Branding tips

The Mexican government signed a deal with several aviation unions Friday to purchase the brand of the defunct Mexicana airline for 811.1 million Mexican pesos ($42.41 million), a union spokesman told Reuters.

Major hotel groups in 2023 introduced a wave of brands, including Marriott’s StudioRes, IHG’s Garner, Spark by Hilton, and Hyatt Studios. These brands shouldn’t be confused with other new ones, such as Aman’s Janu, Kerzner’s Siro, Langham’s Ying’nFlo, TAG’s Paradox, and Paliosociety’s Le Petit Pali.

Hilton is considering as many as 14 names for upcoming hotel brands, its recent trademark filings show.

Italian property management firm DoveVivo group, and its affiliate brands, including UK-based Altido and French accommodation brand Chez Nestor, are coming together under a single rebranded name – Joivy. 

Iconic magazine first lent its brand name to a hotel venture in late 2022, when its resort opened in Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic. Yet the forces behind Sports Illustrated Resorts aim to expand its footprint relatively quickly.

Generating demand is forever the challenge of the travel industry. The need for renewal is constant, particularly when looking to attract future generations.

Expedia will continue to invest in gaining long-term value customers despite the risk of losing bookings to its competitors, as it focuses on brand awareness, paid app downloads and its loyalty program.

The Portrait Milano debuts December 1 in the heart of Milan’s fashion district. The location makes sense, given that the 73-room property belongs to the Lungarno Collection — a group of Italian boutique hotels founded by the family of Italian loafer king, Salvatore Ferragamo.

Hotel companies have been launching new brands again. Hilton Worldwide said on Wednesday it had created its first hotel brand in the economy segment, Spark by Hilton. Accor, the owner of the world’s most hotel brands, said last week it had reorganized itself around its brands. Marriott International, Wyndham Worldwide, Hyatt, Kerzner, and Best Western have created or bought hotel brands in the past several months.

Accor, the Paris-based hotel giant, will reveal on Thursday a new global “soft” brand, Handwritten Collection, featuring so-called lifestyle hotels. These mid-priced properties have funky furniture and buzzy restaurants and bars but don’t offer the full services of a premium boutique.

Some industry observers speculated that the pandemic would speed up consolidation of the hotel sector, as owners of independent hotels might find cost and other pressures too difficult and would essentially sell out to the big brands. So what was the state of the independent hotel sector in 2022, as the pandemic subsided, according to just-released numbers?

Over 14 years, hotel operator Hilton Worldwide has doubled its number of hotel and resort brands to 19 and more than doubled its number of rooms to 1.1 million. During the pandemic recovery, the McLean, Virginia-based hotel giant is looking to fine-tune its brands and portfolio, especially in light of its introduction in January of its first economy brand, Spark by Hilton.

Marriott International said Monday it would expand into the “affordable midscale” hotel category in North America with a new hotel brand — which it hasn’t yet named. The world’s largest hotel company said it hopes the new brand will appeal to guests seeking extended stays, typically at least 15 days.

Anyone still in touch with their inner child may be drawn to the whimsy, color, and movement in Shangri-La’s new brand video. But will the marketing campaign resonate and boost bookings among guests looking for a luxury hotel experience?

As if JetBlue Airways didn’t have enough on its plate, the airline has unveiled a branding refresh with a new all-blue livery for its fleet.

This summer, Palazzo Avino – a 12th century villa turned five star hotel – has partnered with Maison Valentino on a ‘Summer Beach Takeover’. 

One of the most influential players among boutique hotels, Eagle Point Hotel Partners, didn’t set out in 2010 to sidestep the major global hotel brands. 

The marketing team behind Barbie have made the doll a household name. The upcoming summer release of the official Warner Bros. movie ‘Barbie‘ on July 21, and the subsequent marketing push behind it, in part, illustrates how an 11.5-inch doll has managed brand success for over 60 years. 

Hilton Worldwide debuted a major international marketing effort a year ago – July 25, 2022 – that focused on reliable lodging experiences as its differentiator. It also debuted its first “platform” for the Hilton “masterbrand” — which essentially means it added the tagline “for the stay” to all of its Hilton messaging.

IHG needed a new brand to appeal to two audiences — guests looking for something cheaper than the company’s 70-year-old flagship, Holiday Inn, and developers looking for a more cost-effective brand to run. The UK-based hotel giant on Wednesday took a step to fill this market gap by officially launching its 19th hotel brand, Garner an IHG Hotel.