Trend: Independent Hotels Join National Brands

Travel Weekly is reporting that many independent hotels are joining national brands in an effort to gain recognition and a marketing boost:

"From the Graves 601 Hotel in Minneapolis to the Ivy in San Diego to luxury hotels in Amsterdam and China, Starwood and Wyndham alone in the past few weeks have announced a number of additions to their high-end brands.

Even Marriott, known for its strict brand standards, recently announced a new 'collection' that enables upscale properties to join Marriott's marketing and sales network without having to make dramatic changes to fit specific brand criteria."

The economy seems to be the main impetus for the drive to join the big chains:

"...credit remains tight, and development projects that were not already financed when the credit crunch hit are still on hold. That means growth opportunities for big brands are limited to reflagging existing properties.

In addition, with occupancy and room revenue down across the globe, independent hoteliers are looking for help and shopping for relationships that they didn't need when the market was peaking."

The former independent properties aren't being forced to rid themselves of their uniqueness, says Jeff Wagoner, president of Wyndham.

Marriott is also allowing new brand additions a lot of freedoms by placing the hotels under a "collection" name instead of re-branding them.