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Independent Hotels Sign On With Marriott
Marriott International Inc., known for its rigid uniformity, is loosening up a little.
This week the company is unveiling the first properties in its new brand-the Autograph Collection-which allows upscale boutique hotels to retain local character even as they sign up with Marriott.
Traditionally, Marriott has strived to create a dependability for travelers at all of its hotels around the world, down to the cocktails on the menus, toilet flushers in the bathrooms and amount of bleach used to clean the floors. Marriott, for the most part, doesn’t own hotels but instead has franchise or management agreements with some 3,200 hotels around the world.
But in order to still grow during the downturn, it needs to find a cheap way to bring more existing hotels under franchise agreements.
Don Semmler, Marriott’s executive vice president of full-service brands, says the company developed the Autograph Collection at a rapid pace-in just six months-as a way to quickly expand at a moment when capital for new hotels is scarce.
Industry experts say that it presents a tough challenge for a company known for tight control. “Marriott’s immense competitive advantage was uniformity and standardization,” said Bjorn Hanson, a professor of hospitality and tourism management at New York University. “People aren’t building new Marriott hotels. They know that if they’re going to grow, they better be flexible.”
The first group in the Autograph brand are seven hotels operated by the Orlando-based hotel owner Kessler Collection. Located in cities such as Asheville, N.C., Savannah, Ga., and Celebration, Fla., the luxury hotels are filled with original oil paintings, marble sculpture and mounted game shot by their owner, Richard Kessler. The Savannah hotel, Mansion on Forsyth Park, contains a collection of vintage hats.
“I did not want to become part of something that would standardize what we have done,” Mr. Kessler said. “I did not want the Marriott name because it would change our image.” Instead, Mr. Kessler said he will display only the name “Autograph” at each hotel, along with their original names.
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