Hilton just launched its newest brand – the budget-friendly Spark

It’s a new year and a time for a new brand at one of the world’s largest hotel companies.

Wednesday morning, Hilton launched Spark, 19th brand and one targeting a more affordable position in the hotel food chain.

Spark, which Hilton calls a high-end economy service, is geared towards clean, reliable and simple stays, and will grow entirely through renovating existing hotels and converting them to new brand.

There are now over 100 deals for Spark hotels in various stages of development across the United States. The first hotels are expected to open later this year.

Matt Schuyler, Hilton’s chief brand officer, said in an interview with TPG prior to the launch: “We looked at the market and saw an opportunity and combined the two together and grew the brand. this in the past year. “The driving force is the notion that consumers are evolving after the pandemic. People are looking for bargains. They are traveling in record numbers, but they want to do so on a budget.”

Room rates at a Spark hotel typically range between $85 and $105 a night, Schuyler adds. Ideal candidates for a transition to the Spark brand would likely be roadside hotels or those located off interstate highways found between a cluster of restaurants and gas stations.

Schuyler said other potential locations include “an urban location where Main Street may have moved a bit and left some infrastructure behind,” Schuyler said.

He emphasized that Hilton will be very discerning about what constitutes a cut, and it is likely that Hilton will turn down more potential conversion applicants than it approves.

Part of the opportunity the Hilton team found in pursuing a brand like Spark was that there was too much volatility regarding customer experience when it came to economy hotels. An economy brand usually offers minimal services and not much in public areas, and the properties are not always well maintained.

Having a large company like Hilton affiliated with – and the strict branding standards that are often applied to a property operating under one of its brands – could bring standardization to this space, according to think.

Spark guest rooms will feature clean design options with open wardrobes, in-room refrigerators, bright bathrooms, and work areas with rotating surfaces that can double as dining tables.

Hotels will serve a free simple breakfast with coffee, juice and a bagel stand. There will also be a 24-hour market for takeout options.

Hotels will offer other Hilton-branded features such as mobile check-ins and digital keys. Daily housekeeping is offered to guests who opt in, and you’ll be able to earn and redeem Hilton Honors while staying at Spark.

Schuyler said it usually takes three to six months to renovate a hotel to Spark’s specifications. It’s also a brand that could quickly become one of the biggest in Hilton’s network of more than 7,000 hotels.

“We’re going to be able to convert very quickly, and the market opportunity is definitely going to be in the hundreds, maybe thousands, over time,” Schuyler added. “We expect hundreds of hotels to use the brand over the next 10 years.”

There is no sibling rivalry between Tru and Spark

There has been a wave of criticism and concern about the brand’s bloat amid all the additions to the hotel orbit in recent years. Does anyone really know the difference between Aloft and Moxy? What about Hyatt Place and Hyatt House?

The frequent use of “simple” in Spark’s branding lingo may leave some scratching their heads, since Hilton’s current Tru brand — in the company’s language — “includes living simplicity, amusing and engaging.” What is the simple difference?

While the developers will be renovating an existing hotel to become a Spark hotel, the Tru hotels are built from the ground up and include enhanced amenities compared to its sister hotel.

Plus, hotels in Tru offer extra breakfasts and lobby activities, as well as elegant bedrooms and bathrooms — so you might pay a little more for a room in Tru.

Spark hotels will also feature more standardized construction, while properties in Tru will have some surrounding location accents, such as a mural of the guest community. hotel is located.

Spark announcement appeared a few months later Marriott announces acquisition The “average affordable” City Express brand is based in Mexico.

Take the two announcements together and it’s a bit different from last year’s broader big-brand logic that they’re more immune to price sensitivity due to inflation because they’re not exposed to price tourists. cheap.

You can usually find an affordable room at a hotel affiliated with major corporations like Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG. However, it’s not all that common for any of these companies to offer anything in the actual low-cost segment of the market.

Residence Inn and Hyatt Place are considered premium by hotel data company STR. Holiday Inn Express is considered a mid-range brand. Hilton’s Tru is considered mid-range.

So why shake the boat and engage in more affordable options? Hotel companies posted huge profits last year amid the pandemic recovery and unlike occupancy rates plummeted amid rising rates.

“All the discretionary money that funds revenge travel during the early post-pandemic spike? Now it’s coming back to earth a little bit, so people are looking for more bargains,” Schuyler said. “I’d say they still want the experience and they’re willing to spend. But, if they have a quality alternative [and] At a more affordable price point, they’ll delay that from the spike we’re seeing in mid-size and above product categories.”