Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide on Thursday introduced the Tribute Portfolio, a collection of 4-star, upper-upscale independent hotels. Tribute is the company’s 10th brand and its second collection of independent hotels.
The first Tribute hotel will be the Royal Palm South Beach Miami, and hotels in Asheville, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Savannah, Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina will shortly follow. All Tribute hotels will keep their independent names while receiving access to Starwood’s marketing and distribution network.
“This brand does not have hard brand standards like our other brands, but we will also be very careful with who we bring into this portfolio,” Dave Marr, senior vice president of brand management for Starwood, told HOTELS. “We don’t want to just identify a cool-looking hotel. These will be the right hotels in the right locations.”
“As we look to grow, this is an obvious niche for us to fill,” added Adam Aron, interim CEO at Starwood. “The independent hotel owner didn’t have an opportunity to affiliate with Starwood in the 4-star, upper-upscale segment, and now we have an incredible offering.”
Starwood expects to have 100 Tribute hotels by 2020, with an initial focus on growth in North America and Europe. Tribute properties will be primarily located in high-demand destinations and markets where Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) loyalty members travel but today Starwood has little or no footprint.
“The hero is the individual property, and the red thread will be the connection to the portfolio and SPG network,” Marr said. “It’s a winning combination for Starwood, owners and SPG members.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Starwood will spend US$20 million to launch the brand and will receive about 10% of a hotel’s room revenue under the agreements.