An exclusive location, an exceptional design or a special story - these are the criteria used to characterise this new brand. The Israeli group is not the first and will certainly not be the last to position itself in this market niche.
The Botanica Hotel in Haifa is the first under this conversion brand and the group is targeting Europe in particular, including markets with independent heritage hotels.
This will be followed in Europe by the conversions of the:
- Alden Suite Hotel in Zurich (22 rooms)
- The Dilly Hotel Piccadilly (280 rooms)
- The Midland in Manchester (312 rooms, already operated by the group)
- The Grand Brighton, on the seafront in Brighton (201 rooms)
In early 2023, Accor also announced the birth of another conversion brand within the group, Handwritten Collection, having launched Emblems Collection at the end of 2021.
On the IHG Hotels & Resorts side, it is the voco brand launched in 2018 that allows independents to join the group. IHG has also more recently launched the Vignette™ Collection brand in August 2021. This one is aimed at more upscale properties.
At Jin Jiang, it was the Radisson Individuals brand that saw the light of day in 2020.
The list could go on and on and shows that hotel groups have understood the need to offer other solutions than calibrated franchise brands to hotel owners. They are increasingly involved in the operations of their hotels and want to put their footprint on them.
In addition, the Covid 19 pandemic has caused some owners to rethink their needs. Many of them want to join forces with larger organisations to reach new customers or benefit from economies of scale, particularly through central purchasing. This is an opportunity that the global giants intend to seize.
