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Tags: Pitch Your Hotel / Sheraton Hotels / Hotel Rebranding / Hoyt Harper / Starwood Hotels / → All Tags
Sheraton's Hoyt Harper Wants You to Check Out The New Sheraton
In a rare second helping of Pitch Your Hotel this week, we introduce Hoyt Harper, Senior VP of brand management for Sheraton Hotels, who met with us at the Sheraton New York to fill us in on the new changes happening with his hotels.
The brand has poured $4 billion into their North American hotels in an attempt to transform Sheraton's image from that of a dowdy, outdated hotel collection (with so-so guest satisfaction reviews) into a vibrant, modern, "social traveler hotel"--a place where folks on business or leisure can get comfortable in the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper beds and stay connected using the Link@Sheraton, a sort of internet cafe in the lobby.
But while some brands have been changing up their logos (i.e. Holiday Inn, Renaissance by Marriott), Harper told us that the Sheraton logo will remain the same. The logo is iconic and recognized worldwide thus "We're keeping it," he said.
Tags: Hotel News / Hotel Rebranding / Viceroy Hotels / Kor Hotels / Viceroy Hotel Group / → All Tags
Kor Hotel Group Wants To Be Known as Viceroy Hotel Group
The Viceroy symbol as seen in the elevator at Viceroy Miami.
More Hotel Rebranding news! The Kor Hotel Group has announced this morning that they have officially changed their name to The Viceroy Hotel Group. The change follows the 2008 partnership that Kor Hotels entered with Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company, who is now funding the Viceroy Hotels expansions.
But while the name changes, the game remains the same. From the press release:
Viceroy Hotel Group will continue to seek premier hotel and resort opportunities around the world, based upon uncompromising standards for location and guest appeal. Viceroy Hotel Group will function as an umbrella company for the sister hotel brands that formerly fell under Kor, Viceroy Hotels & Resorts, The Tides and Urban Retreats.
Some of those Urban Retreats include The Chamberlain and The Avalon Hotel in Los Angeles but surprisingly not The Loden Hotel in Vancouver. Looks like Viceroy must have shed this hotel somewhere along the way. You will also want to change up your bookmarks as www.korhotelgroup.com does not work. Instead, go to www.ViceroyHotelGroup.com.
Now, maybe with the introduction of these new name, the Viceroy collection will institute some sort of loyalty program for guests.
Tags: Snapshot / Sheraton Hotels / Boston Hotels / Hotel Rebranding / → All Tags
Sheraton's Rebranding Begins Now...
Sheraton Hotels are ready to party. They have just completed a massive $6 billion renovation of their 86 North American properties which means Sheraton now has 50,000 new or newly renovated guestrooms complete with brand new Sheraton Sweet Sleeper all-white, high-thread count beds. And as we told you yesterday, Sheraton is offering you a chance to spend a night in one of these freshened up hotels for free.
The contest kicks off on October 6th, but we were fortunate enough to get an up close and personal look at the Sheraton Boston Hotel which recently finished a $50 million renovation. This is a shot of one of the executive suites at the hotel.
So let's play a little game here--can you spot the newness?
Tags: Hotel Contests / Sheraton Hotels / Hotel Rebranding / Hotel Renovations / Hotel News / → All Tags
Sheraton To Give Away Free Nights in Their Newly Renovated Hotels
Looks like kiddies aren't the only ones rocking their new back to school fashion this month---hotels have been unveiling new looks left and right too. Hilton made a splash earlier this week with their new logo and before that, Westin and Renaissance unveiled new websites and new logos, respectively. So, who's the newest hotel to join the rebranding rodeo? Sheraton Hotels.
The long-suffering, outdated brand of Starwood Hotels has completed a staggering $4 billion worth of renovations on 86 of its North American properties and it wants you to give the new digs a whirl by holding a "Check-In On Us" giveaway.
The contest officially kicks off on October 6 and runs through October 9th. Over two thousand winners from the online entries will be selected to win a free night at a Sheraton in one of the new hotels. The process is based on a first-come, first-serve basis so don't forget to enter on the first day. If you miss out, Sheraton will still offer folks a discount coupon they can use at a Sheraton.
Tags: Hotel Rebranding / Hilton Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel Logos / Hotel Websites / → All Tags
Hilton Hotels Get a New Logo, New Website and New Name
There's been a lot happening with the bigger hotel chains recently. Westin unveiled a new website. Renaissance by Marriott unveiled pretty much a new life and now Hilton Hotels has unveiled a new logo, a new website, a new headquarters (in Maryland) and even, a new name. But much like the change we saw at the Hilton San Francisco this morning, it's nothing game-changing.
