Marriott looks to sign more Autographs
Marriott’s Autograph Collection brand could add up to 18 hotels globally this year as it continues its growth spurt.
The 100-strong brand was launched just six years ago and has been growing by 15-20% a year. Much of the growth so far has been in the US, but Europe is a key focus for the coming years according to Julius Robinson, Autograph Collection’s vice president.
He said: “There’s a really good environment for hotel development at the moment and we’re really excited about the level of interest in this brand; the pace will not be slowing.”
There are 30 Autograph properties in Europe at the moment, which is set to grow to 50 by 2018.
Autograph is working with the Roomers group in Germany, including a new 130-room hotel in Baden Baden and Roomers Munich, which will have 290 rooms, a Japanese restaurant and spa.
Other openings in Europe will include Breda, a key city in Holland, where a hotel is being created out of two old palaces and a church. “It bridges the corporate gap for people who want offices in Brussels and Amsterdam as it’s a good distance from both,” Robinson explained.
For 2017, Autograph has already signed hotels due to open in Eze in the South of France and Greece’s Peloponnese, while in 2018, there will be hotels in Paris, Antwerp and Reims.
Robinson said the brand’s website would be redesigned this year to “help consumers navigate” the breadth of hotels that were now part of the collection.
“Consumers are starting to ask us more about who we are so we will dial up brand presence for Autograph this year,” Robinson explained.
“Some of the hotels we are including are created by true preservationists and are projects which are rehabilitating or even launching new areas. Our motto is ‘Exactly Like Nothing Else’ and the hotels we feature really are falling into line with that,” he added.
Higher agent engagement will also be sought as the brand continues to grow.
“We need the agent community more than ever as we grow this brand and we will be looking to launch a high-end programme for them this year in Europe – we hope they will help us share the message with their customers,” Robinson said.
Autograph Collection sits under Marriott’s Luxury and Lifestyle division alongside Ritz-Carlton, Edition, Bulgari, JW Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, AC Hotels and Moxy Hotels.
The whole division is expected to grow to 650 hotels by the end of 2016 and accounts for a quarter of Marriott’s system-wide current development pipeline, with future plans calling for more than 250 additional projects in the division over the next several years.
Americas and Caribbean expansion
In the US, newcomers to Autograph include Paradox in Santa Clara, California; The Camby in Phoenix, Arizona; and The Press Hotel in Portland, Maine.
Elsewhere, El Mangroove in Costa Rica has just joined the portfolio and The Habitation Jouissant in Haiti will open in 2017. It is set in Cap-Haitien and is an expansion of an existing 13-room hotel, adding 87 new keys; Marriott recently also opened a significant hotel in the destination, the $45 million Marriott Port-au-Prince.
Also in the Caribbean and Latin America region, Robinson also highlighted The Artisan D.C. Hotel in Bogota, Colombia as an interesting addition.
Asia and the Middle East are also key regions for growth Robinson said, with Autograph having only four properties in Asia currently and limited presence in the Middle East, but with two potential hotels in Dubai.
“We haven’t set growth targets as such, because it’s about finding and curating the right assets,” Robinson said. “But in a softer economic environment, I think we are well placed to grow and maybe bring existing hotels into the group, as well as continuing to focus on exciting new-build projects – half the hotels we are looking at at the moment are new-builds.”
On brand
All hotels wishing to be considered for Autograph must use a branding agency to ensure they can really pull out their character and story, he said.
John Licence, Continental brand leader for Autograph in Europe, added: “With a new hotel we’re in there very early on; we have the opportunity to influence how it develops. We focus on fit and finish, and hoteliers can network our top people in terms of design.”
“Of course we have internal guidelines, but each hotel we are taking on is unique from a design or history perspective and all have an amazing focus on food and beverage and in being a real part of the local community.”
Robinson said Autograph was as interested in resorts as urban locations. “We’re really seeing an increase in interest across the board – people see that as a brand we’re very alive.”
He said the customer profile for the brand was turning out to be Gen X, mid-40s travellers who appreciate style, design and are fairly affluent with kids.
“But they don’t bring them to stay at our hotels,” Robinson said. “They’re looking for great getaways and unique locations – they’re the Wallpaper generation.
Autograph bears some resemblance to Starwood’s fledgling Tribute brand in its fostering of independent, unique hotels, but despite Marriott’s takeover of Starwood last year Robinson reiterated the words of Marriott president Arne Sorenson, who has said that for the most part, “there won’t be many brands that go away”.
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