Hilton's New Hotel Brands: What Trademark Filings Reveal
11.12.2023 - 09:33
/ skift.com
/ Sean Oneill
/ Chris Nassetta
Hilton is considering as many as 14 names for upcoming hotel brands, its recent trademark filings show.
But only a couple of these names are likely to ever appear on hotel signs. Hilton’s trademark filings only signal an intent to create brands, and the company could still decide against following through.
“For competitive reasons, we do not comment on our trademark filings,” said a Hilton spokesperson.
Hilton announced in May an extended-stay apartment suites hotel concept — tentatively called Project H3.
CEO Chris Nassetta acknowledged in September that the trademark process is slow when he spoke on-stage at the Skift Global Forum 2023 about upcoming brands.
“What we affectionately call Project H3, we will have a name for in the next few weeks,” Nassetta said. “It takes a long time to get IP [intellectual property] these days in Washington.”
Hilton applied in April for “H3 Suites by Hilton“ and “H3 by Hilton” as potential hotel brand names for Project H3, a long-stay apartment hotel brand.
In mid-September, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office asked for more information because of potential confusion with an existing brand, H3 Ranch, a steakhouse restaurant brand for a company in Fort Worth, Texas.
In reaction, Hilton asked the government for additional time to respond. In late November, that wish was granted.
Hilton has filed trademark requests for several brand names that could apply to a suite-based hotel brand.
Presumably, the company is considering these other names as an alternative to H3. However, none of the filings provide descriptions or drawings about the proposed brands — making inferences difficult.
Here are the suite-themed trademarks it applied for this year, in alphabetical order.
Hilton also applied for a few other hotel brand names in recent years.
In October 2021, it applied for the brand name Spark by Hilton, which sailed through approvals in January 2023. That month, Hilton announced Spark by Hilton as a new brand. (The timeline underscores how long the branding process can take.)
It’s unclear if these other brands were also-rans for Spark by Hilton or if they’re intended for other projects.
Some industry observers complain about so-called hotel “brand bloat.” A few decades ago, hotel companies only had a few dozen brands. Now they have more than 1,000. Some people question the usefulness of these brands when some hoteliers cheat on their brands by defining them poorly.
Yet others are more upbeat. One Management Science study last year found that companies that register more trademarks in a year see their share prices outperform companies that register fewer — after adjusting for company asset size for relevant comparisons.
Nassetta has said that Hilton aims to develop yet