While major brands are courting candidates aggressively for their soft brand collections, Curator Hotel & Resort Collection is offering an owner-centric, lower-cost alternative that celebrates personality. Curator is a collaborative bid to better level the playing field for independents and small lifestyle brands.
The collection, a partnership of competitors that unites Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, Benchmark Global Hospitality, Davidson Hotels & Resorts, Noble House Hotels & Resorts, Provenance Hotels, Springboard Hospitality and Viceroy Hotels & Resorts, has been in the works for the past two years, spurred by competition from the major lodging companies.
“Over the past few years we’ve seen consolidation by the brands, and major brands have bought up small lifestyle brands,” says Jon Bortz, founder and chairman of Curator and chairman and CEO of Pebblebrook.
Between those acquisitions and the proliferation of soft brands, many properties have sacrificed some of their uniqueness to design and operations standards, and “we didn’t want to be part of that,” Bortz says. “We wanted to find a way to save the independent lifestyle hotel business.”
The initial collection, chosen from the seven partners’ portfolios, includes about 120 U.S. hotels and resorts totaling more than 30,000 rooms. In 2019 numbers, the hotels as a group posted about US$3.5 billion in revenue.
Arguably the most salient result of this alliance is the leverage it provides for better terms from suppliers.
“Unfortunately, we live in a world where a lot of service providers charge the little guy more and the big guys less, which promotes consolidation and saturation,” Bortz says. “Our focus is on how to do things less expensively.”
Curator will negotiate master service agreements, but members of the collection aren’t required to purchase the FF&E, technology, foodservice products, services or other products from the providers.
Curator hotel owners won’t be locked into a lengthy commitment. Instead of multiyear contracts, hotels under the Curator umbrella sign 12-month deals. “If we don’t deliver the value for the fees we charge, owners can leave,” Bortz says. Fees will be based on a percentage of revenue; Bortz would not specify that percentage, but said he expected fees would amount to about 10% to 20% of what owners pay to conventional brands.
To be considered, the rules are fairly simple: A hotel must achieve a 3.5-4.5-star/diamond quality level and fit into the independent lifestyle category or be part of a small lifestyle brand. That quality rating will reflect guest satisfaction scores on sites like Yelp or Trip Advisor rather than AAA or other traditional organizations’ assessments. The distinction recognizes that some elements considered in more formal ratings systems are less meaningful to independent lifestyle hotels, either from an operator’s or a guest’s perspective. “We let the customer determine what quality is — we don’t presuppose what that is,” he says.
Exposure through social media and a portal will showcase the hotels in the collection. Visitors can search the collection by geography or desired amenity — cultural activities, sports, dining, spas, beachfront, entertainment, etc. — and the portal will steer them toward individual hotel to book.
A loyalty program, so crucial to the success of many brands, isn’t part of the initial structure, but a board of advisers — CEOS of the partner companies — may decide to add one. If so, any plan is likely to stress experiences as rewards, but in any event it will reflect the owners’ and operators’ wishes.
“Curator isn’t here to impose anything on our members,” Bortz explains. “it’s here to implement and execute what they want to do and amplify their brands and properties.”
Availability of comp data will differentiate Curator from other brands. “We will benchmark like properties within the portfolio, not just top line but bottom line,” Bortz says. “The stuff that’s generally out there about the bottom line is so average and broad that it’s not useful to an individual owner.” Detailed reports will provide anonymous comparative data on expenses in multiple categories, showing owners where they can improve based on results from truly similar hotels.
Until now, “We’ve been really focused on creating this with a very limited group,” Bortz says. “We wanted to get it right with the advice from this group, which represents a lot of different owners, and make sure we have it structured in a way that works for their owners.”
The launch wasn’t deliberately timed to coincide with the COVID crisis, but it ended up being fortuitous. “With the devastation the industry is going through and the need to drive better bottom-line performance with very low occupancy, every nickel you can save is a nickel that can help you survive,” Bortz says. A lower cost platform that doesn’t require brand conformity or lengthy commitments and increases purchasing leverage is likely to resonate.