loyalty across brands at a huge scale.
Sonesta International Hotels Corp. officially became one of the world’s largest hotel companies this month after closing on a $90 million acquisition of RLH Corp., the parent company of Red Lion Hotels.
Sonesta isn’t done growing. The company Tuesday officially launched a merged network to franchise brand flags to new owners. The aim is to bring in new owners to all eight RLH brands as well as the Sonesta Hotels & Resorts, Sonesta Select, ES Suites, and Simply Suites flags.
Sounds great, right? But big pieces are still missing. Company leaders recognize they now have to quickly adopt big brand strategies around franchising and loyalty programs to maintain the momentum.
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“We’re spinning a bunch of plates right now, but it’s important work for us,” Sonesta CEO Carlos Flores said in an exclusive interview with S
