Soft brands are not new phenomena, but their popularity have grown in an age where, particularly for an independent-spirited hotel, being seen is as important as what is seen. The strategy is as simple as it is smart: Lodging companies, from Choice Hotels International to Marriott International, and representation groups, from Preferred Hotels & Resorts to The Leading Hotels of the World, develop brands or collections of hotels that allow independent properties to ostensibly retain their autonomy, but, for a fee, plug into the larger companies’ global reservations and loyalty systems, reaping the rewards that come with it, which include less dependency on online travel agencies and their high commission rates. The migration is a boon for both lodging companies and representation groups,
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which have grown their rolls extensively, satisfying Wall Street, expanding fee channels and growing revenue.
The players are many: Choice Hotels’ Ascend Collection, Marriott’ s Autograph Collection, Hilton’ s Curio Collection, Hyatt’ s Unbound Collection, Wyndham Hotels’ Trademark Collection, to name only some. And as the sector has grown, so to have the collections, stratified now to include everything from midscale up to luxury.
Chekitan Dev teaches branding and marketing at the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration, which makes him one of the foremost minds in the world of hotel branding. He calls soft brands nothing short of genius.“ They are designed to offer the best of both worlds: individuality plus the commercial engine of a major brand,” he said,
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propping up their brilliance with an anecdote. A recent trip to New York landed him at the Crosby Street Hotel, which is owned and operated by Firmdale Hotels. Affixing a hard brand to a property as design-driven as Crosby, a favorite among Hollywood stars, would be a disservice. Instead, and unbeknownst to many who stay there, it’ s affiliated with Marriott’ s Design Hotels, a curated collection of more than 300 independent, design-driven hotels across the globe. One might even refer to this situation as a“ super-soft brand”: Design Hotels’ brand indicia is nowhere to be found on the hotel’ s website.“ Now, that’ s how to brand a one-of-akind luxury hotel in the world’ s most competitive hotel market,” Dev said.
The benefits of soft brands to owners are plenty. Unlike traditional or hard brands, soft brands allow owners to
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Philipp Weghmann, chief development officer, Preferred Hotels & Resorts
maintain their property’ s uniqueness and service philosophy, while reaping the rewards of a large commercial engine. Here, the rulebook maybe doesn’ t fly out the window, but strict adherence to it is inessential. As Bruce Rohr, VP and global brand leader for JW Marriott & The Luxury Collection, put it,“ The appeal lies in its balance: [ hotels ] retain the individuality and heritage while benefiting from
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14 hotelsmag. com Jan / Feb 2026 |