Hilton Cuts Yotel Deal, Launches Select by Hilton
Photo Credit: Exterior of Yotel Boston in the U.S. Yotel
Skift Take
Hilton’s newest brand is aimed at bringing outside brands into its system without buying them outright. Yotel is the first test of that model.
Hilton has signed a franchise agreement with UK-based hotel chain Yotel, making it the first brand to sit under the new Select by Hilton brand.
While the deal is not an acquisition and allows Yotel to be independently managed, it brings the tech-forward brand into Hilton’s loyalty, distribution, and commercial systems.
Christian Charnaux, Hilton’s chief development officer, told Skift that Select by Hilton is a “brand of brands” that is open only to taking on “a very selective list of companies or brands.”
The Select by Hilton and Yotel structure represents a marked difference from the norm, as big hotel groups usually add brands by building them, buying them, or affiliating individual independent hotels.
“It is a new approach. It is a unique approach, and I think one that has not been done in the space the way that we’re approaching it,” said Charnaux.
For Yotel, the pitch is to scale without ceding control, Phil
