SALES & MARKETING
says Chris Walker , chief operating officer of The Leading Hotels of the World , one of the oldest soft brand collections , formed in 1928 and consisting of more than 400 properties today . “ And I think that we all do it a little differently .”
Pre-pandemic , Leading Hotels sought to diversify its collection geographically so that guests could have more Leading experiences around the world . Leading properties are pure-play luxury hotels with an independent style and spirit , a combination that ’ s been easy to pick up in Europe but more difficult in North America and Asia , and more so since the pandemic began . While diversifying remains a goal , Walker said Leading Hotels is adding smaller groups of hotels and tailoring their services to the needs of these collections-within-acollection .
“ We ’ re also looking at , who else can we appeal to ?” he says . “ What are those smaller groups of hotels that have maybe 6 , 8 , 10 , 12 or 20 hotels that could still benefit from our scale ? What kind of relationship could we have with them ? And it doesn ’ t have to be a one-size fits all .” Some recent small group additions to Leading Hotels are Nayara Resorts in Costa Rica and La Reserve Group in Europe .
Hotel Cafe Royal London is part of London-based The Set Collection , which has also partnered with the Global Hotel Alliance .
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust ’ s Curator Hotel & Resort Collection includes L ’ Auberge del Mar in Del Mar , California
Other new strategies that Leading Hotels has implemented since the pandemic include getting in front of investors and owners earlier in the development cycle , ditching the fee for the Leading Hotels of the World loyalty program , and positioning their properties as sustainable and socially conscious .
At Preferred Hotels and Resorts , another independent soft brand collection , 56 new hotels were added last year and the company is on track to add about 80 this year , according to president Michelle Woodley .
The company also launched a new portfolio of sustainable hotels in November 2020 called Beyond Green . Coupled with the Historic Hotels Worldwide and Historic Hotels of America collections , and their PTG Consulting business , these offerings allow the company to really go to work for their member hotels .
“ That ’ s what gives us the flexibility to really deliver the markets that are most meaningful to the hotel ,” Woodley says . And it ’ s this flexibility that Woodley cites as an advantage over hard brands and the franchise soft brands from bigger hotel companies .
“ Under Preferred Hotel Group , we can do different things and be flexible on how we do them ,” she says . A white paper released by Preferred Hotel Group last year enumerated this flexibility , detailing how independents fared better in 2020 compared to hard brands and
82 hotelsmag . com September 2022