Although they have a fraction of the distribution of their
big-box brethren, Starwood's W and Marriott's JW Marriott outscored the legacy
brands in the upper upscale tier of BTN's
2012 Hotel Chain Survey. Two Hilton Worldwide brands, meanwhile, largely
dominated a competitive upscale tier.
[Please click here to view the digital edition of the 2012 Hotel Chain Survey, featuring all charted
data, downloadable as a pdf.]
W Hotels edged out last year's top brand JW Marriott by a
hundredth of a point, a considerable improvement from its seventh-place finish
in 2011. Buyers gave W top scores for its sales staff, food, physical
appearance and business amenities. Perennially a top performer in the survey,
JW Marriott was the top brand for consistency, hotel staff and business center.
The brands are similar, both straddling a line in terms of
rates and amenities somewhere between traditional upper upscale brands and
luxury brands. Smith Travel Research, for example, defines both as luxury
brands. Both also have about 50 hotels spread around the world, about a tenth
of the number of Hyatts, Marriotts or Hiltons.
The upper upscale segment this year overall has been a
strong performer, with U.S. occupancy remaining above 70 percent and the
average rate up 4.3 percent year over year through July, according to STR.
Although W launched in 1998 and is among the newest of the
brands in its tier, Starwood currently is renovating much of the North American
portfolio. This includes investment of more than $100 million across about a
dozen hotels. The W New York at Union Square, for example, recently renovated
all 270 guest rooms, and the W Chicago by next year will have renovated its
restaurants, lobby and meeting space.
"We're quite busy keeping the brand fresh,"
according to W global brand leader Vincent Gillet. "Looking fabulous takes
time."
JW Marriott vice president and global brand manager Mitzi
Gaskins said her brand's top score for staff stems from service initiatives
launched during the past few years—including daily staff rehearsals to cement
service standards. The brand plans to introduce a more intense training program
for staff next year, she added.
"We're all about providing our guests everything they
need then getting out of their way," Gaskins continued. "It's about
being intuitive as to when a guest wants service, knowing when you are needed
and when you are not."
First launched in 1984, JW Marriott enhanced its amenities
through partnerships with such companies as U.K.-based spa brand Aromatherapy
Associates (for bathroom products) and Christie's for art collections, she
said.
Considering the cost premium above most of their
competitors, corporate rate programs unsurprisingly was the weakest area in the
survey for both W and JW Marriott. InterContinental—which was the third-highest
rated upper upscale brand overall—and Hilton tied for the top score for
corporate rate programs.
IHG Americas vice president of brand delivery Gina LaBarre
said the brand has made inroads with buyers, particularly those who plan events
through its "Insider Collection" program, in which hotels work with
planners to include events specific to a hotel's location. The brand also has
launched a concierge program that provides local market information and videos
on its website and through a mobile app.
Meanwhile, buyers rated Marriott's boutique-style
Renaissance brand as the best value for its price in the upper upscale tier.
Upper upscale supply growth in the United States this year
nearly has been nonexistent, rising year over year by 0.1 percent during the
first seven months of 2012, according to STR.
JW Marriott during the previous few years, for example, had
opened properties in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and San Antonio. In August it
announced plans to take over Jumeriah's Essex House in New York, giving the
brand its first Manhattan property.
But brands largely are looking overseas for development
opportunities. JW Marriott is close to opening new properties in Dubai, Hanoi
and India. W opened earlier this year in Paris and has imminent openings in
Singapore, Bangkok, Milan and Guangzhou.
"Our pipeline is healthy, but we're not opening too
many hotels," Gillet said. "We want to make sure we're in the right
locations and that it opens hot."
Hiltons Top Upscale
In the upscale tier, buyers gave the highest marks to Hilton's
Embassy Suites, followed by Hilton's Doubletree brand. IHG's Crowne Plaza,
which had been the top upscale brand in the previous two BTN surveys, slipped to third. Two hundredths of a point separated
the top three brands.
Buyers deemed Embassy Suites as the most consistent of the
upscale brands and as providing the best value for its prices. They also gave
both it and Doubletree the highest marks for physical appearance.
Embassy Suites vice president of brand performance support
Shawn McAteer said the 27-year-old brand secured high scores in product quality
criteria because of recent capital improvements at several properties. About 20
percent of Embassy Suites portfolio currently is in some stage of a product
improvement cycle, he said. The brand recently opened several new hotels in
major urban markets, including Denver, St. Louis, Houston and San Antonio.
Unlike most other brands in the upscale and upper upscale
tiers, Embassy Suites has an active pipeline within the United States; as many
as 15 new deals are expected to be signed by the end of this year, McAteer
said. Embassy Suites a few years ago developed a more flexible prototype, which
has facilitated much of its urban expansion.
"As corporate travel buyers work with our brand, this
has brought us a lot of awareness," McAteer said. "When we talk to
that community, space is important, and having a separate area where you sleep
from where you work also has a lot of relevance."
McAteer attributed Embassy Suites' high score in price/value
relationship to being "the most bundled offering in our category. No
matter which hotel you go to, you will get a suite, complimentary breakfasts
and fitness centers. Those pillars never vary."
Doubletree achieved top marks for arranging group travel,
meetings facilities, corporate rate programs, staff and in-room amenities.
Making consistent such amenities as bedding, fitness centers, Wolfgang Puck
coffee products and Crabtree & Evelyn bathroom items has been a priority
during the past few years, said Doubletree global brand head Rob Palleschi.
The brand's score for staff is indicative of a recently
introduced iPad training program, in which employees can go through quick
training vignettes followed by a brief quiz, Palleschi explained. "All
that focus on execution and training has helped us move forward," he said.
"It's definitely improved our occupancy, rates and loyalty scores."
Doubletree also is growing quickly, having opened 40 hotels
last year and expecting to open 50 more by year-end, Palleschi said. Much of
the growth is in the Asia/Pacific region, the United Kingdom and Continental
Europe.
Crowne Plaza recently has embarked on a repositioning
project and currently is freshening up
individual properties as it works to develop a new identity. To make that
determination, parent IHG is meeting with individual owners to identify areas
for improvement.
"We're looking at how to drive performance and
differentiation from both a product and service perspective," LaBarre
said. "We'll be done with that phase by the middle of next year."
This report
originally appeared in the Sept. 10, 2012, issue of Business Travel News.