The new Hilton name is now Hilton Worldwide. Previously, the brand went by Hilton Hotels Corp. which was probably just to corporatey and distant for a hospitality company. Hilton Worldwide is simple and gets the message across that Hilton Hotels are indeed located worldwide. Moving on.
Tags: Renaissance Hotels / Marriott Hotels / Hotel Logos / Hotel Promotions / Hotel Rebranding / Hotel News / → All Tags
Hey Now, Renaissance By Marriott is Looking Pretty Good These Days
Last year, we toured the Renaissance Pere Marquette in New Orleans and we were a little shocked at what we saw. This was a Renaissance hotel from Marriott? B-b-b-but it was so chic and cool. And (gasp!) sexy.
Yes, it's true, we thought the Renaissance brand from Marriott Hotels was sexy. Back then, a hotel rep told us that it was all a part of the rebranding of Renaissance. Well, it looks like the rebranding has been completed. And as the NYT recently reported, even the logo got a little tweak too:
The unveiling is meant to call attention to the metamorphoses of Renaissance, which has spent more than $2 billion in recent years to move the brand away from bland, partly with sleeker interior design. Renaissance also has a new logo: formerly full of ornate, maroon flourishes, the logo has been edited down to a cleaner, modern letter: R.
While we agree with the Times that the upgrades are formulaic--flat screen, iPod docking station, simple bed linens--the Renaissance rebranding makes a great difference to folks who stay in Marriott hotels for loyalty program points but often find themselves a little underwhelmed by some of the Marriott flagship properties.
Tags: Hotel News / Hilton Hotels / Doubletree Hotels / Hotel Rebranding / → All Tags
Adventures in Rebranding: Seattle's Arctic Club Now a Doubletree
After the cool, boutiquey Arctic Club in Seattle opened its doors over the summer, things headed in the direction of the South Pole for the property: though a New York Times review gave the place major exposure, it wasn't enough to sustain it. In January, it downgraded everything: some room rates dropped down to $166, its luxury rating went from four diamonds to three.
But now it seems they've gotten some help from a major chain. Hilton announced today that the property will become part of their Doubletree brand, and the hotel will be reflagged as Doubletree Arctic Club Hotel Seattle – Downtown by mid-May.
Tags: Design Hotels / Hotel Rebranding / → All Tags
Design Hotels is Now 'Design Hotels, Made by Originals'
Ladies and gentlemen, the company formerly known as Design Hotels will henceforth be known as "Design Hotels, Made by Originals." Apparently, people kept on throwing around the term "design hotels" in the generic way — you know, sort of like how people in the South call all sodas "Coke" — and Design Hotels wasn't havin' it.
In the words of the New York Times:
The company had in some ways been the victim of its own success, mostly unfairly. Like Kleenex, it was the brand that became a generic, and people tossed off the phrase “design hotel” — at first adoringly and later disdainfully — to mean any hotel with an architectural lobby, minimalist furniture and rooms that looked better than they actually functioned.
That's a whole lotta syllables. Couldn't we have gone with D.H. or some such?
Tags: Australia Hotels / Hotel Rebranding / Mantra Hotels / → All Tags
Score a Million-Dollar Suite for $350 in Australia's Blue Mountains
Only a hotel with a few interesting or odd facts surrounding it gets its own Wikipedia entry, but the Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney certainly qualifies. This hotel's had such a colorful history it's hard to know where to start.
We'll try in the present: it's hit the headlines recently over rumors that the Malaysian owners want to sell up, complaints that it needs an urgent renovation and that the staff needs some improvement.
But there's so much more going on that we are still keen to visit.
Tags: Australia Hotels / Hotel Rebranding / Mantra Hotels / → All Tags
Our New Mantra Down Under is Mantra Hotels
In the wink of an eye, there's a new leader in the Australian hotel industry when it comes to hotels in the four to four-and-a-half star category. As of March 31, there will be more Mantra hotels than any other brand in that category--so we'll probably start to hear a lot more from them.
From April there will be over 50 Mantra hotels operating, a lot of which have led former lives as Saville and Pacific International properties. And there are plans for Mantra to expand even further. The CEO reckons that the rebranding will create "more choice" for customers, and while he means that there'll be more Mantras to choose from, it kind of sounds like less choice to us.
In any case, we'll be keeping an eye on the new Mantras and will let you know what changes we see. In particular, there are a bunch of downtown Saville hotels in cities across Oz that we've always quite liked, and we wonder if having a new Mantra (yep, bad pun intended) will make them even better or not.
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