Two of the few remaining branded independent hospitality companies in North America – Loews Hotels & Co and Omni Hotels & Resorts – recently decided to generate a bit more marketing muscle by partnering to cross-sell and cross-market, primarily targeting both companies’ leisure travelers.
The partnership works, in part, because the increased distribution opportunities will take place in markets where there is no crossover between the two brands. For example, Omni travelers looking to go to South Beach or New York City now have access to Loews Miami Beach Hotel or Loews Regency New York Hotel. Similarly, Loews guests now have the opportunity to experience a ski or beach destination like The Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, or Omni Amelia Island Resort in Amelia Island, Florida. Reservations are bookable directly online or by calling reservations through both brands’ channels.
In addition to focusing on the leisure traveler, the partnership between New York City-based Loews and Dallas-based Omni will also look at future ways of collaborating, including within the meetings and groups sector. Each brand will continue to maintain their own visual identity and marketing, along with loyalty, pricing, and availability.
“There was no investment,” Alex Tisch, president of Loews, told HOTELS. “Both Loews and Omni will keep their own brand identities along with their own policies, culture and procedures. This partnership is about two brands aligning to cross sell and promote, in markets where we don’t compete.”
For Loews, Tisch added, “The ROI is really about increasing the destinations where Loews loyalists are able to visit and book direct and help drive incremental business to our assets.”
First and foremost, the duo wants to focus on the leisure traveler, and get it right. “As we progress, we believe there could be other commercial opportunities,” Tisch added. “However, time will tell.” He also said Loews looks forward to continuing to collaborate and evolve its partnership with Omni, especially as both brands work together to come out of the pandemic stronger.
For Omni, this deal comes at a time when it was reported that it plans to step away from its long-standing alliance with the Global Hotel Alliance. According to Peter Strebel, president, Omni Hotels and Resorts, the move was made so they could focus more on the evolution of its own Select Guest program and its internal Omni customers.
“As we continue to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, we must find new, strategic ways to market our hotels and resorts,” Strebel said when the alliance was announced. “Partnering with a like-minded brand such as Loews Hotels & Co is a thoughtful and unique way to offer our guests, and theirs, wider distribution.”
Might other brands be invited to join this new alliance? Tisch said, “We would need to evaluate any strategic fit. Right now, there are no plans to broaden the scope of this partnership.”