One of the more prominent trends driving PIP and renovation activity is the increased popularity of soft brands as many owners make the decision to convert their properties from so-called traditionally branded hotels. These soft brands, in many cases, are delivering more to the bottom line, according to Ashley Ewing Parrott, principal, AEP Consulting.
“I’m seeing a lot of lifestyle, hard brands going to soft brands because what they [owners] are noticing, and frankly what the market is showing us, is that independent and soft-branded hotels—especially in the upscale, upper upscale, and luxury space—are outearning some of these kind of institutional brands,” she noted, later adding, “The soft brands are adding a lot of flexibility for owners who are ready to make a change.”
Ewing Parrott further elaborated on the market dynamics driving the repositioning of traditionally branded hotels to soft brands.
“It’s huge right now. When I speak to my contacts in development with various brands, that’s the majority of the deals that they’re seeing right now. Specifically, some independent to soft brand conversions are much easier because you might have to rise to a few standards, but generally speaking, you’re kind of already delivering in that space. You probably have a vanity site, you probably have a social media presence, and you’ve already trademarked this independent brand that you’ve created. As a result, sliding in under the umbrella that is a soft brand is usually a pretty easy way to get some instant support from the bigger flags,” she noted.
Charles Oswald, president/CEO, Aperture Hotels, also has weighed in on the impact of soft brands, particularly as it relates to converting historic properties.
“There’s a challenge with back of the house that’s surfacing more often now because of conversions to soft brands, but repositioning an existing asset and non-prototypical box into a soft brand is how a lot of these major brands are picking up inventory,” he said.