Special RepoRt : Independents
three years as the chains leapt into the independent scene with their collections . “ It heats up the competition ,” she says , “ but reinforces what our company has stood for — the idea that an experiential hotel is what the consumer is moving toward .”
“ There will always be many places where brands work better — like airports ,” says David McCaslin , president of New York City ’ s Northwood Hospitality , which operates hotels such as The New York Palace for its sibling owning company . “ But if you ’ re in a
highly desirable location like a downtown or an Aspen , Colorado , there will be so many people going there no matter what . Nobody is going to these places because they want to stay with a brand ; they are going for the destination .”
Another plus : a non-branded hotel can be easier to sell as a real-estate asset . “ Our independents can be purchased by a strategic buyer who would have more options than if they were branded or under a management contract ,” McCaslin adds .
Review sites like TripAdvisor also can give independents a leg up if they focus on that segment . “ Consumers now really make their judgments based on reviews and social media ,” McCaslin says .
“ Travelers today can have confidence in the hotel that they used to look to brands to provide ,” says Geoff Andrew , chief operating officer for Worldhotels , Frankfurt , Germany , adding that the importance of loyalty programs “ now lies more with the databases they create than with loyalty itself .“
COLLECTiOn connection
AC Santo Mauro in Madrid is a member of Marriott ’ s
Autograph Collection .
When Marriott International approached Richard Kessler to become the original member of its Autograph Collection of independents , Kessler came up with three non-negotiable principles : retaining his own website ; no Marriott say on design ; and no Marriott name in the properties — only small Autograph signs . Four years later , Kessler says he is quite satisfied with Autograph membership and if he wants to enter a market where an Autograph already exists he would be open to joining another collection .
Collections are “ the middle ground of branding ,” says Bjorn Hanson , divisional dean for NYU ’ s Tisch Center for hospitality , tourism and sports management .
“ The challenge is that even within traditional brands , brand managers are getting more flexible ,” Hanson adds . “ So these collections have to offer even greater flexibility .”
An example of how unclear the brandindependent landscape has become is Hersha Hospitality Management , Philadelphia , a major owner that has traditionally focused on upscale branded hotels but now has collected a number of its own independents into a collection — the Independent Collection .
“ It ’ s all about Millennials and Gen Ys — people looking for unique experiences ,” says Foiz Ahmed , vice president for Hersha ’ s collection . “ We will look at hotels for the collection in major urban and destination markets . That is where the people with dollars to spend are looking for neighborhoods and communities .”
The collection concept has global acceptance , as well . VOI Hotels , owned by an Italian travel company , is comparable to Autograph , according to CEO Arco Buijs . “ We give individual hotels help on the commercial side without being hardbranded at much lower costs than a normal franchise ,” Buijs says .
And the collections are evolving . Kessler says technology will continue to make it easier for hotels to be independent , resulting in collections having more pressure to deliver .
22 HOTELS May 2014 www . hotelsmag . com