Marriott International (MAR) plans to introduce a new sub brand soon. But please, don’t ask what the name is yet.
The hotel chain has announced it will move into “affordable midscale” hotel category. So, less expensive than a luxury hotel, but nicer than Motel 6. This category is also referred to as “upper-midscale,” along the lines of Hawthorne Suites by Wyndham. The new hotel idea is currently unnamed, but the company says it will target people looking for extended stays, between 7 to 30 days.
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“We’re in discussions with owners for more than 250 new development opportunities under this brand,” said Leeny Oberg, Marriott’s chief financial officer and executive vice president, development.
Marriott Competing With AirBNB
The move could be seen as a way to more directly compete with AirBNB, which has been dealing with legal challenges of late, but has been popular with remote workers and digital nomads that don’t need to commute to their jobs and therefore like to move around and stay in places temporarily.
Also known as “blended travel,” Marriott also has Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy, Residence Inn by Marriott, Element by Westin, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, and Marriott Executive Apartments for this purpose.
Marriott will partner with Concord Hospitality, a hotel development and management company based in North Carolina, and Whitman Peterson, a real estate private equity company in California. They expect to open three properties in late 2024 or early 2025. This will be Marriott’s 32nd brand.
Blended travel has been one the hotel industry’s faster growing markets lately, as Wyndham recently launched ECHO Suites by Wyndham, and BWH launched @Home by Best Western. Lodging Econometrics has reported that nearly a third of the construction pipeline for hotels in the U.S. is set to be extended-stay projects,
