within the next few months. It may then merge Rezidor with Spain’s NH Hotels, in which it already owns a 30 per cent stake. In addition, Chinese hospitality group Jin Jiang, which claims to be the world’s fifth largest hotel group, last year acquired Europe’s Louvre Hotels group of more than 1,100 hotels spread across six brands, including Golden Tulip. It plans to reposi- tion this brand as “the global leader in premium business travel”. Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Rotana Hotels and Resorts has strengthened its position as a leading player in the region with the recent opening of the Downtown Rotana in Bahrain’s capital Manama, a 26- storey, five-star hotel and its third property in the kingdom. It also confirmed expan- sion plans for a portfolio of 100 hotels in place by 2020.
CHANGING MARKETS Yet it is not just the money that is driving brand strategy: instead, the market itself is changing. “The past ten years have ushered in more new hotel brands than any time in modern history and most of these are geared toward the millennial generation,” points out Brett Russell, a senior vice- president with hotel consultants HVS. Hilton Worldwide’s new Tru brand is the latest to be unashamedly aimed at this market: “It will appeal to those travellers united by a millennial mindset”, says Hilton. It will be the 13th brand in Hilton’s portfolio, aimed at the lower end of the mid-market sector, with room rates below that of Hilton’s Hampton Inn brand. CEO Chris Nassetta believes the mid-
market sector is “a space that is ripe for disruption”, even suggesting Tru could eventually become the company’s biggest brand. And Tru ticks all the boxes for the millennial market, which is also influenc-
“The past ten years have ushered in more new hotel brands than any time in modern history”
ing the way it will look. Its rooms will be slightly smaller than the rooms found in most mid-market properties – includ- ing Hampton – and will not have baths (showers only), wardrobes (open hanging space and hooks instead) or desks. Instead guests will have use of a chair which in- cludes a pop-up mini-table with room for a small laptop or tablet. This truncated room design is based on the belief that millennials want to use their rooms basically for sleeping, while at other times they will decamp to the hotel’s lobby with their smartphones or laptops. This reflects current hotel design thinking towards making the lobby the hub of the hotel. Tru will call its lobby The Hive, with four distinct multi-function areas for “lounging, working, eating or playing”. Lobby furni- ture will be moveable to allow for either quiet workspace or larger social activity. Yet although the brand was announced in late January this year, the first Tru will not open until next spring (in Oklahoma
City) with the initial roll-out limited to the US. This follows the trend with other new brands: a high-profile announcement to generate interest from property owners, followed by a delayed delivery. Hilton’s lifestyle brand Canopy, for example, was announced in the autumn of 2014, with the first one scheduled to open (in Reykjavik) this August. But the next Canopy to open, in Washington DC, is scheduled for “late 2017”, while the first UK Canopy, close to the Tower of London, will not come on stream until 2018.
BRAND FATIGUE But as the pace of global brand expansion grows, does this threaten to lead to ‘brand fatigue’? After all, with so many brands tar- geting evermore niche markets – STR, for example, divides global brands as falling into six distinct segments (luxury, upper upscale, upscale, upper midscale, midscale, and economy) – it is often hard for travel- lers and buyers alike to fully understand or recall what each brand is offering. “It can be very confusing with all the
new brands being added,” says one travel buyer at a leading leisure sector firm. “It’s difficult at times to know who they are really aimed at – for instance, is it just millennials, or do they offer something to non-millennials who may be young but don’t fit that mindset?” Keith Watson, director at hotel booking specialist HRS, also thinks business travel is echoing the millennial generation by becoming more ‘traveller-centric’. “Much like the leisure traveller who expects to control every aspect of the trip, bookers are now expecting similar levels of choice, flexibility and instanta- neous real-time access when it comes to booking a business trip – whether it be with a global brand or an independent property,” he says. “As a result, bookers
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